We Won't Find Aliens Because They're Playing XBox

This opinion piece in Seed Magazine serves up a provocative theory on civilization's progress as being a self-limiting proposition. The basic idea is that once a civilization develops technology, it inevitably uses it to seek ever more self-absorbed and narcissistic pastimes, eventually effectively abandoning real life for virtual existences. All you have to do is imagine the visors from the SyFY show "Caprica" to see the dangers of addiction inherent in such pursuits.