The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high a priori likelihood of its existence, and by extension of obtaining such evidence. Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi’s name is associated with the paradox because of a casual conversation in the summer of 1950 with fellow physicists Edward Teller, Herbert York, and Emil Konopinski. While walking to lunch, the men discussed recent UFO reports and the possibility of faster-than-light travel. The conversation moved on to other topics, until during lunch Fermi blurted out, “But where is everybody?” (although the exact quote is uncertain). There have been many attempts to resolve the Fermi paradox, such as suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial beings are extremely rare, that the lifetime of such civilizations is short, or that they exist but (for various reasons) humans see no evidence. Fermi was not the first to ask the question. An earlier implicit mention was by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in an unpublished manuscript from 1933. He noted “people deny the presence of intelligent beings on the planets of the universe” because “(i) if such beings exist they would have visited Earth, and (ii) if such civilizations existed then they would have given us some sign of their existence.” The Fermi paradox is a conflict between the argument that scale and probability seem to favor intelligent life being common in the universe, and the total lack of evidence of intelligent life having ever arisen anywhere other than on Earth.
Creators/Key Contributors Enrico Fermi, Edward Teller, Herbert York, Emil Konopinski
First Appearance Conversation at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, Summer 1950
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Literature: “The Planets are Occupied by Living Beings” by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1933) [Web], “Uncaptioned cartoon” by Alan Dunn for The New Yorker (May 20, 1950) [Web], “Communications from Superior Galactic Communities” by R. N. Bracewell in Nature Volume 186 Issue 4726 (May 1960), “Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation” by Freeman J. Dyson in Science Volume 131 Issue 3414 (June 1960), “The Search for Signals from Other Civilizations” by Sebastian von Hoerner in Science Volume 134 Issue 3493 (December 8, 1961), Intelligent Life in the Universe by Iosif Shklovskii and Carl Sagan (1966). Podcast: Astonishing Legends: Episode 22 The Fermi Paradox.
Sample Read Astonishing Legends: Episode 022 The Fermi Paradox [YT]
Description The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high a priori likelihood of its existence, and by extension of obtaining such evidence. Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi’s name is associated with the paradox because of a casual conversation in the summer of 1950 with fellow physicists Edward Teller, Herbert York, and Emil Konopinski. While walking to lunch, the men discussed recent UFO reports and the possibility of faster-than-light travel. The conversation moved on to other topics, until during lunch Fermi blurted out, “But where is everybody?” (although the exact quote is uncertain). There have been many attempts to resolve the Fermi paradox, such as suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial beings are extremely rare, that the lifetime of such civilizations is short, or that they exist but (for various reasons) humans see no evidence. Fermi was not the first to ask the question. An earlier implicit mention was by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in an unpublished manuscript from 1933. He noted “people deny the presence of intelligent beings on the planets of the universe” because “(i) if such beings exist they would have visited Earth, and (ii) if such civilizations existed then they would have given us some sign of their existence.” The Fermi paradox is a conflict between the argument that scale and probability seem to favor intelligent life being common in the universe, and the total lack of evidence of intelligent life having ever arisen anywhere other than on Earth.
