The Fermi Paradox
The Fermi paradox , or Fermi's paradox , named after physicist Enrico Fermi , is the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence and high probability estimates [1] for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. [2] The basic points of the argument, made by physicists Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) and Michael H. Hart (born 1932), are: There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are similar to the Sun , [3] [4] and many of these stars are billions of years older than the Solar system . [5] [6] With high probability, some of these stars have Earth -like planets, [7] [8] and if the Earth is typical, some may have developed intelligent life. Some of these civilizations may have developed interstellar travel , a step the Earth is investigating now. Even at the slow pace of currently envisioned interstellar tr...