--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is probably the closest we will come…" description: "\"“This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.”\" — Peter Godfrey-Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg" --- # This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an… ![“This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.” quote by Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg) > ““This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.”” [Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We may never encounter truly intelligent extraterrestrials before we meet our own future selves. **In simple terms:** Intelligent alien contact is unlikely. Key Takeaway Accept humanity's limits. Themes science existential future humility Mood thoughtful skeptical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - space exploration - philosophical debate - public outreach Key Concepts astrobiology anthropocentrism technological optimism Questions to Reflect On - What does “intelligent alien” mean to you? - How does this shape our search for life? 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To be a jellyfish? Does it feel like anything at all? Which were the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/what-does-it-feel-like-to-be-an-octopus-to-be-a-jellyfish-does-it/) [Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/) > [“Why don’t we all live for a longer time? On mountainsides in California and Nevada there are pine trees that were alive when Julius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/why-don-t-we-all-live-for-a-longer-time-on-mountainsides-in/) [Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/) > [“multitude of micro-actions must be shaped into a macro-action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/multitude-of-micro-actions-must-be-shaped-into-a-macro-action/) [Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/) [Explore all 25 Peter Godfrey-Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/) ## More Alien quotes > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the north?' 'Lots of planets have a north!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-t-davies/if-you-are-an-alien-how-come-you-sound-like-you-re-from-the-north/) [Russell T Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-t-davies/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [North Korea is still my homeland, my country. I suffered on the outside because I was alien, without identity. I was nobody. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hyeon-seo/north-korea-is-still-my-homeland-my-country-i-suffered-on-the-outside/) [Lee Hyeon-seo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hyeon-seo/) > [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Whatever is not commonly seen is condemned as alien.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/whatever-is-not-commonly-seen-is-condemned-as-alien/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Alien's a great one. That's a scary movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/alien-s-a-great-one-that-s-a-scary-movie/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Rick stared at him. "Your brother is an alien." 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Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [One of the most interesting things for me in playing another species is that you want to make them different enough to be alien…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-murray/one-of-the-most-interesting-things-for-me-in-playing-another-species/) [Jaime Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-murray/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 709 Alien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Godfrey-Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-come-to-meeting-an-intelligent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alien" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-come-to-meeting-an-intelligent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/peter-godfrey-smith-23110_quote_this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-com_2224901.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.” — Peter Godfrey-Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Godfrey-Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This is probably the closest we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-come-to-meeting-an-intelligent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/this-is-probably-the-closest-we-will-come-to-meeting-an-intelligent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```