Stellar Outreach, LLCAstrosociology Research Institute

Creating a Contact-Ready Earth

Kathleen D. Toerpe

When Contact?

intelligent?friendly?hostile?superior?

biohazard?beneficial?2nd Genesis?panspermia?extant?

extinct?

More profound (and more likely) Contact scenario?

Confronting our own place in the universe

Contact . . . with new ideas &perspectives

Wedding Bean by Thomas M.

Toerpe

STEM

1. What does it mean to be ready?2. How can we measure readiness?3. What can we do to ready ourselves?

Ready or

not?#AmericaIsBeautfulSuper Bowl 20147 Languages – 1 minute

RaceGender

EthnicityClass

ReligionSexual Orientation

TwitterverseErupted!

www.publicshaming.tumbler.com

not Ready

Bill Nye vs Kenneth Ham

Evolution?Creationism?

Science

denied

30% of Americans – “humans and other living things have existed in their present form from the beginning of time” (Pew Research Center, December 2013)

Creation Museum (Petersburg, Kentucky)

Scientists

discredited68% Americans - only

“moderately, a little, or not at all trust scientists about the environment” (AP/GfK Roper Poll, Nov. 29 - Dec. 3, 2012)

Chimney And Smoke by njaj

really

not Ready

Kiev

Syri

a

SaudiArabia

France

disturbingly

not Ready

What might it mean... ... to be Ready?

What are the core attributes, attitudes or abilities of what it means to be Ready . . . .

for Contact?

Core Abilities

Students to be Ready - - -

to grasp to participate to examine to react

to respond to adapt to imagine to create

Graduation Silhouette by iosphere

How to prepare for Contact?

Crowd by Chris Amelung

As individuals living in societies

What are the core abilities that we will

need?

What would a Contact-

Ready society look

like?

Diversity

&

Inclusivity

Religio

us Pluralis

m

STEAM

Social Justice

#1 Diversity

& Inclusivity

Across all categoriesDomestically &

internationallyProscribes prejudice &

discriminationEnforces through

legislation, education and normative pressure

Marginalizes xenophobia & ethnocentrism

Mitigates aversive intolerance, prejudice & discrimination

#2 Social Justice

Acknowledges consequences of systemic inequities in access to resources, education, income, etc.

Mitigates consequences through comprehensive legislation, education, intervention programs, etc.

Commits to securing inalienable human rights for marginalized populations

Balances nationalist needs against global responsbilities

#3 Religious Pluralism

Across all denominations & belief systems

Domestically & internationally

Protects rights of religious minorities

Protects rights of non-religious

Enforces through legislation, education and normative pressure

Marginalizes militant or politicized extremism & fundamentalism

#4 Embrace of STEAM

Embraces social and behavioral sciences, arts, & humanities into STEM

Accepts all of STEAM as significant, relevant & applicable to society

Encourages critical questioning & collaboration

Seeks out expertise in policy-making process

Promotes STEAM educational initiatives & bias-free curricula

Marginalizes biased or partisan interference

Diversity

&

Inclusivity

Religio

us Pluralis

m

STEAM

Social Justice

Credibility &Trust

1. What does it mean to be ready?To create inclusive societies that embrace

diversity and pluralism; are religiously flexible and tolerant; dedicated to social justice; and guided by the process, knowledge, technology, and wisdom of the STEAM disciplines.

How can we

measure

readiness?

