Deafening Silence
Why we don’t want find life on Mars, or Europa
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In a universe that is both unimaginably vast and has existed longer than the human brain could remotely comprehend, where are the aliens? Surely, with modern technology, we would know if someone else was out there by now. This apparent contradiction, known as the Fermi Paradox, has many theorized solutions. Some of those potential answers are encouraging, others are frightful, but all embody the importance of continued human progress here on the pale blue dot.
The Paradox
In several prior essays, I discussed how the Big Bang, the first moments of the creation of the universe, set into motion the immutable laws of physics. Chief among these laws is the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which lays out what we know as “entropy.” Under the second law, the universe will naturally trend from order to disorder, or more specifically, toward the dispersion of energy. I discussed how life on Earth, paradoxically, conforms to the second law and accelerates the process of entropy…
