Next time you feel like you've been banging your head against the wall and it's time to give up your dreams and passion projects, do what I do: read a list of famous "late bloomers" to convince yourself that you still have time.

In a galaxy far, far away from here, there is a planet populated by a sentient race of beings not unlike our own in many of the ways that matter. The name of this planet isn’t important, nor is the name of the race. What is important to know about these beings is that long ago, they developed a very particular technology. This technology lets them scan the universe for sentient thought and beam it…