Post by auntym on Sept 9, 2017 11:25:44 GMT -6
mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/09/but-seriously-where-are-all-of-the-aliens/
But Seriously, Where Are All of the Aliens?
by Brent Swancer / mysteriousuniverse.org/author/brentswancer/
September 9, 2017
The human race has been fascinated with the vast sea of space for as long as our first flickers of awareness that it even existed began to form. Specifically, one very profound question that has gestated within our collective consciousness is simply: are we alone? We have long pondered whether there might be someone else out there amongst that uncharted ocean of stars, and this has become the focus of science fiction stories, personal reflection, philosophical dilemma, and scientific debate from the time we were able to comprehend that there were even other planets out there. In recent years our ever advancing technology has allowed us to peer into the deep black of space and locate many other planets orbiting stars just as our own, with quite a few even displaying signs that they may even be similar to ours and be habitable, and for decades we have carefully listened in to hear if there is any message flying about in the void. But is there anyone there at all?
The question of whether there is other advanced life out there is a profound one, and perhaps one of the most important unanswered questions there is. Another is, if intelligent life is out there, then where are they? We have spent vast amounts of time looking for such life, used millions upon millions of dollars, and made great sacrifices exploring the great unknown beyond our world, scouring every corner of the known universe for any sign whatsoever of life, and yet as far as we know we are the only ones. How could this be? There are ideas.
In 1950, influential and notable physicist Enrico Fermi was working for Los Alamos National Laboratory, and one day while having lunch with colleagues Emil Konopinski, Edward Teller and Herbert York, the conversation came around to UFOs and alien life. The group began discussing the possibility of other alien civilizations out there scattered across the galaxy, and that was when Fermi simply and bluntly asked “Where are they?” This generated a bit of laughter around the table, but he was perfectly serious. When the others asked exactly what he had meant, Fermi explained that if there was another civilization or civilizations that had developed out there with the technological ability to traverse space, then eventually they should have already spread out all over the galaxy, and we should have had some brush with them by now in some form.
Fermi reasoned that there had been plenty of time for them to do so, and utilized complicated equations to illustrate that over millions and millions of years, just a drop in the bucket compared to the age of the universe, these hypothetical alien civilizations should have at least found us by now. Fermi explained that with so many stars and potential planets in the observable universe, then if even a fraction of those had produced intelligent, spacefaring life then they would have exponentially broken their barriers and moved out into the galaxy, colonizing new worlds, and we would have surely known about them by now. By Fermi’s various calculations, the probability for intelligent life somewhere in the universe was high considering the sheer scale of it all, and if such advanced societies had developed, then after so much time aliens should be everywhere by now, or at the very least given us some sort of sign of their existence, even if such societies are rare. Yet there is no one, no evidence of such a thing, not a single sign that there is anyone else out there at all. Essentially, like Fermi asked, where is everybody?
This is the main gist of what has gone on to become known as the “Fermi Paradox,” and although it has been criticized by many as being perhaps too simplistic and making too many assumptions based on our own ideas of life, it has nevertheless gone on to become a major cornerstone for debate on the topic of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and has inevitably hung over most discussions on the matter. This offhand lunchtime remark has propelled the imagination and driven the efforts of organizations like SETI. No matter what one thinks of the veracity of Fermi’s question, it is a compelling one to say the least, and there have been many numerous and varied theories that have come forth to try and explain just why we have not found anyone else out there in this cold universe of ours.
CONTINUE READING: mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/09/but-seriously-where-are-all-of-the-aliens/
But Seriously, Where Are All of the Aliens?
by Brent Swancer / mysteriousuniverse.org/author/brentswancer/
September 9, 2017
The human race has been fascinated with the vast sea of space for as long as our first flickers of awareness that it even existed began to form. Specifically, one very profound question that has gestated within our collective consciousness is simply: are we alone? We have long pondered whether there might be someone else out there amongst that uncharted ocean of stars, and this has become the focus of science fiction stories, personal reflection, philosophical dilemma, and scientific debate from the time we were able to comprehend that there were even other planets out there. In recent years our ever advancing technology has allowed us to peer into the deep black of space and locate many other planets orbiting stars just as our own, with quite a few even displaying signs that they may even be similar to ours and be habitable, and for decades we have carefully listened in to hear if there is any message flying about in the void. But is there anyone there at all?
The question of whether there is other advanced life out there is a profound one, and perhaps one of the most important unanswered questions there is. Another is, if intelligent life is out there, then where are they? We have spent vast amounts of time looking for such life, used millions upon millions of dollars, and made great sacrifices exploring the great unknown beyond our world, scouring every corner of the known universe for any sign whatsoever of life, and yet as far as we know we are the only ones. How could this be? There are ideas.
In 1950, influential and notable physicist Enrico Fermi was working for Los Alamos National Laboratory, and one day while having lunch with colleagues Emil Konopinski, Edward Teller and Herbert York, the conversation came around to UFOs and alien life. The group began discussing the possibility of other alien civilizations out there scattered across the galaxy, and that was when Fermi simply and bluntly asked “Where are they?” This generated a bit of laughter around the table, but he was perfectly serious. When the others asked exactly what he had meant, Fermi explained that if there was another civilization or civilizations that had developed out there with the technological ability to traverse space, then eventually they should have already spread out all over the galaxy, and we should have had some brush with them by now in some form.
Fermi reasoned that there had been plenty of time for them to do so, and utilized complicated equations to illustrate that over millions and millions of years, just a drop in the bucket compared to the age of the universe, these hypothetical alien civilizations should have at least found us by now. Fermi explained that with so many stars and potential planets in the observable universe, then if even a fraction of those had produced intelligent, spacefaring life then they would have exponentially broken their barriers and moved out into the galaxy, colonizing new worlds, and we would have surely known about them by now. By Fermi’s various calculations, the probability for intelligent life somewhere in the universe was high considering the sheer scale of it all, and if such advanced societies had developed, then after so much time aliens should be everywhere by now, or at the very least given us some sort of sign of their existence, even if such societies are rare. Yet there is no one, no evidence of such a thing, not a single sign that there is anyone else out there at all. Essentially, like Fermi asked, where is everybody?
This is the main gist of what has gone on to become known as the “Fermi Paradox,” and although it has been criticized by many as being perhaps too simplistic and making too many assumptions based on our own ideas of life, it has nevertheless gone on to become a major cornerstone for debate on the topic of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and has inevitably hung over most discussions on the matter. This offhand lunchtime remark has propelled the imagination and driven the efforts of organizations like SETI. No matter what one thinks of the veracity of Fermi’s question, it is a compelling one to say the least, and there have been many numerous and varied theories that have come forth to try and explain just why we have not found anyone else out there in this cold universe of ours.
CONTINUE READING: mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/09/but-seriously-where-are-all-of-the-aliens/