I saw this from Noodle on Peeg's Water Cooler and enjoyed it so much I thought I'd post it here.
Good stuff.
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html
Good stuff.
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html
The Fermi Paradox
- Thread starter Beeazlebub
- Start date
Interesting read.
I think there are other entities "out there", but they operate in another dimension or realm that humans cannot typically perceive or understand. They will not normally go out of their way to contact humans, but they have the ability to do so, if they are allowed to do so.
I think there are other entities "out there", but they operate in another dimension or realm that humans cannot typically perceive or understand. They will not normally go out of their way to contact humans, but they have the ability to do so, if they are allowed to do so.
IMHO the most probable answer is not included among those discussed in the Fermi Paradox link. Scientists believe that since the time that life began on earth, we've endured five major extinctions and 15 minor extinctions:
The most probable causes of these extinctions are thought to be asteroid strikes, comet strikes and massive volcanic eruptions like the one that's going to happen in Yellowstone Park soon. I'll throw in a fourth candidate: black hole fly-by. If an asteroid or a comet misses, you're OK. But a black hole missing by a million miles or so, you'd have ten-mile-high tsunomis, massive earthquakes, etc, that could trigger an extinction.
It would seem logical that regardless of which of the four causes, a mass extinction would be a devastating setback for the evolution of intelligent life. And although evidence of strikes from space are undetectable in oceans and quickly eroded on land by vegetation and weather, one glance at the moon and we must conclude that they occur frequently over eons of time.
So that's it. Earth is the very rare planet on which intelligent life has evolved and developed technology without being pre-empted by a space strike or violent volcanic activity.
This post was edited on 2/6 3:43 PM by buygreekbonds
Extinction exents
The most probable causes of these extinctions are thought to be asteroid strikes, comet strikes and massive volcanic eruptions like the one that's going to happen in Yellowstone Park soon. I'll throw in a fourth candidate: black hole fly-by. If an asteroid or a comet misses, you're OK. But a black hole missing by a million miles or so, you'd have ten-mile-high tsunomis, massive earthquakes, etc, that could trigger an extinction.
It would seem logical that regardless of which of the four causes, a mass extinction would be a devastating setback for the evolution of intelligent life. And although evidence of strikes from space are undetectable in oceans and quickly eroded on land by vegetation and weather, one glance at the moon and we must conclude that they occur frequently over eons of time.
So that's it. Earth is the very rare planet on which intelligent life has evolved and developed technology without being pre-empted by a space strike or violent volcanic activity.
This post was edited on 2/6 3:43 PM by buygreekbonds
Extinction exents
way too many reasons
for the "paradox" for it really to be a paradox IMO. We could be first, last, too simple, think too slow, think too fast, lucky, rare, an exhibit, etc etc. as your link shows.
Or maybe Andromeda is jam-packed with space-faring civilizations, while the Milky Way for some reason is barren.
We won't really know til we go out there (or I suppose someone comes here). But we've only been looking for signals for a blip in history, tomorrow we could get multiple artificial signals. Or 1000 years from now.
for the "paradox" for it really to be a paradox IMO. We could be first, last, too simple, think too slow, think too fast, lucky, rare, an exhibit, etc etc. as your link shows.
Or maybe Andromeda is jam-packed with space-faring civilizations, while the Milky Way for some reason is barren.
We won't really know til we go out there (or I suppose someone comes here). But we've only been looking for signals for a blip in history, tomorrow we could get multiple artificial signals. Or 1000 years from now.
Re: way too many reasons
Indeed. And add to that, or expound on it, is the fact that man has reached 'intelligence' really only in the smallest of slivers of time that he has been on the planet, as in, if that time were a time line that is a meter stick, that span would be something less that the 1/10th the width of a human hair.
So therefore, not only would the exo-earth intelligent life have to cover not just unimaginable distances, but also simply FIND Earth, and then, have PERFECT timing.
I say while it is ludicrous and ego-centric for Man to think he is the only intelligent life in the universe, given the incredible numbers of galaxies, stars and planets out there, this fact alone fits in with a religious context for a 'Creator' and almost proves such. After if one were a supreme being 'Creator' or God, doesn't it just make sense that He would design it so that His other children would have as small a chance of intersecting worlds as is possible?
I'm certainly no Bible thumper, but I seem to recall that this is hinted at in the Bible?
Indeed. And add to that, or expound on it, is the fact that man has reached 'intelligence' really only in the smallest of slivers of time that he has been on the planet, as in, if that time were a time line that is a meter stick, that span would be something less that the 1/10th the width of a human hair.
So therefore, not only would the exo-earth intelligent life have to cover not just unimaginable distances, but also simply FIND Earth, and then, have PERFECT timing.
I say while it is ludicrous and ego-centric for Man to think he is the only intelligent life in the universe, given the incredible numbers of galaxies, stars and planets out there, this fact alone fits in with a religious context for a 'Creator' and almost proves such. After if one were a supreme being 'Creator' or God, doesn't it just make sense that He would design it so that His other children would have as small a chance of intersecting worlds as is possible?
I'm certainly no Bible thumper, but I seem to recall that this is hinted at in the Bible?
problem with your last argument
is that even at sublight speeds, it still takes a lot less time than you might think to colonize an entire galaxy.
It's still a long, long time, but it's a lot less than you'd think.
I saw one calculation that said if you only could travel at half the speed of light, you could colonize the entire universe in 1-5 billion years.
A long time for sure, but only a little more than a third of the life of the universe, and certainly if you assume the universe will go on at least 100 trillion years before new stars no longer form, that's the tiniest fraction. (and even longer if you assume an advanced civilization can find a way to draw energy from gravitational sources, or even zero-point energy (although the latter seems highly unlikely)).
So, IOW, if God designed the universe to make it hard for two races to meet, it was a really bad design, because it's almost inevitable, even if only two space-faring, long-lived civilizations emerge in the entire universe.
is that even at sublight speeds, it still takes a lot less time than you might think to colonize an entire galaxy.
It's still a long, long time, but it's a lot less than you'd think.
I saw one calculation that said if you only could travel at half the speed of light, you could colonize the entire universe in 1-5 billion years.
A long time for sure, but only a little more than a third of the life of the universe, and certainly if you assume the universe will go on at least 100 trillion years before new stars no longer form, that's the tiniest fraction. (and even longer if you assume an advanced civilization can find a way to draw energy from gravitational sources, or even zero-point energy (although the latter seems highly unlikely)).
So, IOW, if God designed the universe to make it hard for two races to meet, it was a really bad design, because it's almost inevitable, even if only two space-faring, long-lived civilizations emerge in the entire universe.
Re: way too many reasons
I thought I might get some interesting replies to this link, but proof of a creator?
Why would a hypothetical deity want her "children" to have a small chance of intersecting?
I thought I might get some interesting replies to this link, but proof of a creator?
Why would a hypothetical deity want her "children" to have a small chance of intersecting?
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