Spicy take: the Fermi paradox is a giant meme and features a bunch of numbers pulled out of thin air.
The reality of it is that Earth has existed for billions of years and has had civilization for ten thousand years, maybe a little longer. We only have Earth to judge, but as best we can tell, intelligent life is super rare. Even if there were smart aliens out there, they could've lasted a million years and we'd probably still miss them.
The equation was written in 1961 by Frank Drake, not for purposes of quantifying the number of civilizations, but as a way to stimulate scientific dialogue at the first scientific meeting on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).[3][4] The equation summarizes the main concepts which scientists must contemplate when considering the question of other radio-communicative life.[3] It is more properly thought of as an approximation than as a serious attempt to determine a precise number.
Yup, answering the Fermi Paradox relies on the existence of hypothesis like the Drake Equation so in a sense you were right but I wanted to clarify for the unfamiliar.
Spicy take: the Fermi paradox is a giant meme and features a bunch of numbers pulled out of thin air.
The reality of it is that Earth has existed for billions of years and has had civilization for ten thousand years, maybe a little longer. We only have Earth to judge, but as best we can tell, intelligent life is super rare. Even if there were smart aliens out there, they could've lasted a million years and we'd probably still miss them.
I think your are conflating the Drake Equation with the Fermi Paradox.
And the Drake Equation essentially is a meme:
You're right, I meant the Drake Equation but the idea is similar.
Yup, answering the Fermi Paradox relies on the existence of hypothesis like the Drake Equation so in a sense you were right but I wanted to clarify for the unfamiliar.
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