Fermi's Paradox

Posted by Kelly Whitt Jan 18, 2008

To steer my entertaining UFO blogs back onto more stable ground: Yes, there are scientists who study "aliens". However, they are not out tracking UFOs. They are working on projects such as SETI and analyzing the statistical possibility of extraterrestrial life with mathematical tools such as the Drake Equation.

One of my favorite stories concerns the physicist Enrico Fermi. One day he was having lunch with colleagues and they were discussing how if Earth is typical for a planet, and the sun is a typical star, that life should also be a commonplace occurrence in the Universe. This is when Fermi famously blurted out, “Where are they?” Meaning, if extraterrestrial life is so abundant, shouldn’t we know of their existence? Many scientists and authors have tried to answer this question, and Stephen Webb did a great job of it in his book If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens … Where Is Everybody? But Fermi’s Paradox remains unanswered.

I like to think of the question in this way: Shouldn’t they be here by now? But the fact is, the Earth was not always here. So aliens could not always have been here. There has to be a point from before they were here, to when they arrived. Maybe the aliens are on their way. They’re coming.

Now I just have to write a great screen play to go with my theory. And then convince some huge star to sign-on as the lead role, maybe Will Smith. And then of course I need a female role ... how about a strong female character like no one has ever played in Hollywood before. Say, an exotic dancer? Hmm, this is starting to sound strangely familiar....