6 ms·
Makes me think about the Fermi paradox [1] and Great Filters [2]. But for all we know the universe could be full of life at chimpanzee intelligence; no way to k
by mikeytown2 9y ago
Makes me think about the Fermi paradox [1] and Great Filters [2]. But for all we know the universe could be full of life at chimpanzee intelligence; no way to know unless we send probes [3] or seriously up our telescopes [4].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOCAL_(spacecraft) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOCAL_(spacecraft)
- natecavanaugh 9y agoThis is one is my favorite comments of all time, simply because while I was familiar with the Fermi Paradox, the rest of the links were new and unexpected. Thank you!
- eulo__ 9y agoLearning about the great filter can cause depression, reader beware.
- marcosdumay 9y agoCompared with the apparent impossibility of life being created from nothing, I just can not understand why people insist so much that the Great Filter is in the future, instead of the past.
- danieltillett 9y agoThe Fermi paradox is unlikely to be answered by something making it very unlikely for our chimp level ancestors jumping to human level. The number of Homo species on the planet that co-evolved to human level intelligence suggests this is not extremely difficult. What is a huge filter is the requirement of a stable climate over million of years. The key to this is the Moon which keeps the Earth's axis of rotation from wandering over a wide angle on geological timescales. The Moon is so large and unlikely (we still don't have a good theory for how it was formed and captured by the Earth) that this alone could explain the lack of other intelligent life in the visible universe.
- wellboy 9y agoWhy is the moon so unlikely when many planets in the solar system have 1 moon or more.
- danieltillett 9y agoThe Moon is very large compared to the Earth - I have seen the Earth/Moon described as a double planet. How it formed (most likely a collision) is very, very unlikely. All the other moons in the solar system are nowhere near large enough to stabilise the planet's axis of rotation.
- squarefoot 9y agoThe Moon also has the same rotation and revolution time, so that it always shows the same face to us. I've always wondered if having different rotation and revolution times could have helped humankind to consider the existence of spherical planets a lot before, hence helping progress.
- RobertoG 9y ago>>"[..] Homo species on the planet that co-evolved to human level intelligence [..]" Can you elaborate on this? I'm a little at lost about what you mean.
- danieltillett 9y agoThere were at least two other Homo species that co-evolved to human level intelligence separate from the one that arose in sub-Sahran Africa. The reason we know this because at least two inbred with the African Homo sapiens; Homo neanderthalensis and Homo “Desnisovan” [0]. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_human_admixture_with_modern_humans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_human_admixture_with_m...
- frozennorth 9y agoDo you mind explaining why the current moon hypothesis isn't likely? The consensus from the intro geology classes I've take seems to be that the Earth was hit by a Mars sized object which caused the resulting molten debris to coalesce and differentiate forming our current Moon in the process.