In 1950, astrophysicist Enrico Fermi asked a big question during a typical lunch with his colleagues: Where is everyone? In other words, if it is so likely that advanced alien civilizations exist elsewhere, why haven’t we found evidence of them?
That’s how the story goes, at least. But regardless of the circumstances surrounding their expression, that question—known today as the Fermi Paradox—has haunted the minds of investigators ever since. In a new, peer-reviewed paper, astronomer Robin Corset proposes “radical fendancy” as one explanation.
Corden, a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, suggests that the Galaxy is a modest number of extraterrestrial civilizations that are not ours. Because their technology is equally limited, neither civilization can see the other.
“The idea is that it’s more advanced, but it’s not more advanced. It’s more like having an iPhone 42 than an iPhone 17,” Corbet said. “This sounds more realistic, naturally, because nothing too extreme is being proposed.”
Another meaning of “great silence”
Calculations using the Drake Equation – a formula that estimates the number of civilizations with a medium that can transmit radio signals – suggest that a fair few exist. Our civilization has been jamming radio signals for decades, so we know the answer to the Drake Equation must be at least one. For the most part, Astrophysicists have proposed that it would take a short period of time, astronomical times, for advanced civilizations to spread throughout the galaxy.
If the aliens are successful in this, humanity should be able to detect their presence through different Technosignatures. This can include an electromagnetic beacon, astro-engineering signs such as heat from dyson spheres (hypothetical-energy-harvest of meachtures formed around the stars), or common religious art in the world. So far, however, we have received none of this.
Astrophysicists have come up with many different hypotheses to explain this lack of evidence, also known as “the great silence.” Perhaps the intelligent Expression is too advanced in humanity to see them, or perhaps they prefer to live away from Earth? Maybe we are alone in the real galaxy? Or carefully, perhaps civilizations that are advanced enough end up destroying them.
For CORBET, these possibilities seem more and more, so he decided to ask a different question: What if a civilization has a natural technological limitation that prevents them from developing enough to create tangible technology or discover it?
The galaxy may be more boring than we think
According to Corbet’s concept, humanity can be close to the upper limit of technological development. Alien civilizations can hit a similar plateau, never being advanced enough to easily find or communicate with others.
This idea, known as the principle of radical mundanity, suggests that alien societies do not create structures of great space or travel at the speed of light. Instead, they may be more like us – and just as limited in their ability to find others in the galaxy. And they stayed that way, eventually losing interest in cosmic exploration over time.
Even if this hypothesis is correct, it does not mean that we will not find evidence of alien civilizations again. In his paper, Corbet explains that the technological world can still be seen through leakage radiation, and such a discovery “may not be too far away” if radio telescopes continue to develop.
But don’t get too excited. “Although this would have negative consequences in many ways, it may not lead to significant gains at the technical level, and may leave us disappointed,” it concluded.
