Fermi’s Paradox
December 13th, 2007This has been bugging me for a long time: Fermi’s Paradox sums up like this: The universe is so big that the chance there are other technologically advanced civilizations is huge. So then why haven’t we seen any evidence?
What’s been bugging me is why haven’t we found anything? Is there something we’re missing? Are advanced civilizations deliberately blocking contact with us for some reason?
While it would be immensely beneficial for us humans to discover life other than earth, especially intelligent life, we should plan as if we are a beautiful, fragile, fluke in the universe. That the life on earth is rare and should be preserved at all costs. The only problem is that we, as the dominant species on the planet, are doing a terrible job with that.
Preservation of life and the natural processes on earth is a given, sure. We don’t necessarily need to protect the environment, we just need to live with it (my guess is that if we do trigger a calamitous climate change, we’re going to die off and life will keep going…it’s done it before and chances are it’ll do it again) .
However the ease in which all life can be wiped clean from our planet due to catastrophes beyond our control – cosmic radiation from a nearby supernova, giant asteroid attack, things we don’t even know about – means we should be working very hard to spread life elsewhere. Fuck the preservation of the composition of existing planetary bodies. There should be concerted attempts to get life growing on mars, massive artificial satellites with gardens teeming with life, even primitive life put in probes and shot out into space in all directions.
That is to say, I am wholeheartedly for biological imperialism, if only because we haven’t found life anywhere else. We’re probably not doing it because we have enough problems living on our own planet, and dealing with our own species. But I think there’s another reason.
People don’t care about space exploration anymore because of video games.
It’s so easy to fire up a game where you simulate owning your own space ship, taking it out to mine ore, and trade with other gamers in a virtual galaxy – all without having to deal with the always present threat of death when in space, not to mention waiting patiently for the technology to catch up with our dreams (I’m talking about EVE Online, which is a great MMO regardless of my opinion). Who wants to work hard to try to live in space when you can pretend you’re doing it right now with pretty graphics and a killer soundtrack?
Previous generations had only science fiction novels, movies, and TV shows to pretend with, and I think those passive expressions motivated people to work hard enough to get a tin can on the moon*. Then came Asteroid, then Space Quest, and before long nobody cared anymore. We became too busy with our own entertainment to launch the Jupiter 2.
There appears to be enough advanced technology just lying around to get the ball rolling – just the gadgets I’ve acquired on my measly pay are pretty much what existed in old sci-fi stories – a communication device that fits in my pocket that has video and access to the largest library the world has ever known – and still lets me communicate with anyone I want no matter where I am on earth, an audio and video player that can hold more music all the LPs most people have space to store in their homes, and a computer that looks like a console on a slick spaceship…that can simulate one too! No flying car though…damn.
The point of all this rambling is that we shouldn’t try to solve Fermi’s paradox, but rather do our damnedest to ensure the longevity of the life that currently exists on our planet. Why keep such a great secret to ourselves? Let’s spread it around!
*The computer used in the Lunar Module was as powerful as the Apple //e…with 32k of RAM…compare that to the computer you’re using now, and despair at how much processor power you’re wasting!
Technorati Tags: space, science fiction, fermi’s paradox, space exploration, intelligent life, extraterrestrial life, end of the earth, technology
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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 at 9:13 am and is filed under Essays.
