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- #101
The thing is that life is (probably) going to require some of the heavier elements. That means that first-generation stars are not going to be able to have life. Hell, probably the first few generation stars cannot. You'd need things like iron and other heavier elements. Otherwise, there will be no rocky planets and other things like that. Hard for life to develop on a gas giant.
These elements are produced in giant stars, which means that the first billion years or so would not have been able to have life. The early universe was also very volatile with lots of GRBS, supernovas, etc.. which would not be good to life. A GRB from even as far as 8k light years away will wreck any habitable planet and life on it. Hell, a lot of galaxies are still first-generation stars that are having issues like that.
That means that you'd need a stable, older galaxy to have the suitable conditions: plenty of heavy elements and a somewhat stable galaxy. So, there's likely no civilizations that have been around for billions of years. So, we very well could be the first.
However, we have only been around as humans for a cosmic blip. Even a civilization a thousand years ahead of us could be vastly way more advanced. Such a civilization could very well exist.
Why haven't we met them?
It's possible they did come here a few hundred years ago and the people they saw just thought they were god or something.
It's possible we can't detect them for whatever reason. A few hundred years ago, the current ways we communicate would be unfathomable.
It's possible they just are happy to stay on their planet and don't give a shit about us, just like how we don't give a shit about some anthill in the forest.
It's possible that FTL travel is not possible and they can't get to us, even if they know about us. It's possible they sent a probe by us and grabbed all the data they needed.
So, in summary, the Fermi Paradox is stupid and the Drake Equation is stupid. Both rely on some big assumptions. Life is very likely out there, and some of it is probably intelligent
These elements are produced in giant stars, which means that the first billion years or so would not have been able to have life. The early universe was also very volatile with lots of GRBS, supernovas, etc.. which would not be good to life. A GRB from even as far as 8k light years away will wreck any habitable planet and life on it. Hell, a lot of galaxies are still first-generation stars that are having issues like that.
That means that you'd need a stable, older galaxy to have the suitable conditions: plenty of heavy elements and a somewhat stable galaxy. So, there's likely no civilizations that have been around for billions of years. So, we very well could be the first.
However, we have only been around as humans for a cosmic blip. Even a civilization a thousand years ahead of us could be vastly way more advanced. Such a civilization could very well exist.
Why haven't we met them?
It's possible they did come here a few hundred years ago and the people they saw just thought they were god or something.
It's possible we can't detect them for whatever reason. A few hundred years ago, the current ways we communicate would be unfathomable.
It's possible they just are happy to stay on their planet and don't give a shit about us, just like how we don't give a shit about some anthill in the forest.
It's possible that FTL travel is not possible and they can't get to us, even if they know about us. It's possible they sent a probe by us and grabbed all the data they needed.
So, in summary, the Fermi Paradox is stupid and the Drake Equation is stupid. Both rely on some big assumptions. Life is very likely out there, and some of it is probably intelligent
