The Fermi Paradox

Background:

While having lunch near the Los Alamos National Laboratory one day with the likes of Edward Teller, "father of the nuclear bomb" Nobel Prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi wondered out loud (after the topic of recent UFO sightings came up) "Where is everybody?" Basically what he meant was, if the universe is so seemingly infinite and old, and it's mathematically probable that other star systems have developed intelligent life like ours has, and it's also theoretically possible that an alien civilization with tens or even hundreds of thousands of years of technological advancement could have made it to our galaxy by now, even with sub-lightspeed travel, why haven't we seen any aliens yet? Tonight, in one of our more conversational shows, we take a broad look at the paradox that bears his name. By the way, supposed UFO sightings are commonly reported around atomic activities.

Tonight's Quote:

“It is surely unreasonable to credit that only one small star in the immensity of the universe is capable of developing and supporting intelligent life. But we shall not get to them and they will not come to us.”― P.D. James, The Children of Men

Show Links:

Jon Stewart Interviews Elizabeth Kolbert In a Nutshell – Kurzgesagt's YouTube video on "The Fermi Paradox" Enrico Fermi The Fermi Paradox Frank Drake The Drake Equation Arecibo Message Song: Frank Black - "Parry the Wind High, Low" (WARNING - F Bomb!) Jill Tarter The Hubble Deep Field Image The TED Blog: "Peering Into Space" The TED Radio Hour featuring Jill Tarter and Brian Greene Jill Tarter's full TED Talk regarding SETI Space Travel in Ancient Art (Site is in German so visit with a browser that does translation.) "Why Aren't The Aliens Here Already?" - an article by Adam Frank on NPR's 13.7 blog Former Lockheed "Skunkworks" director Ben Rich and some interesting confessions Tardigrades/Water Bears Above Black: Project Preserve Destiny The CARET Documents Ezekiel and the Wheel The Nuremburg UFO Battle The Basel Switzerland Incident Seth Shostak's Piece in the NY Times about Contacting Other Civilizations

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Credits:

Episode 022 - 'The Fermi Paradox' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.