E110 FA19 Class Blog

The Fermi paradox discusses the theory of extraterrestrial life. When about it, I understood the reasoning behind most everything hypothesized, I read the section titled “Electromagnetic Transmissions.” Whether or not alien life exists in the universe, I am going to focus on the flaw of assuming that radio technology is a “natural advance for technological species.”

Radio waves are what we humans use everyday for communication with each other. It is how the news gets broadcast, how a phone call gets transmitted from one phone to the next, and how WiFi connects to your computer. For a better understanding on radio waves, check out the video above. While it is natural to depend on radio waves nowadays, we didn’t even know of their existence until 1886. It took thousands of years of evolution, scientific hypothesis, and research to get to the point of discovering radio waves. Scientists have been sending out radio waves into space to try and see if some type of alien life will receive our signal and send one of their own back. It has been 50 years since the first signal was sent out. That signal is now 39 light years away from Earth. So far, there have been no detected responses answering our one of the multiple signals Earth has sent out.

The fault with using radio waves is assuming that aliens have been around long enough to become as technologically advanced as humans. Additionally,we also need to stop assuming that they are even technologically advanced in the first place. Who is to say that aliens are or aren’t as technologically advanced as giraffes? We simply have no way of proving that radio waves are a natural advance for any species. By acknowledging this, it would then allow other methods of proposed communication to be considered and looked at. It also brings everything back around into the general mindset of the fact that nothing should be assumed. By assuming anything of aliens, whether or not they exist, we cut ourselves off from thinking outside of the box.

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The Fermi Paradox is defined as the obvious contradiction between the fault of proof of extraterrestrials and their civilization anywhere in the Milky Way galaxy. It is argued that there is a very high chance that planets similar to Earth have already started to acquire intelligent life. Another aspect of this Paradox is that the intelligent creatures would most likely desire to explore space and colonize what they could, but it hasn’t happened. The major question involved in this idea is why. Why hasn’t there been anything found that can back up the scientist? And what if not coming across from extraterrestrials is a good thing. I believe that if the human race ever faced whatever is living out in space because there is no way it’s just us, it would end horribly.

The theorist that came up with this theory believed that some excuses as to why we’ve never come in contact with them are due to how far they are. There are no aliens or any artifacts that would support the theory that they exist, but considering that interstellar travel is so slow it would take around 5 to 50 million years to colonize the universe. (1) Maybe they are still on there way here, or possibly too far to ever be able to communicate but the theorists don’t stop there. They believe that the extraterrestrials would most likely use probes to explore more of the universe and that we should have found bits and pieces of those already. In the Great Filter theory, it is believed that the extraterrestrials had reached a massive stage of evolution that it killed more of there civilizations. There is also an argument that technological civilizations most likely destroyed themselves after being able to progress radio and or spaceflight technology. (1)  I believe that intelligent life is real, there is no possible way that humans are the most intelligent species in the entire universe but the Fermi Paradox won’t ever come up with evidence. It’s all math and the chances of ever receiving anything to back up the theory are so slim to none that we’ll never truly know. 

Although the entire conversation about aliens and how in depth the Fermi Paradox theory got into it, I believe they exist. I don’t think they resemble the cartoon character humans have depicted of a green, big-headed, black-eyed creature and I don’t think I’ll ever even have an idea of what they look like but the universe is too vast to not have life. One of the aspects of the Fermi Paradox that I’m not sure if I believe or not is the idea that humans should have found bits and pieces of probes or old technology from them. If they don’t want to be discovered, I genuinely believe they won’t. This is a theory I never believe will get solid evidence to back it up considering the mathematics aspect of it tells us theres such a slim chance to come across any evidence none the less actually come into contact with the intelligent life.

As said by the one and only Coco Chanel, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”, but as long as transhumanism,an international philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology(1),  becomes a reality in our world, people will be replaceable and then uniqueness will essentially dissipate. People are born the way they are for a reason and transhumanism would just make people in our world lose their special qualities and talents that make them who they are. Though this movement may have positive contributions to society such as Lasik eye surgery and hearing aids, it also has many drawbacks such as making all of humankind carbon copies of the same person. 

Most things in life are not as good as they seem and transhumanism is one of those things. There are many unforeseeable complications to this practice, but many people overlook those because the payoffs, if it works, are huge. When looking at transhumanism from an outside point of view, one would see technologies that would allow people access to improve their genetic code to “be able to transform themselves into different beings with abilities so greatly expanded…” (1) from their natural state. This means that people would try and use this technology, normally meant for enhancing genetics for certain scenarios, just for their own pleasure. People will be able to change their physical appearance to make themselves more attractive and desirable. This shows how if transhumanism becomes a reality, it will become quickly and easily taken advantage of. 

