Planetary scientists suggest a solution to the Fermi paradox: Superlinear scaling leading to a singularity

Bob Yirka is a writer for Phys.org.

Two researchers, one with the Carnegie Institute for Science and the other with the California Institute of Technology, have come up with a solution to the Fermi Paradox. In a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Michael Wong and Stuart Bartlett suggest that the reason aliens have not visited us is because of super linear scaling.

In the past, physicist Enrico Fermi asked a colleague why aliens from outer space haven't visited Earth. Due to the large size of the universe, it seemed unlikely that Earth would harbor intelligent life. In this new effort, the research pair have tried to solve the mystery of where they are.

They studied how human civilization rose and fell. They studied the history of large cities and found that most grew to a certain point and then collapsed. They came up with a hypothesis that civilizations rising and falling by alien space would lead to one of two scenarios. In the first, the civilization realized they were growing too large and would stop colonizing other worlds. They would collapse in the second because they wouldn't recognize their folly. Both scenarios would have the same outcome, the aliens would not visit us or even show evidence of their existence. It would be too far from them to us.

The hypothesis is that a civilization grows rapidly and colonizes other worlds until they are unable to sustain the energy demands of their constant encroachment. They would reach a point of no return if they did not take action. They note that if it weren't for the distances involved, we would be able to spot evidence of an alien civilization on the point of collapse.

More information: Michael L. Wong et al, Asymptotic burnout and homeostatic awakening: a possible solution to the Fermi paradox? Journal of The Royal Society Interface (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0029 Journal information: Journal of the Royal Society Interface

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