Welcome back to the ongoing Fermi Series! This marks the fifth installment in our look at Enrico Fermi and the famous question that launched close to 100 proposed resolutions. Previously, we looked at the nature of the Fermi Paradox, the famous Drake Equation, the Great Filter, and what researchers are looking for when they engage in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Today, we’ll take a look at a key aspect of the Fermi Paradox, a proposed resolution known as the Hart-Tipler Conjecture. The theory is named for Michael Hart and Frank Tipler, who authored and refined the argument between…
Welcome back! To recap, much has been said about the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) over the years. Similarly, a lot has been said about why we haven’t found any evidence of it and why. This is the essence of the “Fermi Paradox,” which boils down to all of our attempts to answer why we haven’t heard from any aliens (yet!)
This raises an important question that came up at the tail end of the last installment (Fermi and the “Great Filter”). How exactly are we looking for extraterrestrial life? Equally important, could this have any bearing on the fact…
Welcome back! If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you know what terms like “Fermi Paradox” and “Great Filter” mean. Kudos to you for that! If not, don’t worry. Those will be explained shortly. But for the most part, I wanted the third installment in this series to be about what is (as I see it) the next logical step in the whole “where are all the aliens?” debate.
To recap, the Fermi Paradox is named for the renowned physicist Enrico Fermi who famously asked, “where is everybody?” (in the context of extraterrestrial civilizations). The fact that humanity has have…
Welcome back! To recap, this series is dedicated to answering questions about the Fermi Paradox — i.e., “where haven’t we heard from (or found) any aliens yet?!” For the second installment, I wanted to address what I feel is the logical next step after asking that question. What are the odds that any are even out there? And, equally important, would we be able to talk to them?
To be clear, until we actually find evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) out there, all we have is conjecture and academic exercises. In short, we can only make (semi-) educated guesses as…
Hello and welcome to the first installment in what I hope will be a long-running series! To kick things off, I would like to tell people a bit about myself and why I started a blog dedicated to addressing one of the most pressing questions about existence.
For starters, my name is Matt Williams. I am a writer for Universe Today, Interesting Engineering, Stardom Space, Stellar Amenities, and the Director of Media and Communication for Mars City Design©. …
I often wonder why it is that there are historical revisionists trying to rehabilitate this monster. But in true totalitarian fashion, its not about the "strongman" who is long dead. It's about would-be "strong men" today that are looking to cultivate their own cult of personality.
And to write of everything we actually know about this monster as propaganda, that too is a truly totalitarian way of thinking. Usually, I have to talk to a Trump supporter to get that kind of denial and conspiracy-laden thinking.
I have some questions about these claims (actual questions, not challenges):
1. there is nothing observed about this object that is inconsistent with a natural explanation
Along, perhaps. But in combination? Flat, highly-reflective, and subject to acceleration from solar radiation? What accounts for all these things and is still natural?
2. there is a large population of naturally occurring interstellar objects of a class consistent with ‘Oumuamua (about ~10²⁵ of them) expected to be out there
What objects are you referring to? Hydrogen icebergs, interstellar "dust bunnies," etc.?
3. and there is no better data forthcoming that can observationally discern…
Note: This article is part of a series that was originally published on Nov. 17th. Obviously, some developments have happened since. I hope to address those with an addendum at the end.
Wow. It came (and went) at last! The 2020 Presidential Election and the ouster of Donald Trump. Like most people in the United States, here in Canada, and everywhere else in the world, I was pretty much in a state of full-body tension, just waiting to see how it all turned out. …
Hello all! I hope that the readers here don’t mind that I kick things off with a little introduction and shameless self-promotion. Basically, I wanted to talk about my recently published novel — The Frostline Fracture — which is the final installment in my sci-fi trilogy, The Formist Series.
However, I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk about hard science fiction and how writing for a science publication helped me grow as a writer. By definition, hard sci-fi refers to stories where scientific accuracy is emphasized. …
Matt Williams
Space/astronomy journalist for Universe Today, SF author, and all around family man!