Wooden T

herm

om

ete

r by

gam

eanna

Inspiration

RioIván Almár & Jill Tarter

Measures intensity of social impact of putative interception of ETI signal

Assigns hierarchical numerical value to anticipated level of impact

Sum of 3 variables × reliability factor

Produces Rio Scale Index RSI = Q ×

Iván Almár & Margaret Race

Measures intensity of social impact of putative discovery of ET microbe

Assigns hierarchical numerical value to anticipated level of impact

Sum of 4 variables × reliability factor

Produces London Scale Index LSI = Q ×

London

Defines quantifiable criteria to establish impact

significance Anticipate impact of single Contact event

Compare and judge significance of multiple Contact events

Contact Readiness Scale

Measures readiness of any given society to grasp, react, and respond to Contact event

Assigns hierarchical numerical value to levels of readiness

Sum of 4 variables × credibility factor Inclusivity & Diversity Social Justice Religious Pluralism Embrace of STEAM

×Credibility & Trust in

Governance

Produces Contact Readiness Index

CRI = Q×Measures extent to which any given society is ready for Contact

Defines quantifiable criteria for benchmark levels

of readiness Anticipates readiness for Contact of any specific society

Compares and judges readiness of multiple societies

5

4

3

2

1

Quantifiable criteria

•5 levels of benchmarks•chart a society’s progress•can be tailored to specific social dynamics of each society•starting point for self-assessment

Here’s an example of how it works . . .

5

4

3

2

1

Embraced as social & cultural values

Tolerance across all categoriesDomestically & internationallyProscribes prejudice &

discriminationEnforces through legislation,

education, religion, and normative pressure

Marginalizes xenophobia & ethnocentrism

Mitigates aversive intolerance, prejudice & discrimination

Culture of inclusion

Commitment to Inclusivity & Diversity

5

4

3

2

1

Commitment to Inclusivity & DiversityIncreasing tolerance for

diversity through force of law, education, religion, etc.

Tolerance across most, but not all, categories

Occasional overt institutional discrimination

Verbal/social media harassment occasional; physical violence rare

Aversive discrimination still institutionalized and accepted

Pockets of xenophobia & ethnocentrism

5

4

3

2

1

Commitment to Inclusivity & DiversityInconsistently tolerant and

discriminatoryTolerance across some, but not

many, categoriesGuaranteed legal protections

exist, but may not be uniformly enforced

Verbal and physical harassment widespread

Open conflict between forces of xenophobia & ethnocentrism versus forces of tolerance and pluralism

Culture of mixed messages & uncertainty

5

4

3

2

1

Commitment to Inclusivity & DiversityLittle institutional or cultural

acceptance of diversity Tolerance across few, if any,

categoriesMuch overt institutional

discrimination, reinforced through education, religion, family, etc.

Violent harassment common and normative

Isolated pockets of resistance to prejudice and discrimination

Culture of fear and resignation

5

4

3

2

1

Commitment to Inclusivity & DiversityDogmatic or ideological

prejudices & rampant overt discrimination

Exclusive, zero-sum or dualist world view

Tolerance across no categoriesInstitutions mandate and reward

overt discrimination Violence to point of genocideXenophobia & ethnocentrism

reinforced through legislation, family and education

Culture of hatred and fear

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

0.5

X

Diversity Inclusivity

Social Justice

Religious Pluralism

Embrace STEAM

Credibility Trust

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

USA in 2014?

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

0.5

xDiversity Inclusivity

Social Justice

Religious Pluralism

Embrace STEAM

Credibility Trust

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

USA 2014?

+ + +

USA in 2014?

4.2/10

Caveats:1)Society ≠ Nation2)Subjectivity Bias3)Tentative Judgment

2. How can we measure readiness?We can tentatively measure readiness on a

Contact Readiness Scale which forms the basis of social self-assessment. The resulting Contact Readiness Index can be used to anticipate and compare readiness of any society or social subgroup to positively respond to Contact.

How do we ready ourselves?• To accept a new world

view• To broaden our idea of

“life”• To expand our

understanding of the universe

Diversity

&

Inclusivity

Religio

us Pluralis

m

STEAM

Social Justice

Credibility &Trust

Formal Education

Public Outreach Authentic messaging

Realistic ET images Managing first impressions/stereotypes Deeper pairing with

NASA

Full STEM to STEAM Co-disciplinary courses Astrosociology K – adult curricula Broaden from ETI/microbial dichotomy: mid-range life?

