X-Message-Number: 30795
From: David Stodolsky <>
Subject: Re: the Fermi paradox
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2008 12:09:49 +0200
References: <>

On 29 May 2008, at 14:50, Chris Manning wrote:

> I don't know how many other people have thought of this, but one  
> reason why
> we haven't detected other intelligent civilisations is that they are  
> likely
> to be spread out in time as well as in space. Maybe a civilisation  
> like ours
> existed on a planet of the star e Eridani (20 light years away) 5  
> million
> years ago. They destroyed themselves in a devastating war.

This is part of the Drake Equation. The problem is that it is  
extremely unlikely that every one of the civilizations that have  
existed in the previous 10 billion years in the Galaxy have destroyed  
themselves. If even one made it into space, then that civilization  
should have spread through the Galaxy long ago.


dss


David Stodolsky    Skype: davidstodolsky

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