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In a galaxy chock full of worlds, why isn't Earth crawling with alien visitors? The silence amid the presence of such plentiful planets is called the Fermi Paradox, named for the physicist...
- 2 min
Feb 11, 2015 · The notion that other intelligences exist in the universe is pervasive in popular culture: Aliens are often portrayed as evil invaders. Astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser ponders whether we should...
- The Axioms of Social Cosmology
- Chains of Suspicion
- Technological Explosion
- Welcome to The Woods
In The Dark Forest, a character suggests the creation of an area of study called “cosmic sociology.” She describes it as a means of understanding the interactions of distant civilizations who know each other only as dots of light, light years away. It’s based on two simple, inarguable axioms that would be true of every civilization, regardless of t...
When one civilization becomes aware of another, the most critical thing is to ascertain whether or not the newly found civilization is operating from benevolence — and thus won’t attack and destroy you — or malice. Too much further communication could take you from limited exposure in which the other civilization simply knows you exist, to the stro...
You do know that a civilization that contacts you is capable technologically of at least that much. But this is all you have to go on in your assessment of the threat level or their ability to defend themselves against an attack from you. You might think that a civilization that considers itself advanced could relax, secure in its military superior...
Cixin’s dark forest metaphor goes like this: And here’s us with our desire for contact: So the answer to the Fermi paradox may simply be this: Civilizations aware of the dark forest concept are wisely hiding. In The Three-Body Problem, the first book in the series, a scientist sends out a message and years later receives the following cautionary re...
Many alien invasion stories explicitly address our anxieties that a more advanced species would treat us even worse than we have treated each other.
Scientists are becoming increasingly optimistic that extraterrestrial life is out there. Here, an astrobiologist explains why.
Aug 31, 2017 · The Three-Body Problem series lays out a powerful case for why we should stop looking for aliens, and solves the Fermi paradox.
Humans are still searching for signs of intelligent alien life on other planets – but how would we react towards it if we ever did make contact?
