A few weeks ago at Universe Today, I started a series that takes a look at the Fermi Paradox. For those who are not familiar, this refers to the contradiction that was observed by famed Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi. This contradiction can be summarized as “if life is statistically so likely in the Universe, why haven’t we found any evidence of it yet?”
Or, if you prefer the short version, it can be summarized as:
“Where the hell are all the aliens?”
In the past, I’ve had the chance to summarize the many answers that this question has inspired over the years. A good example of this is the SETI series that I did for Stardomspace not long ago. But never before have I been able to dig into any one of these proposed resolutions on their own. And it’s been pretty fun so far!
Feel free to have a look at all the installments I’ve made so far. I will be updating the list as it gets closer to completion, or if I just decide to add more installments.
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” I: A Lunchtime Conversation- Enrico Fermi and Extraterrestrial Intelligence
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” II: Questioning the Hart-Tipler Conjecture
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” III: What is the Great Filter?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IV: What is the Rare Earth Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” V: What is the Aestivation Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” VI: What is the Berserker Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” VII: What is the Planetarium Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” VIII: What is the Zoo Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IX: What is the Brief Window Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” X: What is the Firstborn Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XI: What is the Transcension Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XII: What is the Water World Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XIII: What is the “Ocean Worlds” Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XV: What is the Percolation Theory Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XVI: What is the “Dark Forest” Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XVII: What is the “SETI-Paradox” Hypothesis?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XVIII: What If We Find Them?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XIX: How/Where Could We Find Them?
- Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XX: Beyond the “Great Filter”