The Earth is an ordinary planet speeding around an average star. Nothing at all is remarkable about it, except for the fact that it harbors life. Though millions of other planets with similar conditions to Earth exist, scientists have yet to find another planet occupied by any sort of intelligent beings. This led Enrico Fermi to pose the question, “Where is everybody?” (Fermi) Perhaps, the answer to this questions is that extraterrestrials exist, but simply undetected. Assuming that life developed other planets similarly to the way that it arose on Earth, the aliens may look similar to us, although this is highly unlikely; other beings would most likably look completely different due to their environment and their time in existence.
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The human race, for example, may not have the ability to detect their messages. Organizations, such as SETI, tend to only look for radio transmissions; aliens could, however, be sending their messages in much more complex forms, like lasers. The extra-terrestrial beings may also know that humans are a relatively young species; therefore, they are delaying contact with Earth to protect the humans. The aliens may know that mass panic would erupt if contact was made; because of this, the aliens may be waiting to establish contact with Earth after the human race is at a similar level to them. …show more content…
This paradox has been so named because of the protocol that SETI follows. This organization limits the signal it transmits; SETI is waiting until the extra-terrestrials signal us. If every advanced civilization is abiding by the same rules as SETI, no signals will be available for detection because everyone is listening and no one is transmitting. This could be a possible reason humans have yet to make contact with advanced civilizations not of Earth. (11) Another theory is that extra-terrestrials are on Earth, but they are unacknowledged. For example, some theorists believe that the government is blocking signals or suppressing publications. Another concept is that SETI and other, similar organizations are not reporting positive detections or only reporting them to very prestigious officials. These beliefs are shared by many science fiction authors and conspiracy theorists.
The human race, for example, may not have the ability to detect their messages. Organizations, such as SETI, tend to only look for radio transmissions; aliens could, however, be sending their messages in much more complex forms, like lasers. The extra-terrestrial beings may also know that humans are a relatively young species; therefore, they are delaying contact with Earth to protect the humans. The aliens may know that mass panic would erupt if contact was made; because of this, the aliens may be waiting to establish contact with Earth after the human race is at a similar level to them. …show more content…
This paradox has been so named because of the protocol that SETI follows. This organization limits the signal it transmits; SETI is waiting until the extra-terrestrials signal us. If every advanced civilization is abiding by the same rules as SETI, no signals will be available for detection because everyone is listening and no one is transmitting. This could be a possible reason humans have yet to make contact with advanced civilizations not of Earth. (11) Another theory is that extra-terrestrials are on Earth, but they are unacknowledged. For example, some theorists believe that the government is blocking signals or suppressing publications. Another concept is that SETI and other, similar organizations are not reporting positive detections or only reporting them to very prestigious officials. These beliefs are shared by many science fiction authors and conspiracy theorists.