Conversations #28 - Jaime Green

Scientific and Fictional Imaginings are Reflections of Ourselves

Jun 01, 2023

Author of ‘The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos’, Jaime Green—

Hello Eclectic Spacewalkers,

Last month we had the pleasure of speaking with author Jaime Green. Jaime is a freelance writer, editor, and lecturer at Smith College. She is the series editor for Best American Science & Nature Writing and previously was associate editor of Future Tense, a collaboration of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University.

Jaime’s book The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos was a superb read about asking deep questions like “What does it mean to be human?”; “Are we alone in the Universe?”; and “How do we imagine extraterrestrial life?” - The book is broken up into the following chapters.

Watchful Stars
- “Some people are drawn to science by their drive to understand, but what I have always loved most is how science shows us what we don’t know, how little we understand of the world even as we’re inextricably a part of it. I didn’t want to answer questions but discover mysteries instead–mysteries with tantalizing possibilities, theories and hypotheses and whispers of the truth.”
Origins
- Drake Equation - Goldilocks zone
- Fermi Paradox
- Abiogenesis
- Single Cell to Multi-Cell - endosymbiosis
- Panspermia
- Time is a key factor. (Too early or too late or just too far away)
Planets
- Earth at tilt and a large satellite created “fewer climate fluctuations”
Animals
People
Technology
Contact
Hopeful Monsters
- “The stars cannot be counted, but each one can be named.”

Through interviews, astronomy research, and using pop culture as anchor points, Jaime takes the philosophical inquiry of how science doesn’t exist in a vacuum to the literal vacuum of outer space. Rather, science “is a reflection of our values and aspirations, our fears and anxieties, and most importantly, our enduring sense of hope.”

“Imagining extraterrestrial life is a way of figuring out what it means to be a conscious animal, what it means to be matter and alive. Our visions of space are a reflection of our selves and our humanity–like the building blocks of a telescope, a mirror and a lens.

Jaime also utilizes the rich history of science fiction to illuminate how, not just our scientific, but also our fictional, imaginings are reflections of ourselves. She quotes one of our favorite sci-fi authors Ursula K Le Guin several times.

“Living, being in the world, was a much greater and stranger thing than she had ever dreamed.” - Ursula K Le Guin

Here are a few other writing examples that we enjoyed reading over the years:

Could astrobiology research convince us to fight climate change? - Step one: realize we’re not alone.
- https://www.popsci.com/astrobiology-climate-change/

If the Earth Isn’t Special, Then the Whole Cosmos Is: Amazing things happen when you realize Earth is just another planet.
- https://slate.com/technology/2021/08/earth-exoplanet-astronomy-sagan.html
Surely There Must Be Someone Out There In All That Space: Right…?
- https://slate.com/technology/2022/07/jwst-telescope-galaxies-life-aliens.html

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Our conversation was wide-ranging about writing, editing, and fictional imaginings. We also discussed the sociology and politics of outer space, JWST and life markers on exoplanets, #CripTechnoscience, and the Overview Effect, amongst other topics.

We thank Jaime for her time, research, and eclectic mind. Enjoy the conversation and until next time - Ad Astra!