{"id":20422,"date":"2025-07-31T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/?p=20422"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:16:20","slug":"a-eulogy-for-the-rare-earth-hypothesis-the-value-of-pointless-activity-a-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2025\/07\/28\/a-eulogy-for-the-rare-earth-hypothesis-the-value-of-pointless-activity-a-proof\/","title":{"rendered":"A eulogy for the rare-Earth hypothesis &amp; The value of pointless activity: a proof"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>A eulogy for the rare-Earth hypothesis &amp; The value of pointless activity: a proof<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Michael Galko<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>A eulogy for the rare-Earth hypothesis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Walking on the beach as a child, trying to<br>estimate the grains of sand underfoot or<br>on the little stretch just next to us, on the<br><br>whole beach, on all the beaches wrapping<br>around North America&#8230; And then imagining<br>if each grain were a star, some of them<br><br>with planets and asteroids, some of them<br>with no body to give them the love of an<br>orbit. When I first heard this idea, that<br><br>Earth-like planets might be exceedingly<br>rare, because of the required type of star,<br>because of the required distance from said<br><br>star, the optimal radiation intensity, all<br>the specific factors that had to come, like<br>a miracle, together, I thought quite simply\u2013<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bah!<br><br>Even as a child I thought this, rudely so.<br>I looked up into the night sky, populated,<br>even in the city, with such a sparse<br><br>abundance of light, and resisted\u2013 it cannot<br>be. Just among the stars I could see, I figured,<br>there must be ten Earths? A hundred? A<br><br>thousand? But surely not none. It was<br>a math problem, an exercise in probability.<br>There had to be bounds of what was<br><br>permissible for a habitable planet, for the<br>growth, from naught, of life. These bounds<br>had to be more broad than we could imagine.<br><br>So now, as an adult, but surely no astronomer,<br>I am gratified, nearly weekly, by the reports<br>of new exoplanets, deduced from patterns\u2013<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ha!<br><br>of diffraction, the splitting and bending of<br>light like little rainbows that say, loudly\u2013<br>Life! Or at least the possibility of life.<br><br>At first it was a trickle, and some were so<br>far away, at the edges of what a glass eye could<br>see. But now, they creep in, and grow varied<br><br>in their orbits, in the type of stars upon which<br>they are codependent, in their equators, and even<br>in the magical distance from these home stars.<br><br>The most recent is a mere four light years<br>away, and at night, looking at the shroud of<br>pinpoints through the city-glare, I try to think<br><br>if we will ever be able to get there, or, quickly<br>strangling our home-planet, our own Earth,<br>whether we will even deserve to, if we could.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The value of pointless activity: a proof<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">the lone angler<br>at the breachway\u2019s limit\u2013<br><br>each cast<br>a forceful parabola\u2013<br><br>their grand arcs<br>waving to an empty sea\u2013<br><br>proving<br>math is beautiful<br><br>for its own sake\u2013<br>even when the ocean<br><br>personifies<br>the empty set<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Michael J. Galko<\/strong> is a scientist and poet who lives and works in Houston, TX. He was a finalist in the 2020 <em>Naugatuck River Review<\/em> and the 2022 <em>Bellevue Literary Review<\/em> poetry contests. Recent poems appear in <em>Stillwater Review<\/em>, <em>New Plains Review<\/em>, <em>Spillway Magazine<\/em>, <em>Raven&#8217;s Perch<\/em>, <em>Atlanta Review<\/em>, and <em>Rockvale Review<\/em>, among other journals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2025\/07\/28\/word-problems-you-do-the-math\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2025\/07\/28\/the-wreck-in-numbers-2\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A eulogy for the rare-Earth hypothesis &amp; The value of pointless activity: a proof Michael Galko __________ A eulogy for the rare-Earth hypothesis Walking on the beach as a child, trying toestimate the grains of sand underfoot oron the little stretch just next to us, on the whole beach, on all the beaches wrappingaround North&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[237],"tags":[75,145],"class_list":["post-20422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-universal-language-july-25","tag-boudin","tag-poetry-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20422"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20513,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20422\/revisions\/20513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}