For this week’s Mindlovemysery’s Menagerie Friday Faithfuls challenge, Jim Adams asks us to respond by writing anything about Fermi’s paradox, or if you think that Earth is more advanced than life that developed on other planets, or if you think that every civilization that reached our level of advancement self-annihilated, or the reason that we don’t see aliens is because inter-stellar travel is too difficult and just not worth the risk, or you could write about whatever else that you think might fit.
Last week Jim asked us about “liminal space” and now he’s asking about the Fermi paradox. He is making my brain hurt with these Friday Faithfuls prompts.
I actually embrace the first part of the Fermi paradox, which is based on the very high probability — the likelihood — that extraterrestrial intelligence exists somewhere else in this vast universe aside from planet Earth. But if that is the case, if there is intelligent life elsewhere, why haven’t we encountered any advanced extraterrestrial civilizations yet?
Jim already touched on several reasons why we haven’t encountered any intelligent extraterrestrial life forms. Perhaps interstellar travel is too difficult or would take too long or is too risky. Maybe these intelligent life forms are, in fact, on their way to visit us, but their journey started many, many years ago and it will be many, many more years before they are close enough to make contract with us.
Or maybe they have already sent scouts to Earth, checked out human behavior and how we are destroying each other as well as our home planet, and have hightailed it back to their home planet.
I have no solution to put forth regarding the Fermi paradox. And I am not an astrophysicist with any unique insights about intelligent extraterrestrial life to offer. But personally, if I had to choose between (1) accepting that there is a supernatural, all-knowing (omniscient), all-powerful (omnipotent), ever-present everywhere (omnipresent), and perfectly good and loving (omnibenevolent) being that created everything and who chose one planet — Earth — in the entire universe to populate with intelligent life, or (2) accepting that in the unimaginably vast universe comprised of billions and billions of stars and planets, some forms of intelligent life exists on at least some habitable planets, I choose #2.
But if there is extraterrestrial life in the universe, I don’t know the answer to the question, “Where is everybody?”
This, That, and the Other 
Why would intelligent life come here? Look how we treat our planet and each other?
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Good question! We aren’t exactly role models.
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I would choose #2 as well. How arrogant would we be to think we are the only intelligent life? I am sure the universe is teeming with life at different stages of advancement and if we don’t destroy ourselves first they may come one day. Right now those who are capable of visiting are probably waiting to see what we’re going to do.
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We are very arrogant creatures, especially those who believe in mythology as if it is scientific fact.
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The older we get, the more we understand that we don’t really know much yet and I apologize for making your brain hurt, but I also appreciate you taking a stab at this question, Fandango.
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Just because I don’t know the answer doesn’t mean I won’t make one up. 😉
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I don’t feel strongly about this, and I see the postulated two options as a false dichotomy, but here’s my answer to: … anything about Fermi’s paradox, or if you think that Earth is more advanced than life that developed on other planets, or if you think that every civilization that reached our level of advancement self-annihilated, or the reason that we don’t see aliens is because inter-stellar travel is too difficult and just not worth the risk, or you could write about whatever else that you think might fit.
It is a reasonable connection that every such civilization, one that is on our level, would self-annihilate. Then again, we haven’t reached that technological place.
On another note, the framing of “Where is everybody?” is thought-provoking.
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Just finished watching the series Star Trek Enterprise… have to hope there is at least one other species out there somewhere. Hard to imagine we are all alone in the vast universe. I would definitely choose #2… but what if number one is really just an alien? Does that thought make your head hurt more? Hmmm?
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