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>If FTL is possible then the Fermi paradox goes from being an intellectual curiosity to a near metaphysical emergency. Maybe. Maybe not. This is how UFO conspi
by macspoofing 10y ago
>If FTL is possible then the Fermi paradox goes from being an intellectual curiosity to a near metaphysical emergency.
Maybe. Maybe not. This is how UFO conspiracy theorists reason - "Here are some phenomena I don't understand, I can't think of any plausible explanation for them, therefore, must be aliens".
There may be some hidden reasons why we can't detect FTL civilizations.
- api 10y agoWay off in tangent land now but: while much of "ufology" is indeed silly, "the aliens are here but they are not communicating" is a valid hypothesis for the Fermi paradox (with or without FTL). There are numerous rational reasons that an intelligence exploring the universe might choose to be very very careful about initiating communication to the point of taking steps to avoid even accidentally revealing itself. Some of these are altruistic (e.g. prime directive and contamination concerns) and some are self-interested (see game theory, and consider the apocalyptic destructiveness of conflict between really advanced intelligences).
- xj9 10y agoIt seems implausible that all of the aliens would agree to ignore us, even less so for them to consistently arrive at that conclusion in an independent manner. Then again, Earth might be exceptionally boring and consistently uninteresting to spacefaring aliens. Who knows? Maybe life is really rare.