All humans are born with specific traits and talents that make them who they are. Transhumanism and the technologies allow for people to not only alter their genes to have a better physical appearance, but also people will be able to alter their biological make up. There will be increased usage of this technology “in an attempt to overcome universal human limitations, such as vulnerability to aging, maximum life expectancy, and biological constraints on physical and cognitive ability.”(1). This would lead to people thinking that human life is not as special anymore and eventually, there will be a “blurring of the boundary between human and artifact”(1) because everyone will be so similar so it will be hard to tell what’s a real train and what’s not. 

Though there are very positive outcomes when dealing with transhumanism, there are more dangers to it than meets the eye. From the outside, it may seem that it is something that will benefit the human race, but in the end, it could be dangerous to the human race. People will use the technology to their own advantage and enhance themselves.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism 

Transhumanism is an extremely broad concept involving the modifications of the human body to make them as what the creator deems better. The range of the modifications being described seems endless, as there are so many possibilities for what could be done to the human body. Some perceived examples of these are technological singularity, or creating a superhuman intelligence, bionic implants, and cognitive enhancements. For more on the history transhumanism, see https://www.theverge.com/a/transhumanism-2015/history-of-transhumanism.

Transhumanism doesn’t just encompass these radical possibilities as since it so widely known it is bound to have radical ideas, however people seem to focus on these radical ideas and choose to ignore this concept completely. This should not be the case, as this concept is aligned with the medical world, and has very similar beliefs to it at its core.

In its current state, humanity is still extremely flawed when it comes to areas such as disease. Our bodies aren’t made to be constantly fighting off infections, which heavily decreases someone’s chances of survival in a poorer country. However, even “developed” countries of the past suffered from diseases that even poorer countries today never see. This is thanks to the technology of modern medicine, which is widely accepted and praised by most people today. The medicine used is not something natural to the body, it is transferred into the body and is utilized by the body to fight off the foreign entity.

By thinking about how medicine is not native to the human body, would someone from the past not view what we now have as a transhumanism concept? We are the same species as them, but we are using tools to modify the body in order to improve the human body, in this case in order to have a longer and healthier life span. Transhumanism at its core is not something to be scared about, as most of the ideas that are thrown around by people who study these concepts are most likely not possible with the current technology, so there is plenty of time to consider the morals of body modifications before they become a reality.

The world as we know it, consists of billions of people, yet no two people are exactly the same. An individual’s greatest strength in life is using the skills and talents they possess and utilizing them to benefit a large amount of people because they are the only person in the world that has those specific characteristics. Transhumanism, an international movement that “advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology” (Wikipedia), threatens individuality and will result in the demise of the human race. Transhumanism will cause humans to lose their individual identity because the characteristics and attributes that form an individual are eliminated by attempting to alter natural limitations and disabilities through the use of technology.

Attempting to overcome limitations such as cognitive ability or life span is problematic because this manipulation causes people to become deindividualized. When everyone is granted access to the technologies necessary in improving cognitive ability, every person will become the same because they will all have the same knowledge and will be able to comprehend the same materials. This creates a dramatic problem because everyone will be equally qualified making it extremely hard to differentiate social and economical classes. Without natural limitations, every person in the world will begin to morph into the same being and all individualism is lost. The variety created by limitations, personality or character traits, and disabilities will be completely eliminated by the use of technology through the transhumanism movement. 

The educational process and workforce will be greatly impacted because it will be nearly impossible to distinguish which person is the best fit. With the assistance of technology, the normal human capacity for intelligence will be surpassed. This creates a problem because everyone who uses technology to improve their cognitive abilities will be equally intelligent and therefore there will be no diversity in occupations. Every person will be equally qualified for jobs and there will be no way to decipher who the best candidate is. Additionally, people will be extremely overqualified for many jobs that are necessary in order for society to function effectively. Eventually, transhumanism will eliminate the need for education because the use of technology will fully replace it. The current educational process is very time consuming and does not guarantee intelligence. With transhumanism, people will realize that schooling is not necessary because the knowledge they gain via technology is more effective and beneficial to them. 

Transhumanism will result in the loss of all individuality and variation among people because natural limitations, personal identity, and disabilities will be terminated, causing all people to become mentally identical.

