Tyson Predicts Aliens Would Consider Cars Earth's Dominant Life Form

What was said

"I'm certain they would conclude that the dominant life form on Earth was the automobile cuz there they are just doing things and then they'd see like a car hauler go by and they say that one's pregnant. They would see cars inside. The squishy things inside that must be the squishy middle of this life form."

In his new book, Tyson uses the thought experiment of aliens observing Los Angeles traffic to illustrate how easily assumptions can mislead. Aliens would see automobiles moving independently, being repaired, refueled, and even served at drive-throughs, while humans remain mostly hidden inside—leading to the logical but incorrect conclusion that cars are the intelligent species.