At 04:47 PM 8/18/2003 -0600, Chris Auld wrote:
> I've finished a fantastic book that Robin lent me, *Where Is Everybody*?
> The author explores the paradox that (a) It seems like the galaxy
> should be full of intelligent life but (b) There is little evidence of
> its existence.
What sort of argument is offered in support of (a)? It seems to me to be
remarkable that there is life at all --- why should we believe that the
probability of intelligent life on a given planet is more than, say, one
in 10^100?
The usual argument is that once life reaches a level not that much further
than our own, it should expand out to colonize the universe at a relatively
rapid pace. Either this is wrong, or the nearest life at anything like
our level must be very very far away.
Robin Hanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hanson.gmu.edu
Assistant Professor of Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030-4444
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
