that we’ve appeared. It involved a lot of luck –
the Earth’s location near the Sun, the impact of a
Mars-like object which changed our planet’s
properties [this is currently the leading
explanation for the formation of the Moon]. All
sorts of things like that. Our cosmos is simply not
old enough for the staggeringly improbable chain
of events required to produce intelligent life to
have occurred more than once.IF WE ARE ALONE, WOULD IT MAKE US SPECIAL?
Well, one idea is that the truly fundamental
property of the cosmos is the bit [the basic unit of
information]. And that the cosmos is slowly
moving towards an assembly of bits.SO THIS WOULD BE A MOVEMENT OF
INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE OUT FROM
THE EARTH INTO THE COSMOS?
Yes. The Novacene will be a movement in
that direction.WOULD THIS GIVE HUMANS A SENSE OF
MEANING THEN – IF WE’RE THE SOURCE OF
THIS INTELLIGENCE?
I think it’s sheer hubris to think about your sense
of meaning. Life is something to be enjoyed, and
if you don’t enjoy it, you’re doing it wrong.HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF
OUR PLANET?
I’m a bit worried. I’ve got a lot of grandchildren,
and great-grandchildren come to that. Yes, I
think it could be very dodgy in the intervening
periods.YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT YOU DON’T
THINK MARS WOULD MAKE A GOOD
ALTERNATIVE HOME...
It’s absolutely crazy. I mean, we’ve got a
beautiful planet here. Absolutely beautiful. And
with far less effort, we could treat it better and
make it desirable to live in. Whereas it would
involve a monumental effort to shift stuff to Mars
and make it fit for life. If you ever could.
We now know more about the surface of Mars
than we do about the bottom of the ocean. And if
we’re concerned about the climate of the Earth
and its future, it’s much more important to know
about our ocean.YOU’RE SET TO TURN 100. LOOKING BACK AT
YOUR CAREER, WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR
LEGACY WILL BE?
Legacy? There’s more work to do. I’ve got another
book to write!will be cooperation right across the system of
life on Earth, as there is now.YOU SAY IN YOUR BOOK THAT YOU DON’T THINK
INTELLIGENT LIFE EXISTS ELSEWHERE IN THE
COSMOS. WHY IS THIS?
Well, if the conclusions drawn about the age of
the cosmos [13.8 billion years] are more or less
correct, then there hasn’t been time for anything
else. It took the process of evolution 3.7 billion
years – almost a third of the age of the cosmos
- to evolve an understanding organism from the
first primitive life forms. It’s quite remarkable
ABOVE:Novacene
beings could help us
install giant mirrors
over Earth to reduce
the amount of sunlight
reaching us, therefore
preventing the planet
from overheatingDISCOVER MORE
James Lovelock’s new book
Novacene: The Coming Age
Of Hyperintelligence(£14.99,
Allen Lane) is out now.d
ON THE PODCAST
To listen to more of the
interview, including James
Lovelock’s reflections on
his life and career, visit
sciencefocus.com/science-
focus-podcastINTERVIEW FEATURE