Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” I: A Lunchtime Conversation- Enrico Fermi and Extraterrestrial Intelligence

universetoday.com ^ | Paul Patton

[BenLurkin]

During the walk to the Fuller Lodge, the physicists discussed a recent spate of UFO sightings, and a cartoon in the New Yorker Magazine depicting aliens and a flying saucer. Although the topic of conversation moved on as the group sat down for lunch, Edward Teller recalls “in the middle of the conversation, Fermi came out with the quite unexpected question ‘Where is everybody?’…The result of his question was general laughter because of the strange fact that in spite of Fermi’s question coming out of the clear blue, everybody around the table seemed to understand at once that he was talking about extraterrestrial life”.

In his account of the famed luncheon, Teller wrote “I do not believe much came from this conversation, except perhaps a statement that the distances to the next location of living beings may be very great and that, indeed, as far as our galaxy is concerned, we are living somewhere in the sticks, far removed from the metropolitan area of the galactic center”.

York recalled a somewhat more expansive discussion in which Fermi “followed up with a series of calculations on the probability of earthlike planets, the probability of life given an earth, the probability of humans given life, the likely rise and duration of high technology, and so on. He concluded on the basis of these calculations that we ought to have been visited long ago and many times over”.

[MHGinTN]

How many ‘heavens’ are there? Does the Universe give witness to God The Creator? Would God deceive us in His Creation? Where did Jesus go in His resurrection when He left the tomb without rolling away the stone? Is there a where/when that is/was invisible to King Belshazzar, from which a man reached to write on the wall at Palace Party Central in Babylon?

[exnavy]

If you have God questions, many here are more capable than I to answer. If you are looking for contentious conversation, sorry.

[MHGinTN]

I am a Christian man of nearly seventy years on this orb. I am asking questions based in Bible passages which have the potential to open your mind to the deeper things of God that are revealed to those awake reading their Bible. If answering these questions makes you uncomfortable, leave them be and don’t bother contemplating on these things. The state of your spiritual relations hip to God The Father Almighty, through Jesus Christ our advocate is the more important aspect, anyway.

[exnavy]

God never intended to trick any human. We complicate the relationship, not He. And, God, the Father, the Son or the Spirit is incapable of deception. The question was about life on other planets. I referenced God and simply said, fagetaboutit.

[MHGinTN]

Have a nice day.

[Windflier]

There is no other life of significant importance. To consider otherwise is a fools errand.

You have a perfect right to believe our universe is devoid of other life, but that's all it is. Your belief.

The God-given intelligence within my mind compels me to conclude otherwise.

[MHGinTN]

Within the pages of the Bible is evidence to the contrary of the poster’s belief, but to delve into that might be too damaging to his/her faith, so let it be, please.