The question as it has been unchanged and not modified -Still remains
"Are we alone ?"
At this point of time when technological advancements are at peak ,we tend to ask What is out there in the "Dark"? Is it empty or has some deep unsolved mysteries and questions remaining to be solved by Humans ?
In the recent times ,news had been that US Department of Defence has released press photos of UFO sightings by one of their Airforce Pilot and proved the existence of "Aliens" (ET) .It so happened in the year of 2005.
Now here's a very interesting Paradox stating the same -The Fermi Paradox,
which will surely be very answerable to all such questions.Though it's a sought out proposition ,but still is the only one way of understanding of what we are looking for in the Deep Space.
The Fermi paradox, named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, is the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability (such as some optimistic estimates for the Drake equation).
"Are we alone ?"
At this point of time when technological advancements are at peak ,we tend to ask What is out there in the "Dark"? Is it empty or has some deep unsolved mysteries and questions remaining to be solved by Humans ?
In the recent times ,news had been that US Department of Defence has released press photos of UFO sightings by one of their Airforce Pilot and proved the existence of "Aliens" (ET) .It so happened in the year of 2005.
Now here's a very interesting Paradox stating the same -The Fermi Paradox,
which will surely be very answerable to all such questions.Though it's a sought out proposition ,but still is the only one way of understanding of what we are looking for in the Deep Space.
The Fermi paradox, named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, is the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability (such as some optimistic estimates for the Drake equation).
The following are some of the facts that together serve to highlight the apparent contradiction:
- There are billions of stars in the Milky Way similar to the Sun.
- With high probability, some of these stars have Earth-like planets.
- Some of these civilizations may have developed interstellar travel, a step humans are investigating now.
- Even at the slow pace of currently envisioned interstellar travel, the Milky Way galaxy could be completely traversed in a few million years.
- And since many of the stars similar to the Sun are billions of years older, the Earth should have already been visited by extraterrestrial civilizations, or at least their probes.
- However, there is no convincing evidence that this has happened.
Sort out propositions-
There have been many attempts to explain the Fermi paradox, primarily suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial beings are extremely rare, that the lifetime of such civilizations is short, or that they exist but (for various reasons) we see no evidence.
Some historical context-
An earlier implicit mention was by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in an unpublished manuscript from 1933.He noted "people deny the presence of intelligent beings on the planets of the universe" because "-
In 1975, Michael H. Hart published a detailed examination of the paradox, one of the first to do so. He argued that if intelligent extraterrestrials exist, and are capable of space travel, then the galaxy could have been colonized in a time much less than that of the age of the Earth. However, we see no evidence they have been here, which Hart called "Fact A".
There have been many attempts to explain the Fermi paradox, primarily suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial beings are extremely rare, that the lifetime of such civilizations is short, or that they exist but (for various reasons) we see no evidence.
Some historical context-
An earlier implicit mention was by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in an unpublished manuscript from 1933.He noted "people deny the presence of intelligent beings on the planets of the universe" because "-
- If such beings exist they would have visited Earth,
- If such civilizations existed then they would have given us some sign of their existence."
In 1975, Michael H. Hart published a detailed examination of the paradox, one of the first to do so. He argued that if intelligent extraterrestrials exist, and are capable of space travel, then the galaxy could have been colonized in a time much less than that of the age of the Earth. However, we see no evidence they have been here, which Hart called "Fact A".
Fermi's name is associated with the paradox because of a casual conversation in the summer of 1950 with fellow physicists Edward Teller, Herbert York and Emil Konopinski. While walking to lunch, the men discussed recent UFO reports and the possibility of faster-than-light travel. The conversation moved on to other topics, until during lunch Fermi allegedly said suddenly, "But where is everybody?" (although the exact quote is uncertain).
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| A graphical representation of the Arecibo message, humanity's first attempt to use radio waves to actively communicate its existence to alien civilizations |
The Drake Equation-
 | = | number of civilizations with which humans could communicate |
 | = | mean rate of star formation |
 | = | fraction of stars that have planets |
 | = | mean number of planets that could support life per star with planets |
 | = | fraction of life-supporting planets that develop life |
 | = | fraction of planets with life where life develops intelligence |
 | = | fraction of intelligent civilizations that develop communication |
 | = | mean length of time that civilizations can communicate |
Evidences showing The Paradox-
There are two parts of the Fermi paradox that rely on empirical evidence—that there are many potential habitable planets, and that we see no evidence of life. The first point, that many suitable planets exist, was an assumption in Fermi's time but is now supported by the discovery that exoplanets are common. Current models predict billions of habitable worlds in our galaxy.
The second part of the paradox, that we see no evidence of extraterrestrial life, is also an active field of scientific research. This includes both efforts to find any indication of life,and efforts specifically directed to finding intelligent life. These searches have been made since 1960, and several are ongoing.
Although astronomers do not usually search for extraterrestrials, they have observed phenomena that they could not immediately explain without positing an intelligent civilization as the source.
Why haven't we encounter any "ET"?
- It takes a lot of time in space
One common explanation for the Fermi paradox is that it simply takes lots of time for any decipherable signals to travel across the cosmos.
- Technical difficulties:Why can't we read their signals ,if sent by them ?
Most sci-fi and Hollywood blockbusters have traditionally depicted extraterrestrial beings as very human-like, often with vertebrate features or similarities to other species on Earth. However, we have no reason to assume that life elsewhere in the universe will have taken the same pathway of evolution as ours.To anthropomorphize the idea of extraterrestrial beings is a failure of intelligence.
While organizations like SETI have focused on sending and detecting radio signals, it could be that extraterrestrial species have taken a completely different technical approach. Other advanced civilizations may be sending out signals, but we don’t have the technology to detect or decipher them as they are beyond our current understanding of physics
- The Transcension Hypothesis: They Are Already Here
One of the major assumptions of the ideas discussed so far is that all advanced civilizations will be motivated to explore and colonize the observable universe. It could be, however, that the species that venture out into a seemingly cold, hostile, and dark universe are the ones that are doomed for failure
- The Zoo Hypothesis , Simulation Hypotheses and Planetarium hypothesis
In contrast, proponents of the zoo hypothesis suggest that aliens who are more advanced than we are are not only observing us from afar, but have us locked into a kind of “celestial cage,” leaving us off-limits from any other advanced civilization. They may be doing doing so in order to allow humanity’s natural biological and social development.
The simulation hypothesis makes a similar proposition: that we are living in a computer simulation being run by a post-human civilization.
The planetarium hypothesis posits that our understanding of the universe represents a mere illusion that has been created by civilizations that have the ability to manipulate matter and energy at cosmic scales. In other words, what we consider an objective understanding of the universe could be a subjective species-wide illusion.
Summing Up-
It could very well be that we are one of the first species to make it this far. After all, 99 percent of all species that have ever lived on Earth are now extinct, and we are the only species that has ever been able to leave the planet.
We could allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by an intergalactic loneliness. On the other hand, this insight could contribute to a positive transformation of how we perceive and treat one another as living beings. It can motivate us to treat our planet and all life that lives on it with the recognition that we will not find such prosperity elsewhere in the cosmos.
As Carl Sagan famously put it, “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”
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