New Voyager Golden Records Reveal The Dark Side Of Humans?
The Voyager Golden Records are long overdue for a sequel, and Science Alert suggests that a new iteration of the ambitious interstellar project could tread into dark territory. The original double-disk issue was sent out with Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 back in 1977, and served as a time capsule or message in a bottle for other intelligent life-forms to unpack and digest if discovered.
Now that the original Voyager Golden Records have reached interstellar space, we need to put out a new edition that fills the gap of knowledge that was originally sent into space, and this new edition could very well include information about our own extinction.
What’s On The Golden Records?
So what are the Voyager Golden Records? Back in 1977, ahead of the Voyager launches, Carl Sagan compiled wide array of content that would allow extraterrestrial life to get a glimpse as humanity as we wanted it to be presented. Included on the records is audio of humans speaking in 55 different languages, messages from political leaders, images of nature, classical music, and even maps of our own DNA as we understood it at the time.
46 Years Later, The Records Are Due For An Update
But humanity, and technology has evolved quite a bit since the original Voyager Golden Records were released. It goes without question that the records contained information that highlighted the pinnacle of human achievement in 1977, but it’s been 46 years since they were originally thrust into space, and we’ve progressed so far on so many fronts. In other words, the original Voyager Golden Records represent some of humanity’s greatest hits, but there’s plenty more where that came from.
The End Of THe World
Not only have the last 46 years brought us the internet, smartphone technology, an inter-connected hive-mind of human thought through social media, and endless technological innovations, we’ve also become more aware about our mortality as a species. Though the old Voyager Golden Records highlight the entire timeline of human civilization, a new edition is absolutely necessary to let intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms know how humanity may come to an end before the original Golden Records are ever discovered.
Record The Darker Side Of Humanity
Authors of the new Voyager Golden Records also suggest that we should at the very least have a highlight reel of some of the more damaging aspects of humanity like war, famine, and events that highlight the darker side of humanity. In other words, the original Voyager Golden Records portray humanity as an infallible species with so much promise. If our cosmic message in a bottle ends up being discovered by a distant alien race, then providing an addendum to the original version is all but necessary if we want to paint a realistic picture of where humanity currently stands.
The Proposed Plan
Presently, a new iteration of the Voyager Golden Records has been proposed. The new Golden Records could potentially be iterated in two different forms: a primitive scroll full of images containing information that’s easily digestible for primitive species, and a small minicomputer that contains a plethora of of digital information.
If executed as planned, then we could one day attract the attention of intelligent life that’s not as far along as humanity, technologically speaking, as well as more advanced life-forms that are capable of understanding the breadth and scope of humanity as we present it.
