The Fermi Paradox 👽
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You ever look up at the night sky?
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No, that’s your ceiling.
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Go outside.
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Ugh. Light pollution.
Go into the woods…the deep woods.
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See that?
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That’s a crap load of stars.
How many do you think?
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No. Gen Z is tapped.
It’s 2,500.
On the clearest night sky, you can see 2,500 stars.
But here’s the thing.
These stars are just in our Milky Way…this tiny bit of the Milky Way.
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The Milk Way has 250 billion stars.
But we’re just 1 galaxy.
Guess how many galaxies there are.
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TAPPED.
The answer is 250 billion – meaning there are as many galaxies in the universe as stars in our galaxy.
Lemme repeat that.
THERE ARE AS MANY GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE AS STARS IN OUR GALAXY.
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Still didn’t sink in?
Think of it this way.
Pick up a grain of sand.
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For every grain of sand on Earth, there are 10,000 stars.
Get it?
But it gets crazier.
1% of these stars have planets like Earth.
So 1 grain of sand = 100 Earths.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/64d312c4c41eda93275ec7ad_Earth_100_Final.webp)
How’s that make you feel?
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Gnarly huh?
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Well, buckle up…it gets gnarlier.
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Because the Earth is a young planet – only 4.5 billion years young.
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But most planets are old…
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Like 8 billion years old.
Meaning they have a 3.5 billion year head start.
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Can you imagine Earth in 100 years? 1,000 years? 1 million?
Now try 3.5 billion years…
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Mind. Blown.
However that future looks, one thing is certain: we’re traveling all over space.
How?
~Energy~
See there are 3 levels of energy available:
- Earth
- Sun
- Galaxy
(Don’t worry, I’ll get to the paradox soon.)
Right now, we’re on level #1 – close to using all the energy from our Earth.
The next level is using all the energy from our Sun – with something like a Dyson Sphere.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/64d312c57f1291bf71d40655_pasted_image_0.webp)
Then we’d use the Sun’s energy to send 2 human fleets to other stars – where we’d repeat the process.
If each replication took 500 years, we’d conquer a galaxy in ~3.5 million years.
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3.5 million years = 1 galaxy.
But remember…
So this begs the question:
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Great question.
Maybe there’s hope for Gen Z.
Because you just discovered the…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/64d312c634c952d6db2ed6b7_Fermi_Text.webp)
Badass, right?
The Fermi Paradox asks, “Where the hell are the aliens?”
There are 2 answers to Fermi:
- We’re alone
- We’re not alone
Let’s explore each.
1. We’re alone
We’re alone = no aliens.
Why are there no aliens?
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Basically, there’s no life ‘cause something stops it….a Great Filter.
But the big question is: where’s the filter?
Before us?
Or after us?
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The answer is critical.
Before us = HOORAY 🥳
Aka every other life form never made it to our level. Our Earth had some special event that other Earth-like planets never had.
Top contenders are events that took a while — like billions of years.
Here are the top 2:
Some say the jump from semi-smart (monkey) to smart (human) is another leap – but it’s less convincing.
Regardless, this means you better hope we don’t find life on Mars.
Why?
Because if lame ass Mars can make life — especially complex life — we’re definitely not rare. So that’d mean the great filter is…
AFTER US!
[Cue: Villain laughing. Woman shrieking. Baby crying.]
After us = DEATH 💀
Basically it means something in the future kills us — probably just ourselves with nukes, climate change, or AI.
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Thanks, Elon.
But for now, let’s explore option 2:
2. We’re not alone
Not alone = aliens exist (but we can’t see ‘em).
Why not?
There are a bunch of reasons.
Here are 5:
- We’re rural – We live in a remote part of the universe – like Eskimos in northern Canada when Columbus landed in America.
- We’re a zoo – Aliens observe us but don’t mess with us. They probably just giggle watching us read emails and throw poo at each other.
- We’re useless – We’re like an anthill. Aliens are like Columbus. Would Columbus care about an anthill…or just ignore it, find gold, and diddle natives?
- We’re dumb – Our technology is too primitive to understand alien signals. Or we just don’t understand reality because reality ain’t real mannnnnnn.
- Physical world’s dumb – The universe is cold, dark, and lonely. Screw that. Aliens uploaded their brains to a virtual heaven with infinite virgins.
Okay…
So what do you do with this?
Hug me ❤️
First, because physical touch is my love language.
But second, because we’re either:
- Stranded on a tiny rock in vast darkness
- Surrounded by aliens
I’m hoping for #2
Crush Alien Ass,
Dylan & Henry 🌈
If you’re that sexy friend, subscribe here.
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