The Fermi Paradox: Are Humans qualified to know Alien life?
Coined by the famous physicist responsible for the discovery of nuclear reactors, Enrico
Fermi, the Fermi Paradox has led astronomers to question the existence of Extraterrestrials. This
paradox is conflict between the vast number of planets in the universe with little to no evidence
of alien life. With over 4000 exoplanets found and discovered by the Kepler Telescope, no
evidence and signs have been found. This could because of our lack of qualities to be deemed as
worthy by extraterrestrials.
Humans have a long history of violence and pride. With the existence of wars since the mid-20th
century, human pride has shown itself in history. But then again, we aren’t necessarily violent by
means of behavioral code. As stated by Kohn (1988), aggression is not necessarily universal,
which makes so much sense because violence is a choice. This is also interrelated with the idea
of humans being a mature civilization.
According to Meahger (2018), maturity comes from an individual’s choice. This means that it is
humanity’s choice to mature and resist violence if it means to be discovered or be recognized by
an extraterrestrial civilization or government. It is further stated that humans must be
responsible for such. To further expand the idea of maturity as a civilization, technological
advancement must be considered. Humanity’s technology may not be sufficient to detect or
interact with aliens. Some examples of attempts in interacting and detecting aliens was the wellknown Arecibo message which included an image showing human DNA and biosignatures of life
on Earth, but no replies came back from it (New Scientist, 2021). Despite sending messages, this
may also suggest that we have outdated technology hence advanced extraterrestrial civilizations
may see our message as if it was a flip phone for them.
Despite the hurdles of humanity in search of extraterrestrial life, as well as the idea of the Fermi
Paradox, solutions had emerged to answer such questions. It is to either deny the existence of
extraterrestrials or find alternative reasons unto why there has been no findings (Dobler, 2022).
According to Schleicher and Bovino’s model (2022), it is shown that civilizations in other stellar
systems are continuously increasing due to increasing habitable systems. Furthermore, this may
not be enough to resolve the Fermi Paradox, it has been a factor in the development of such a
model.
In conclusion, humanity may not be qualified to understand and be recognized by
extraterrestrials due to lack of maturity, resistance against violence, and technological
advancement, hence the Fermi Paradox. It may be its choice to advance forward as an intelligent
civilization. Furthermore, solutions had emerged to answer these inquiries such as models and
alternative reasonings to contradict the paradox. This could eventually mean that humanity soon
have its first contact with extraterrestrial life.