LMR-081 · Life
Fermi Paradox
If the universe is teeming with life, where is everyone?
§ A first look
§ Depths
Six ways into the same idea — from bedtime story to chalkboard. No order required.
L1 · Crayon
Told like a bedtime story.
For a curious 10-year-old. No jargon. Just a picture in your head.
There are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, most with planets, and our galaxy is over thirteen billion years old — plenty of time for smart life to have arisen somewhere and spread around. So… where is everyone? We've listened for signals. We've looked. We see no spaceships, no clear messages, no signs anyone has ever swung through to say hi. The puzzle of 'they really should be everywhere but we see no sign at all' is called the Fermi paradox. Named after Enrico Fermi, who allegedly asked the question over lunch. We have not had answers since lunch.
§ Strange but true
- 01The galaxy is 13 billion years old. A civilization could colonize it in a million. So where is everyone?
- 02Maybe life is rare. Maybe intelligence is. Maybe they're hiding. Maybe we're early. Maybe they're already here.
- 03The silence is itself the strongest data we have about our cosmic neighborhood.
§ From the field journal
Fermi Paradox
"If the universe is teeming with life, where is everyone?"
— observed, sketched, not yet fully understood.
§ Nearby
Constellations near Fermi Paradox
→
Drake Equation
A recipe for guessing how many alien civilizations there might be.
→
Extremophiles
Earth life that survives boiling acid, radiation, and vacuum. The bar is low.
→
Biosignatures
Chemical fingerprints of life. JWST is sniffing for them right now.
→
Exoplanet
There are more planets in the galaxy than stars in it.