The fermi paradox is an extraterrestrial civilization life that exists in our life, but lacks a lot of evidence. The fermi paradox is named after “named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi.” He tries convincing and claiming to people that the lack of evidence is due to, “There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are similar to the Sun, and many of these stars are billions of years older than the Solar system. With high probability, some of these stars have Earth-like planets, and if the Earth is typical, some may have already developed intelligent life. Some of these civilizations may have developed interstellar travel, a step the Earth is investigating now. Even at the slow pace of currently envisioned interstellar travel, the Milky Way galaxy could be completely traversed in a few million years.” 

A lot of questions are asked as to why we cant see fermi paradox. The question is, “Why are no aliens or their artifacts found here on Earth, or in the Solar System?” The answer to this question is that, the space travel we use today is a little too slow for our galaxy and “it would only take from 5 million to 50 million years to colonize the galaxy.” It almost sounds like they don’t want to be seen and everyone thinks it would be better if we didn’t see them or any of their evidence and artifacts here on earth. I decided I want to back up this reason and look up more research on this question. The website https://www.businessinsider.com/why-no-contact-with-aliens-2019-9 states that, “Scientists have offered myriad potential answers to the question, including that aliens are hibernating or deliberating hiding from us. Some researchers have also suggested that highly advanced technological civilizations destroy themselves before they have the opportunity to get in contact with other intelligent life in the universe.” 

Another question asked “Why do we see no signs of intelligence elsewhere in the universe?” The answer is, they believe that the lack of aliens coming to earth is due to travel times. They also believe that advanced civilization could possibly be a thing but its rare. Even though it’s rare, they believe it should exist at some point. More positive effects is that they can be detected from far away which means “many more potential sites for their origin are within range of our observation.” I decided I want to back up this reason and look up more research on this question as well. The website https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-taking-a-new-look-at-searching-for-life-beyond-earth states that “Debate about the probability of finding signals of advanced life varies widely. In 1961, astronomer Frank Drake created a formula estimating the number of potential intelligent civilizations in the galaxy, called the Drake equation.” 

We all know that the fermi paradox is centered around  the Earth. We have come to the conclusion that since its centered around our Earth its too far away from any other sign of life forms other than us. We are in too big of an area to be fully checked out and explored, it’s impossible. This gives us the question of… How do we know if we are the only people here or if there are other life forms? The Drake Equation backs up this theory. The theory states, “An analysis that takes into account some of the uncertainty associated with this lack of understanding has been carried out by Anders Sandberg, Eric Drexler and Toby Ord, and suggests that, with very high probability, either intelligent civilizations are plentiful in our galaxy or humanity is alone in the observable universe, with the lack of observation of intelligent civilizations pointing towards the latter option.” 

Space colonization could definitely be the answer to human survival. Especially since global warming is coming in hot, humans are going to need some saving. The proposal of space colonization has been around for decades. It would be an awesome event if it were to happen because humanity would survive longer since no disasters or nuclear warfare can touch them in space. Another positive about space colonization is that there are more than enough resources for humans to use, such as energy and materials.

A physicist by the name Paul Davies also supports the view of space colonization by stating, if there was a catastrophe threatening the human race, a space colony could not only save humans but also restore our population. It is never a bad idea to even have a “backup” somewhere in space just in case there is an emergency. Of course, making these colonies in space won’t be cheap what so ever, but they could potentially save the human race if something bad were to happen. Unfortunately, no space colonies have been built so far due to the price and technological challenges. There have been no specific plans to build a colony yet.

In 2019 there was a theoretical study, focused on the long-term trajectory of human civilization. This trajectory could come about in four steps. The first step is that there needs to be plenty of space in order for colonies to be established at habitable locations. Second step, these colonies could slowly become self-sufficient, for when the major civilization on earth dies. The third step is the colonies could expand and develop their habitation by themselves. The fourth and final step is that the colonies could self-replicate and establish new colonies further into space. This study shows that it is possible to expand humanity using space colonization and how we would do so.

Not only would this help in survival, but it would also be a great experience. If this all happened it would be almost like the show The 100. Most of the human population go to space and live in colonies together, then when they test to see if the earth is habitable after hundreds of years. So, if it ever works like the show, then maybe after living in space colonies for a while, humans can go back to living on earth.

Once we get more advanced in technology and gain a better economic position on this plan of space colonization, the human race could live much longer than expected. Just seeing a project like this unfold and happen would be absolutely amazing. It would prove how far we have come as humans. This plan as a whole would be a great way to help the human race survive long-term. I think it should definitely be put in play within the next century because pollution is starting to effect our oceans and the air around us, and lets be real. We need some saving.

