The Fermi Paradox

[aXiom]

Stephen Hawking warns, "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans." Even Carl Sagan (a general believer that any civilization advanced enough for interstellar travel would be altruistic, not hostile) called the practice of METI "deeply unwise and immature," and recommended that "the newest children in a strange and uncertain cosmos should listen quietly for a long time, patiently learning about the universe and comparing notes, before shouting into an unknown jungle that we do not understand." Scary.

Higher civilizations are aware of us and observing us (AKA the "Zoo Hypothesis"). As far as we know, super-intelligent civilizations exist in a tightly-regulated galaxy, and our Earth is treated like part of a vast and protected national park, with a strict "Look but don't touch" rule for planets like ours. We wouldn't notice them, because if a far smarter species wanted to observe us, it would know how to easily do so without us noticing. Maybe there's a rule similar to theStar Trek's "Prime Directive" which prohibits super-intelligent beings from making any open contact with lesser species like us or revealing themselves in any way, until the lesser species has reached a certain level of intelligence.

Let's say we have an ant hill in the middle of the forest. And right next to the ant hill, they're building a ten-lane super-highway. And the question is "Would the ants be able to understand what a ten-lane super-highway is? Would the ants be able to understand the technology and the intentions of the beings building the highway next to them?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/the-fermi-paradox_b_5489415.html

A bit of a read, but it's really interesting.

 

[Remote]

"We wouldn't notice them, because if a far smarter species wanted to observe us, it would know how to easily do so without us noticing."



But then how would you go about proving that someone is even observing you? I mean this is the kind of circlejerk bullshyt that keeps these ideas going.
When are people going to understand that if you're going to assert something, you have to have some level of concrete proof?

This is the problem with religion, and alien believers.

By the way, the link to the article doesn't work.

 

[old_timer]

yeah, where is everybody?

 

[Goddess_Godiva]

Interesting read OP. I personally believe in aliens but not sure about the whole observing us thing. Humans would be naive to think that we are the only species that exist on our level of intelligence.

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

we've been broadcasting our existence since we started using radio waves to communicate...almost 100 years.

http://io9.com/are-we-screwing-ourselves-by-transmitting-radio-signals-493800730

 

[aXiom]

we've been broadcasting our existence since we started using radio waves to communicate...almost 100 years.

http://io9.com/are-we-screwing-ourselves-by-transmitting-radio-signals-493800730

Like a flounder pissing off a passing great white white that wasn't even aware of its existence

"We wouldn't notice them, because if a far smarter species wanted to observe us, it would know how to easily do so without us noticing."



But then how would you go about proving that someone is even observing you? I mean this is the kind of circlejerk bullshyt that keeps these ideas going.
When are people going to understand that if you're going to assert something, you have to have some level of concrete proof?

This is the problem with religion, and alien believers.

By the way, the link to the article doesn't work.

Fixed