In 1950, an ordinary afternoon conversation between several scientists raised several serious questions for science at once. Physicist Enrico Fermi discussed with his colleagues a question that did not give him rest: on the one hand, the universe and space are huge, which means there must be other planets where the development of an intelligent life form is possible; on the other hand, if such planets exist, and we are not alone in the universe - why have we not yet found any evidence of their existence?
This contradiction was later called the Fermi paradox. Until now, various scientists put forward their views on this issue, because science does not yet have an unambiguous answer. So why do we still not know anything about extraterrestrial life forms? Here are 10 possible reasons:
1) They simply do not exist
It is likely that the Earth is the only habitable planet among the billions of others in our galaxy.
2) sentient life is prone to self-destruction
Mass wars, fatal pollution of the planet and destruction of the biosphere. Perhaps intelligent life forms actually turn out to be not so intelligent, because there is reason to believe that they exterminate themselves even before we have time to discover them.
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3) Space is too huge
It takes 100,000 light years to cross only the Milky Way. So, a signal from our brothers in mind may still be on the way.
4) We are not looking for that long, or we are looking in the wrong place
First, the telescopes themselves, which allow capturing signals from space, appeared only 80 years ago. And we have been engaged in a purposeful search for life on other planets even less - 60 years. On the scale of the universe, this is a negligible period.
Second, as mentioned earlier, space is huge: there are an incredible number of planets on which life is possible. If we try to pick up a signal, on the one hand, and it comes on the other, we will not hear it. As journalist Andrew Fine writes, the current situation is reminiscent of an attempt by two friends living in different cities to communicate with each other using radio on 250,000,000,000 different frequencies. Moreover, friends do not know at what frequency each of them will be. Imagine how long it will take them to find a common wave.
5) Nobody knows about us
Yes, we sent signals into space, but most of them simply cannot be heard at long distances. So, if aliens have telescopes of the same power as ours, they will be able to pick up the signals we send only if they are no more than 0.3 light years away from us. As you can imagine, this is negligible.
6) We are the only intelligent life form
(If, of course, we can be considered an intelligent life form). Life on other planets is indeed possible, but it may not be humanoids, but bacteria or other very quiet and inconspicuous creatures.
7) We are an underdeveloped form of life
And this option is also possible. You know that there are areas on Earth that are not allowed to tourists, because there are tribes living there that are not familiar with civilization. Humanity is trying to preserve that way of life for historical and cultural reasons. Perhaps the same is happening in our galaxy, only wild tribes are us.
8) the Universe does not dispose to the origin and development of life
Speaking directly, space and the universe are deadly. Think for yourself: the fall of one not the largest asteroid, an outbreak of a nearby supernova or a gamma-ray burst is enough to turn an inhabited planet into a lifeless one.
9) Difference in technological development
The technologies of other civilizations may not coincide with ours: they are either too complex or underdeveloped. After all, in order to detect other life forms, astronauts regularly tune receivers. Thus, we can catch the radio signal sent by the inhabitants of other planets. But if the inhabitants of these planets do not send any signals into space, we will not simply be able to contact them, we will not even know about their existence.
The same happens if alien technology is at a higher level of development. We use radio waves to transmit a signal, and aliens can use a different type of signal, such as neutrino signals. Our equipment does not allow us to read this kind of signals.
10) The aliens are already here, we just don't notice it
Proponents of all sorts of conspiracy theories are leaning towards this very unlikely version. Indeed, it cannot be called impossible. Who knows, maybe some government units have actually made contact with alien intelligence? And perhaps aliens are already among us, because they, too, can be scientists who want to study the way of life of another civilization.
Anna Kiseleva