The new idea that researchers have come up with in case humans for whatever reason have to flee the planet is space colonization. According to the Wikipedia article, space colonization is the permanent human habitation off the planet Earth. That’s right permanent, which to me doesn’t seem like a very good idea when humans don’t know the slightest bit about actually living on other planets, besides their research from Earth. I’ll get more into that later, but the first issue of space colonization is how much money it will cost. It will cost billions if not more to send humans to live on Earth with all the resources they need. It’s not like you can drop humans off, and be like “here ya go. woohoo, vacation time”. Just one human needs a whole suit to even survive living on a planet, just imagine what the total cost of colonization will be. Along with the money there has to be a lot of technical advantages to space traveling. Scientists must make sure humans are equipped to stay alive on another planet. It’s much easier to live on a struggling Earth than a planet which will cause more struggles within itself. Let’s face it, in almost every space movie you see which has a space crew, not an entire civilization there’s always some type of problem or someone ends up dying. The only environment humans are used to living on is on Earth. For billions of years humans have been living on Earth… I have never read a history book about Abraham Lincoln’s time on mars or Gandhi’s vacation on the moon. It’s not a good idea to rule out life on Earth to a different planet, one where humans do not belong. Allowing for this civilization on other planets, also allows other civilizations to know about humans. There in fact, could be aliens out there that could destroy the whole human race if we decide to impede on their home. Realistically speaking, there’s a high possibility there could be other civilizations out there on other planets that would not live well together with humans. As for the argument that humans will have no other choice but space colonization; because, in the future the Earth will sometime not be fit for humans to live anymore. My problem with that is, what happens when humans find a way to destroy other planets too. Already leaving behind a destroyed planet Earth, the home of the humans in the first place can’t be good for the cycle of other planets either. I say we focus on keeping our home clean and safe, so we won’t have to go live with the aliens.

Supporters of space colonization believe that it is the long-term solution for human survival. By having alternative locations outside of Earth, humans would be able to continue to live if there happened to be a disaster on our planet. Space colonies would allow some of the earth’s current population to move off our planet and onto another planetary body. By removing people here, we also remove their environmental impact, which could potentially be the solution to climate change. Establishing space colonies will allow humans to survive the current climate change issues we are facing.

Overpopulation has a detrimental environmental impact: the more people there are in one area, the more resources are being depleted. However, if we set up space colonies, and the resources of space were opened to use and viable to humans, Earth would no longer have to worry about its carrying capacity or resource limitations. Those in space would no longer be taking as many resources from Earth, and could potentially send new and different resources back to those still on Earth. All 7 billion inhabitants of Earth will most likely not be able to live in space at the same time, but the smaller population remaining on Earth will benefit from others leaving for their new space home. The decline of Earth’s population would allow for the regeneration of overused resources, more land for agriculture, and a better quality of life since there is a surplus of supplies.

Space colonization will be able to save the environment of Earth by moving people and industrialization into space. According to the IPAT model, environmental impact (I) is the product of population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T). If we were to move a portion of Earth’s population to space, the environmental impact from that population would cause Earth’s overall health to increase. Over time, greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, deforestation, and climate change would significantly decline. Those in the space colonies would no longer be impacting the environment of Earth, which would create a healthier environment to live in for those still here. In addition, the most affluent population will most likely be the ones in space since they have the money to travel there. With a decrease in the population, the environmental impact stressing Earth will also decrease.

As physicist Paul Davies explained, we could “reverse-colonize” Earth in order to restore human civilization by having self-sufficient colonies in space. Another notable name in science, Stephen Hawking, had argued for space colonization as a means of saving humanity multiple times. Hawking said we either colonize space within the next two hundred years and build residential units on other planets, or we will face the prospect of long-term extinction. Founder and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, has had plans of space colonization for a few years now. In the video below, his plans to successfully colonize Mars are shown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSv0Y7qrzQM

Space colonization may not be that far out off reach nowadays. With a long-term extinction ahead of us, Earth inhabitants need to come up with a solution on how to survive. We are already facing the problem of climate change and the issues that come along with it: resource depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, rising sea levels, an increase in global temperature, loss of biodiversity, and the list goes on. All these problems would be solved if humans set up a space colonization on another celestial body. Colonizing space is the only solution we have to face climate change if we do not fix how we are living on Earth.