Since its inception at the Green Bank meeting with Drake’s equation in 1961, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) has seen tangible progress in exploring our universe and outer space. However, 60+ years onwards, no sign of other life and intelligence has been found, resounding Fermi’s quip “Where is everybody?” This silence might be less a failure of using correct numbers and technology, than inherent to the quest what to look and listen for. Life as we know it is bound to first principles by which brains evolved in a historical process Darwin described in his theory, but the underlying mechanisms are far from being understood. We do know, however, that intelligence and communication are emergent traits of complex brains, one of which led to SETI. In this seminar, I will introduce first principles how brains evolved in animals and what they have in common; address the concepts of single vs. multiple origins of nerve cells that are the core units of the brain; describe the functional elements that are prerequisites of emergent traits like intelligence and communication; and illustrate their conduct in different species, ranging from bees and birds to mammals. I will conclude with a brief discussion of contingency and determinism by reference to Gould’s question whether replaying the tape of life would lead to similar outcomes like the human mind. These deliberations may illuminate the parameters f(l), f(i) and f(c) of Drake’s equation and their limitations that together can facilitate the Q&A session afterwards.

To join please click on the Zoom link: https://psu.zoom.us/j/92466964691