Quote:
Originally posted by TheKak
It might be possible, but just because someone can think up some crazy idea with no proof or logical backing, doesn't mean it deserves anymore thought than say, actually believing that the Matrix is a TRUE story that has really happened, but that the machines betrayed us and now we are back in pods. See what I mean? Or maybe they are both true......!
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Fair enough, certainly. Given the average topic, this is a safe rebuttal. However, there is a little thorn in the side of being able to rest comfortably in the firm belief that life is as we see it. Rather than getting semantic or metaphysical, I can offer you a concrete problem: Fermi's Paradox. Unfortunately, it can't be distilled into a handy phrase like the one Occam's Razor gets. Instead, here's a snippet taken from a
space.com article:
<i>...In 1950, Fermi made a seemingly innocuous lunchtime remark that has caught and held the attention of every SETI researcher since. (How many luncheon quips have you made with similar consequence?)
The remark came while Fermi was discussing with his mealtime mates the possibility that many sophisticated societies populate the Galaxy. They thought it reasonable to assume that we have a lot of cosmic company. But somewhere between one sentence and the next, Fermi's supple brain realized that if this was true, it implied something profound. If there are really a lot of alien societies, then some of them might have spread out.
Fermi realized that any civilization with a modest amount of rocket technology and an immodest amount of imperial incentive could rapidly colonize the entire Galaxy. Within ten million years, every star system could be brought under the wing of empire. Ten million years may sound long, but in fact it's quite short compared with the age of the Galaxy, which is roughly ten </i><b>thousand<i></b> million years. Colonization of the Milky Way should be a quick exercise.
So what Fermi immediately realized was that the aliens have had more than enough time to pepper the Galaxy with their presence. But looking around, he didn't see any clear indication that they're out and about. This prompted Fermi to ask what was (to him) an obvious question: "where is everybody?"</i>
I believe this is a compelling argument for an artificial situation.