Are extraterrestrials here?

We sometimes encounter people who behave extraordinarily. When we do, we refer to them as “sachawon” which means four-dimensional.

My daughter, now turning 19, is one of these and is often scolded by my wife for her frequent unexpected behavior. Once she disappeared in the middle of eating breakfast leaving her spoon still on top of her rice bowl. We were dumbfounded to find her shampooing in the bathroom. Moreover, when she is concentrating she appears to be oblivious to what is happening around her. My wife cynically reminds me of the principle “like father, like daughter.”

Sometimes I jokingly ask my daughter, “Which planet are you from?” I myself am frequently curious where I came from in the first place before arriving on this planet called “Earth.”

My family’s dinner table is usually filled with lively dialog on rather metaphysical themes such as the nature of the universe, God, and humanity, along with pending social issues. Apparently inspired by such an environment, my daughter, who is about to begin university, chose philosophy as her major.

Late last year, former Russian President and current Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev surprised the world with a remark stating that there are extraterrestrials on the Earth.

Medvedev stated during a television interview recorded on Dec. 7 that he received two folders from his predecessor containing information on aliens and nuclear weapons codes, respectively. He stopped short of specifying how many of them are among us because “it could cause panic.” Instead, he recommended the interviewer to watch the U.S. science fiction movie “Men in Black.”

U.S. President Barack Obama once told children visiting the White House who asked him about the existence of aliens, that he was not supposed to provide an absolute answer. He said though it was not appropriate to reveal the truth, certainly it was an enormous waste of space to assume that Earth is the only planet on which living creatures exist within the entire universe. His statement was also taken to indicate the existence of aliens, albeit in an abstract, oblique way.

How spacious do you think the universe is? Simply put, the number of stars, that are accompanied by an average of 10 planets, amounts to about 100 billion in our galaxy, which the solar system is a part of. And the number of similar galaxies approaches 100 billion in the universe.

Given this, it is no exaggeration to say that the number of stars and their planets in the universe far exceeds that of the entire number of sand grains on all beaches and within all the rivers of the world. This means the Earth’s size, relative to that of the universe is like that of a single grain of sand.

Interestingly enough, this “tiny” planet rotates at the speed of 1,669km per hour. It also moves around the sun at the speed of 108,000 km per hour, equivalent to 30km per second.

This means we all are travelers riding on a very fast-moving planet. Given this, we may easily understand why we never stay at the same point while traveling the universe. Though appearing to be static, all things change and time and motion are mere illusions created by rapidly changing phenomena.

Likewise, all things, including human beings, are ephemeral. There are no entirely independent entities; everything exists based on the principle of inter-dependency. However, we tend to live as if things will never change and remain the same until the end.

Korea is an especially busy society with people who hustle for shortsighted interests with little regard for others. In the midst of pursuing wealth and growth, greed and selfishness have continued to grow among the people.

The Constitutional Court president nominee Lee Dong-heub is a vivid example of this. The money he embezzled could be taken at cost to those who are suffering economic hardship and who might even commit suicide because they are unable to cope with such a desperate situation.

Lee is urged to bear in mind all we are destined to turn to dust after finishing our journey through life and happiness is found not in possessions but from loving people. <The Korea Times/Shim Jae-yun>