Avi Loeb on the Mysterious Interstellar Body 'Oumuamua: 'Thinking About Distant Civilizations Isn't Speculative'

Avi Loeb, 56, is chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University and has published more than 700 papers on astrophysical phenomena. His areas of interest include black holes and the birth of the first stars in the universe. More recently, Loeb has focused on the possible existence of extraterrestrial intelligent life, a topic on which he is currently writing a textbook. DER SPIEGEL: Professor Loeb, do you have a favorite alien? Loeb: To be honest, I don't like science fiction personally. I have a problem when the action in a movie violates the laws of physics. In those cases, I cannot enjoy the experience aesthetically. DER SPIEGEL: If you don't like aliens, why are you exploring the question of intelligent extraterrestrial life?