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If the universe is so full of the building blocks for life as we know it, why haven't we found any? Because all the aliens are extinct, a new paper proposes.
It's certainly a possibility. But only one of many.
How long have we seriously been looking for extraterrestrial life? 60 years? Given the vastness of the cosmos, a little bit of patience might be in order.
How long have we had the proper tools to find extraterrestrial life? On this, there's absolutely no way to answer.
You're right Mark. Without quoting statistics, and showing graphs of the distances across space, all one has to do is to go out on a clear, dark night and gaze upwards at the sky, and the immense distances in space become apparent. It is mind-boggling to comprehend that our small system is on the outskirts of our galaxy, a whirling mass of planets, stars, gas clouds, and things we have yet to discover, and beyond, deeper into space, there are innumerable more galaxies, most of them we will likely never get to see firsthand. Who is to say what is out there?
You're right Mark. Without quoting statistics, and showing graphs of the distances across space, all one has to do is to go out on a clear, dark night and gaze upwards at the sky, and the immense distances in space become apparent. It is mind-boggling to comprehend that our small system is on the outskirts of our galaxy, a whirling mass of planets, stars, gas clouds, and things we have yet to discover, and beyond, deeper into space, there are innumerable more galaxies, most of them we will likely never get to see firsthand. Who is to say what is out there?
Exactly. I think it would be a pretty ignorant stance to think that we are all there is out there, and would be incredibly sad if we were it.
Even if the chances were one in a million, that would leave millions of possibilities.
Expecting that a civilization thousands or even millions of years ahead of us (if they are in fact out there) would be broadcasting their presence with radio waves is like a tribe in the Amazon trying to detect our civilization's presence by listening for our drum signals. In fact, our radio signature is darkening as more and more communication is happening via cable and fiber optics. Why haven't we heard from anyone? The authors didn't originate the notion of a Great Filter to explain Fermi's Paradox ... but theirs is certainly the grimmest I've seen:
Sad if true; I personally hope they're wrong. But we're still learning about all the bad things that can happen to wipe out a civilization or even sterilize a planet: solar flares, gamma bursts, asteroid impacts (Chicxulub), massive volcanic eruptions (the Deccan Traps), global climate change (as has happened many times in the past).
My guess is that there are likely other intelligent aliens in the Milky Way, but most of them are at a pre-industrial stage of societal evolution. We might be the only ones in this galaxy who have advanced past the steam engine (and there might not be that many who have gotten that far). So lets build starships so we can get out there and introduce them to liquor, convert them to our religions, and sell them cheap goods!
The point of the Fermi Paradox for those who aren't familiar with it, is that if there were a stable highly advanced civilization in our galaxy, it would have already spread throughout the galaxy ... so where are they?
The point of the Fermi Paradox for those who aren't familiar with it, is that if there were a stable highly advanced civilization in our galaxy, it would have already spread throughout the galaxy ... so where are they?
Who is to say they aren't all around us but just aren't interested? The last time I went for a stroll in the woods, I didn't take the time to stop and converse with the ants. If there are advanced civilizations out there, they may just be completely disinterested in us.
Or maybe the cosmos is teeming with life, but we are the most advanced (so far).
Or maybe after having a look at us, advanced civilizations decided to steer clear.
Or maybe Galactus is in charge of our solar system and has warned everyone else to stay away because he is saving us for a late night snack.
Or maybe we're all alone.
We simply have no way of knowing. It's all speculation.
I'm always a little skeptical about using statistics and such to predict the likelihood of extraterrestrial life, simply because our knowledge of the rest of the cosmos is so limited. We've only scratched the tiniest surface of what's out there. But I do find it very encouraging that over the past 20 years, the more we have discovered, the more it looks as if the cosmos might have thousands of Earth-like worlds. Even so, life could have evolved under completely different circumstances than those we have on Earth.
We aren't alone in the Universe. Why would we be so special? Think about it. We have a typical star that's halfway through its lifespan. We have a planet that's probably not so unusual. We're in a galaxy with billions of other stars. And there are billions of other galaxies. And to top it off, they can't even account for most of the matter in the universe. Maybe there are other universes?
If you want to know what's going on in outer space, look around. You're there.
We made our first radio waves a little over 100 years ago. Even if aliens were there to listen, the signals wouldn't be all that far by now.
If the universe is so full of the building blocks for life as we know it, why haven't we found any? Because all the aliens are extinct, a new paper proposes.
Because we built that wall! All of the aliens are south of the boarder these days.
Seriously. I am not sure that there ever were any aliens from Mars or Venus or Uranus or anywhere. Just folklore like big foot. Fun stories to tell on camping trips around the camp fire.
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Lol
