Topic
Zoo hypothesis
About: Zoo hypothesis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 16 publications have been published within this topic receiving 315 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the Zoo Hypothesis is only justifiable on weak anthropic grounds, as it demands total hegemony established by a long-lived early civilization, which is a low probability event.
Abstract: The Zoo Hypothesis posits that we have not detected extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) because they deliberately prevent us from detecting them. While a valid solution to Fermi's Paradox, it is not particularly amenable to rigorous scientific analysis, as it implicitly assumes a great deal about the sociological structure of a plurality of civilizations. Any attempt to assess its worth must begin with its most basic assumption – that ETIs share a uniformity of motive in shielding Earth from extraterrestrial contact. This motive is often presumed to be generated by the influence of the first civilization to arrive in the Galaxy. I show that recent work on inter-arrival time analysis, while necessary, is insufficient to assess the validity of the Zoo Hypothesis (and its related variants). The finite speed of light prevents an early civilization from exerting immediate cultural influence over a later civilization if they are sufficiently distant. I show that if civilization arrival times and spatial locations are completely uncorrelated, this strictly prevents the establishment of total hegemony throughout the Galaxy. I finish by presenting similar results derived from more realistic Monte Carlo Realization (MCR) simulations (where arrival time and spatial locations are partially correlated). These also show that total hegemony is typically broken, even when the total population of civilizations remains low. The Zoo Hypothesis is therefore only justifiable on weak anthropic grounds, as it demands total hegemony established by a long-lived early civilization, which is a low probability event. In the terminology of previous studies of solutions to Fermi's Paradox, this confirms the Zoo Hypothesis as a ‘soft’ solution. However, an important question to be resolved by future work is the extent to which many separate hegemonies are established, and to what extent this affects the Zoo Hypothesis.
33 citations
TL;DR: The Fermi paradox as discussed by the authors claims that if technological life existed anywhere else, we would see evidence of its visits to Earth, and since we do not, such life does not exist, or some special explanation is needed.
Abstract: The so-called Fermi paradox claims that if technological life existed anywhere else, we would see evidence of its visits to Earth-and since we do not, such life does not exist, or some special explanation is needed. Enrico Fermi, however, never published anything on this topic. On the one occasion he is known to have mentioned it, he asked 'where is everybody?'- apparently suggesting that we don't see extraterrestrials on Earth because interstellar travel may not be feasible, but not suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial life does not exist, or suggesting its absence is paradoxical.
The claim 'they are not here; therefore they do not exist' was first published by Michael Hart, claiming that interstellar travel and colonization of the galaxy would be inevitable if intelligent extraterrestrial life existed, and taking its absence here as proof that it does not exist anywhere. The Fermi paradox appears to originate in Hart's argument, not Fermi's question.
Clarifying the origin of these ideas is important, because the Fermi paradox is seen by some as an authoritative objection to searching for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence-cited in the U. S. Congress as a reason for killing NASA's SETI program on one occasion-but evidence indicates that it misrepresents Fermi's views, misappropriates his authority, deprives the actual authors of credit, and is not a valid paradox.
Keywords: Astrobiology, SETI, Fermi paradox, extraterrestrial life
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a proactive test of the Zoo Hypothesis is proposed to send a message using television and radio channels to any extraterrestrial civilization(s) that might be listening and inviting them to respond.
9 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: There are reasons for belief that faster-than-light (FTL) interstellar space travel may be consistent with the laws of physics, and a brief review of various FTL travel concepts is presented.
Abstract: There are reasons for believing that faster-than-light (FTL) interstellar space travel may be consistent with the laws of physics, and a brief review of various FTL travel concepts is presented It is argued that FTL travel would revolutionise the scientific exploration of the Universe, but would only significantly shorten the Galactic colonisation timescale from the 106 years estimated on the assumption of sub-light interstellar travel if the mass-production of FTL space vehicles proves to be practical FTL travel would permit the development of interstellar social and political institutions which would probably be impossible otherwise, and may therefore strengthen the 'zoo hypothesis' as an explanation for the apparent absence of extraterrestrial beings in the Solar System
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a proactive test of the Zoo Hypothesis is proposed to send a message using television and radio channels to any extraterrestrial civilization(s) that might be listening and inviting them to respond.
Abstract: Whether we are alone in the universe is one of the greatest mysteries facing humankind. Given the >100 billion stars in our galaxy, many have argued that it is statistically unlikely that life, including intelligent life, has not emerged anywhere else. The lack of any sign of extraterrestrial intelligence, even though on a cosmic timescale extraterrestrial civilizations would have enough time to cross the galaxy, is known as Fermi's Paradox. One possible explanation for Fermi's Paradox is the Zoo Hypothesis which states that one or more extraterrestrial civilizations know of our existence and can reach us, but have chosen not to disturb us or even make their existence known to us. I propose here a proactive test of the Zoo Hypothesis. Specifically, I propose to send a message using television and radio channels to any extraterrestrial civilization(s) that might be listening and inviting them to respond. Even though I accept this is unlikely to be successful in the sense of resulting in a response from extraterrestrial intelligences, the possibility that extraterrestrial civilizations are monitoring us cannot be dismissed and my proposal is consistent with current scientific knowledge. Besides, issuing an invitation is technically feasible, cheap and safe, and few would deny the profound importance of establishing contact with one or more extraterrestrial intelligences. A website has been set up (this http URL) to encourage discussion of this proposal and for drafting the invitation message.
6 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2011 | 4 |
| 1995 | 1 |