Why haven’t we detected a signal from intelligent aliens yet?

C

Cypress

Well-known member

Why haven’t we detected a signal from intelligent aliens yet?​


  • Long ago, Enrico Fermi posed a simple question just by gazing at the stars: “Where is everybody?”
  • Known today as the Fermi Paradox, there are many possible solutions, but some explanations are far simpler than others: namely, that there isn’t anyone else.
  • Still, the most common way of estimating who’s out there, the Drake equation, should never be used. Here’s the science of how to do it right.
Before we even start asking questions about longevity, colonization, or machine-based life, we should admit — with a non-negligible probability — the most obvious resolution to the Fermi Paradox: The reason we haven’t made first contact with intelligent, technologically advanced, and spacefaring alien civilizations is because there are none. In all the galaxy, and perhaps even in all the Universe, we really may be alone.

Without evidence to the contrary, we have every reason to keep looking and searching, but still no reason other than our own preferences to believe that other creatures, similar to humans, exist out there. While it may be incredibly fun to theorize a myriad of possible explanations as to why intelligent extraterrestrials might remain hidden from us, the simplest possibility — that they just aren’t out there — should be the default hypothesis until proven otherwise.

full article:

bigthink.com

Why haven't we detected a signal from intelligent aliens yet?

Life arose on Earth early on, eventually giving rise to us: intelligent and technologically advanced. "First contact" still remains elusive.
bigthink.com bigthink.com
 
Cypress said:
the simplest possibility — that they just aren’t out there — should be the default hypothesis until proven otherwise.
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Since you always prefer the "agnostic" position to the 'default hypothesis" (which is really just a fancy way of saying the Null Hypothesis), I am curious if you find that bit from the article to be difficult to accept. You excoriated me right and left for taking the "default hypothesis" with regards to other unknown questions.

Also I'm always fascinated that it's either/or. Either the alien life is out there but mysteriously hasn't developed a signal OR there is no alien life out there.

The VAST majority of the human experience on earth would have left ZERO electromagnetic signature. Yet we did some pretty amazing things. But as far as the aliens were concerned we simply weren't there. How could they have known about our thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years of advancement that preceeded the development of things which generate an EM signature?
 
Hume said:
I don't think there is life out there. No evidence for it.
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I agree with the author of the article that that should be the default assumption.
But the question of extraterrestrial life is so compelling and existential it behooves us to keep looking, because it may be out there.
 
Cypress said:
I agree with the author of the article that that should be the default assumption.
But the question of extraterrestrial life is so compelling and existential it behooves us to keep looking.
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Okay, I don't find it interesting.
 
Obtenebrator said:
But if someone takes the same approach to God you lambaste them non-stop. Strange.
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I can't deal with your whining :crybaby: right now. You intentionally chopped off my statement where I wrote we should keep looking because it's possible alien life is out there.
 
Given how close we are to the incineration of the planet with nuclear WW3 why would they want to have anything to do with this dumb a lifeform?
 
Cypress'll Fix It! said:
I can't deal with your whining :crybaby: right now. You intentionally chopped off my statement where I wrote we should keep looking because it's possible alien life is out there.
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And that is what I am doing with regards to God. But you wouldn't allow that.

You pitched a non-stop fit about the null hypothesis when I applied it to God.

I'm just fascinated at how poorly you seem to understand your own position.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
Given how close we are to the incineration of the planet with nuclear WW3 why would they want to have anything to do with this dumb a lifeform?
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The bigger question, however, is why haven't we detected any other electromagnetic signatures from other advanced civilizations?

I think this is probably the best evidence against Extraterrestrial VISITORS and UFO's...if they were real we would surely have found an EM signature indicative of this advanced civilization.

Given the existence of organic chemistry I cannot say there's any logical reason why an alien life couldn't or wouldn't exist. I wouldn't go so far as to say one actually DOES. I do, however, think there's the option that there is advanced life but it has not gotten to the level of EM generation. The vast majority of human existence would have been equally hidden from other detectors in the universe.

I am, still, however, awaiting evidence to reject the null hypothesis.
 
Obtenebrator said:
And that is what I am doing with regards to God. But you wouldn't allow that.

You pitched a non-stop fit about the null hypothesis when I applied it to God.

I'm just fascinated at how poorly you seem to understand your own position.
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You're an atheist.

If you want to claim there is a real possibility of a god, then you are an agnostic.

There is no definition of atheist in the dictionary that defines it as someone who believes gods or deities are real, tangible possibilities.
 
Doc's Bettin' Buddy said:
You're an atheist.

If you want to claim there is a real possibility of a god, then you are an agnostic.

There is no definition of atheist in the dictionary that defines it as someone who believes gods or deities are real, tangible possibilities.
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I wish you were smart enough to understand the explanation provided (complete with CITATIONS and evidence in support of my position). But you aren't.

You aren't even smart enough to see your own hypocrisy.
 
Obtenebrator said:
I wish you were smart enough to understand the explanation provided (complete with CITATIONS and evidence in support of my position). But you aren't.

You aren't even smart enough to see your own hypocrisy.
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I wouldn't be shocked if we never found intelligent alien life, but I also am open to a real tangible possibility that we will.

That is nothing at all like the certainty of your atheism - unless you want to start claiming you believe there is a real and tangible possibility of gods
 
Hawkeye10 said:
Given how close we are to the incineration of the planet with nuclear WW3 why would they want to have anything to do with this dumb a lifeform?
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the only 'we' threatening nukes are Iran, North Korea, and Putin. All are easily handled with conventional means.
 
EdwinA said:
the only 'we' threatening nukes are Iran, North Korea, and Putin. All are easily handled with conventional means.
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They are the ones trying to prevent a nuke war.....it is the Americans who are driving for it.

You present Anti-Truth, which is so very WOKE Death Cult.

Please go away, I have no use for your kind.
 
I'll continue to believe that the universe is infinite until I can imagine the concept of a boundary with nothing on the other side.

I find it hard to imagine that in an infinite universe, there wouldn't be an infinite number of planets virtually identical to earth.

Being like us, they don't have the capacity to contact us any more than we have the capacity to contact them.

Infinity is infinitely big, and we can be far enough apart that the scale of that distance is unimaginable,
and thus the lack of contact is totally imaginable.
 
Cypress said:
That is nothing at all like the certainty of your atheism
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My atheism is not certain. I wish you were able to understand it despite my MANY attempts.

It is clear that you have trouble reading which calls into question ALL your other quotes of authorities. If you can't read a simple post and get it right, what's the likelihood you actually read a book all the way through and get it right?
 
NiftyNiblick said:
I'll continue to believe that the universe is infinite until I can imagine the concept of a boundary with nothing on the other side.

I find it hard to imagine that in an infinite universe, there wouldn't be an infinite number of planets virtually identical to earth.

Being like us, they don't have the capacity to contact us any more than we have the capacity to contact them.

Infinity is infinitely big, and we can be far enough apart that the scale of that distance is unimaginable,
and thus the lack of contact is totally imaginable.
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You might be correct.

But I think it's a huge assumption that the universe infinite, or even that the natural laws and physical constants are the same everywhere outside our observable cosmic horizon.

There's no question the universe is enormous. If the theory of cosmic inflation is correct, the universe at a minimum is 500 billion light years in dimension.

Space could have negative curvature, and fold back on itself; there's no requirement that space has to be flat like 11th grade geometry class, extending to infinity along three spatial axes.

In our observable cosmic horizon, the physical laws seem finely tuned to support chemistry and complex molecules. But, there is no requirement we know of that this has to be the case outside our observable cosmic horizon or in a multiverse situation.
 
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