Are we alone in the universe?
There is a big likelihood if we live in reality that in one
of the many other solar systems in other galaxies host intelligent
life(aliens). I personally do not think we are alone in the universe.
How is it then that we have not yet encountered an
extraterrestrial species?
There are a few answers to that question. We were not
discovered by them because of the great size of the universe, this is a rather
simple theory and pretty straight forward. As time passes the universe speeds
up making exploration outside one’s galaxy more and more inconvenient. Let us
assume that they are also more technologically advanced than us. If that were
the case there would be 2 more theories
to be noted. Firstly, they made contact very early in our evolution before our
recorded history. This would imply that they had no interest in contacting or
interacting with a species as primitive as us. Secondly, they believe we are
not worthy to interact with them, a sense of supremacy that came as a result of
the technological advancements they reached. Another theory says they are not
as technological advanced as us. Life started slowly from unicellular
microorganisms, therefore there is a big likelihood that intelligent life is
rare and we are one of the very few species that managed to evolve while other
species never had the opportunity to evolve or were driven extinct by cosmic
events. As for conspiracy theories, they made contact to us and their remains
are stored in Area 51. This would prove to be very bad news for us as we do not
know if they evolved to be vindictive and are preparing an attack on humanity.
It could also be the case that they anticipated the steps we will take in the
future and know that we might drive ourselves extinct so there is no reason for
an attack or any kind of interaction. Lastly we have a few more theories. We
could be the result of a probe sent by aliens to propagate life in the
universe, this would make aliens our creators. This could go either way, they
did not want to be alone in the universe, or they wanted another planet to be
suitable for hosting their species or perhaps it was just an experiment to see
how life would develop under other circumstances. Another theory is that
technology overtook their species, if this were the case their planet might
still host a form of technologically advanced civilization, which happily for
us did not decide to further explore the universe. Worst case scenario they did
not find us yet but are searching for us. A future where all the nature is
overtook by artificial creations could prove catastrophic. Aliens in sci-fi
movies are many times depicted as dangerous, our own culture makes it
inevitable for too much of a hostile environment to arise if aliens are ever
discovered. Aliens are also seen as a threat to the whole human species and are
one of the few reasons why even nations leave their conflicts aside to face an
even greater threat, the possible extinction caused by an alien attack.
Let us talk about the Great Filter, first we should define
it. This would be the great filter of life itself. All species would have
different hurdles in their evolution, these may have already been in the past,
might be in the present or will come in the future. Examples of great filters
in the past include lack of evolution of microorganisms, extinction by
meteorite and nuclear war, the last one still being a hurdle in the present and
in the future. Other scenarios that should be regarded in the present are
overpopulation and global warming. As for the future we should worry about
biochemical warfare, humanity being overtaken by technology or inclusion of
humans in the singularity.
Would you still like to meet an extraterrestrial
civilization?
I know for sure I would, even if it would become a dangerous
encounter and perhaps the end of all we know. One of my favorite series as a
kid was Stargate Atlantis. Perhaps that is the reason why I look with great
interest in this subject, although it is sad that we have less and less so
called proof of aliens as technology evolved. Our phone cameras are strong
enough to take pictures of any so called Unidentified Flying Objects(UFO's)
thus making conspiracy theorists and humans in general less likely to try and
falsify the proof of alien existence. Lastly we talked a bit about Alien
extinction and about human extinction by Artificial General Intelligence(AGI) in another article so I would like
to propose some other dystopian futures for mankind without any particular
order to them. World War 3 could be a possible event to cause human extinction,
although nowadays the war is held in cyberspace and in other less developed
countries as proxy wars of the most powerful nations on earth. "I know not
with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones." Albert Einstein. Waste of resources could also
kill us in the long run, especially with the increase of population from
generation to generation. Global warmth could kill the nature around us and
make more extreme differences between temperature highs and lows and nature
phenomena. Solar eruptions or solar flares could also prove fatal. Uncontrolled
nanotechnology that could eat up all resources at its disposal to multiply
itself may also be a risk. Creation of a mini black whole during experiments
could also wipe us all. In the best case scenario as did all prophesied ends
of the world end without human extinction so will the current theories about
human extinction prove to be false. Sadly, not much research has been done to
proactively protect ourselves from these potential future events. This is best
encapsulated in Nick's Bostrom statement in 2001 "There is more scholarly
work on the life-habits of the dung fly than on existential risks." Another
solution is colonizing other planets in order to avoid a full human extinction.
Progress towards that is most commonly known to be done by SpaceX and NASA. A strong
global economic crisis could also bring out a civil war and chaos in the
streets or even more warfare between nations. Cyber warfare could also cause
the extinction of the human race, the electricity grids may collapse, the
banking system may collapse, you would be stuck with a meaningless piece of
plastic instead of a card connected to your bank account, which may be empty at
this point. Liquidity wouldn't help too much either, there would be a battle
for nourishment. I hope this article helped you better understand how sensitive
our way of life currently is. Personally I fear that these above mentioned
extinction methods are approaching faster and faster and we do not put enough
work in preventing any of them.
Which scenario scares you the most?
For me it is waking up one day in a world where money lost
its value and the masses start revolting against themselves and the government
causing civil war.
Here are some videos that inspired me while making this
article:
The Fermi Paradox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhvQGsMEc;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fQkVqno-uI
The Great Filter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjtOGPJ0URM
Movie recommendation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYUd7AOw_lk
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