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Researchers bring bad news – we are probably alone in the universe
Scientists have always wondered if we are the only intelligent life form in the universe, but no one managed to find an answer. There have been many claims on the subject, in spite of the lack of evidence, and they all produced the Fermi Paradox. Therefore, a team of researchers from Oxford University decided to reassess this paradox, thus finding a sad answer. According to their results, humans are the only intelligent civilization in the observable universe.
What is the Fermi Paradox?
The Fermi Paradox is, basically, a contradiction between some claims and the actual evidence. More precisely, many scientists have claimed there are other life forms in the universe, but no one could support them with evidence. Therefore, this paradox has been an impediment for SETI, or the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Therefore, researchers have decided to perform a new evaluation of the Fermi Paradox. To do this, they used the Drake Equation, specially designed in the ‘60s to calculate how likely alien life is. This equation should relate to any small piece of evidence that could be relevant. For instance, if there are many placed in the universe where aliens could hide, they might also host quite a big number of civilizations.
There are too many uncertainties about other intelligent life in the universe
For the study, researchers assessed the Fermi Paradox and all the information we have on the universe. By closely looking at it, they obtained only one result. The evidence is not enough to point to intelligent alien life in the Milky Way or in the observable universe.
The results brought to light many uncertain things about the universe. While some might say life could be possible, the results are way too unclear to formulate this as a fact. After obtaining the uncertainties, they distributed this number all across the universe. This way, the only possibility was that humanity was alone.
The study on this reevaluation of the Fermi Paradox was published online on arXiv.
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