Igniting the atmosphere was merely the most obvious candidate for an unintended consequence. Countering this possibility does not address the underlying problem of what we do not know. My other scenarios are obviously far less likely. Yet, Neanderthals would never have detected radio waves. What are we not detecting? Who understands consciousness? There are limits to our understanding of physical reality.

Those with unquestioning faith in our current understanding of science are no different from those with unquestioning faith in a religion. With the Trinity test, we were playing with matches.