Could we be one of the OLDEST civilizations in the galaxy?

From: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Douglas May

> I think the mathematical models that see spacefaring civilizations
> filling the galaxy quickly assume that the whole of the galaxy is
> equally suited to settlement.

Well, when we say "the breadth of the Milky Way", assume us to only mean
the flat disk. Yes, there's a rather big spot in the middle that's
unsuitable. (There ought to be a good SF story in there about two
sweeps of colonization splitting up to arc around the central bulge, and
then what happens when the two waves meet up again on the other side.)

> All in all, I believe if there are advanced civilizations out
> there, they have either chosen not to or failed at colonizing the
> galaxy.

If they've failed at space colonization, then to me this means they
became extinct the next time there was a severe planetary crisis
(whether natural or of their own making). The "chosen not to"
possibility is one that's inconceivable to me, given life's invariable
natural selection mandate: "proliferate, and spread".

Regards,

Mike Combs