RE: Fermi "Paradox"

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sat Aug 02 2003 - 10:33:48 MDT

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    Anders writes

    > This is actually another way of exploring the FP. The enforcement
    > system has to be able to stop replicators before they get out of
    > hand, and we can start constraining them by theory and maybe even
    > start looking for them.
    >
    > Imagine "antibodies" spread evenly in the galaxy, detecting the
    > signature of a replicator seed. They immediately launch a
    > lightspeed attack on the seed; this will work only if...
    > ...
    > between stars. Hence we should expect antibodies with an average
    > distance corresponding to the effective range of their weapon
    > rather than being relativistically limited - and this makes them
    > much more likely to be detected.

    You have to like math a lot (and I do) and also have
    some other characteristic (which I do not) to appreciate
    Anders' analysis involving ratios of volumes of spheres.

    But I greatly enjoy:

    > In fact, it may even be reasonable for the galactic club
    > to make them relatively visible to interplanetary civilisations,
    > since that way emerging civs might get the hint and abstain
    > from doing something stupid.

    It would only be "stupid" in the sense of calling down
    upon oneself severe punishment. Cattle are so dumb that
    they cannot read the signs "please remain in the enclosure"
    and so barbed-wire needed to be invented.

    But for some reason that eludes me, we always assume that
    the members of the galactic club are really mean and
    ferocious (like in "The Day the Earth Stood Still") and
    have no compunctions at all about destroying the Earth
    and it's six billion inhabitants.

    Animal rights activist would be rightly upset if no effort
    whatsoever were made to keep squirrels or raccoons off one's
    premises by fences or other expedients, and instead all
    animals wandering in to a certain area were just immediately
    shot by radar-controlled automatic systems.

    So the big mystery to me is, why do we always assume the
    aliens to be such mean dudes?

    YES! For sure there would be WARNING SIGNS in huge capital
    letters from the galactic club saying "STAY HOME". But all
    we hear is total silence.

    Lee



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