Diverse/targeted outreach Context of heterogeneous beliefs (race, religion, class…) Stress natural phenomena, not supernatural

Institutional Readiness Advanced research in Contact

Readiness Formal Statement of Contact Readiness Public debate about definition of Life

Increase our comfort level in co-existing with a new paradigm

Overall Goal:

3. What can we do to ready ourselves?Create societies that parallel the

technologically and morally advanced societies that many expect to see from ETIs that we will encounter. Encourage societies to understand both intelligent and microbial ET life as natural parts of a complex and dynamic universe.

Kathleen D. Toerpe

Creating a Contact-Ready Earth

ktoerpe@astrosociology.orgstellaroutreach@gmail.com

@ktoerpe

Sources and Photo CreditsSlides 1, 54Adapted and remixed from 13A2 Living Room – East {notes} by striatic. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/http://wpb.org/screen-on-the-green/movies/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/

Slides 2, 33, 35, 54 ET- http://wpb.org/screen-on-the-green/movies/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/Allen Hills Meteorite - http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast20dec_1/

Slides 3, 35, 54 Wedding Bean by Thomas M. Toerpe. Private collection.

Slides 4, 5, 30, 48, 53Jill Tarter at 100 Year Starship by Kathleen D. Toerpe

Slide 6http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/02/02/Super-Bowl-Controversy-America-The-Beautiful-Sung-in-Multiple-Languages-First-Gay-Family-in-Adhttp://www.popsugar.com/Coca-Cola-Super-Bowl-Ad-2014-33894267#photo-33894278

Sources and Photo Credits 2

Slide 7 http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/75447787843/speak-english-racist-revolt-as-coca-cola-airs

Slide 9 Bill Nye - http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/bill-nye-science-guy-debates-creation-museum-founder-article-1.1602386Ken Ham - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2552005/Bill-Nye-Science-Guy-attempts-prove-evolution-debate-creationist.html

Slide 10Creation Museum - http://www.thebostonliberal.com/fundamentalist-mentality-36167PEW research- Public Views about Human Evolution, December 2013, PEW Research Center, http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/12/Evolution-12-30.pdf

Slide 11Chimney And Smoke – njaj, artist -http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Pollution_g405-Chimney_And_Smoke_p80664.htmlAP/Roper Poll - http://www.pollingreport.com/enviro.htm

Slide 13Kiev - http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article3983265.eceSyria - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0Saudi Women - http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2012/11/saudi-arabias-new-tracking-system-womenFrance - http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/france-must-heed-eu-call-end-roma-discrimination-2010-09-10

Slide 15People looking up at stars - http://dw.de/p/12ne7

Slide 19Graduation Silhouette by iosphere http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Learning_g376-Graduation_Silhouette_p154077.html

Slide 21Crowd by amelungc http://www.flickr.com/photos/amelungc/340977429/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

Sources and Photo Credits 3

Slides 24 – 29, 50Welcome Mat - http://blog.builddirect.com/wood-floors-and-use-of-mats/Dalai Lama/Desmond Tutu - http://www.scienceandreligiontoday.com/2009/09/30/congratulations-desmond-tutu-and-the-dalai-lama/STEAM - http://sites.duke.edu/writing101_09_s2013_sk312wp2_jfw142/ (altered by author)Social Justice - http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/w/page/13112111/Book%20Recommendations%3A%20Social%20Justice

Slide 31Wooden Thermometer by gameanna

Slide 32Map of Rio - http://www.v-brazil.com/tourism/rio-de-janeiro/map-rio-de-janeiro.htmlMap of London – http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-54930/London-England

Slide 49People looking up at stars - http://dw.de/p/12ne7

Slide 51 – Kathleen Toerpe delivering a radio interview on current NASA space programs to the radio stations of Door County Daily News, 2013.

Sources and Photo Credits 4