Brian Cox - Alien Life & The Great Filter Hypothesis

I don't understand what what is your purpose here if civilizations are common then there should be  civilizations ahead of us because there's been   so much time you imagine the time scales we've  been around take 40 000 years I don't know how   long our civilization's been around let's say that  the Galaxy is pretty much as old as the universe   it's 13 billion years worth of time so the idea  that there are no civilizations Eros you know   100 million years ago 200 million years ago one  billion years ago and imagine what they'd be like   if they'd survived I mean we've been we've had  science for let's say since Newton or Copernicus   500 years at most and look what we've done we've  gone beyond the solar system with voyager we've   walked on the moon we're about to go to Mars I  would think so we're about to begin colonizing   our own solar system so we've done that in  500 years imagine a million years it's one   of the arguments often used to say there aren't  any civilizations out there in the galaxy it's   called the Fermi Paradox because if you imagine  a civilization that's a millionaire ahead of us   they should have written their presence across  the sky by now we used to see him I mean you'll   see us if we survive in million years into the  future actually even a few thousand years into   the future we will be exploring the Galaxy we  will have spacecraft that are going toward the   Stars we will be doing it so our signature will  become visible I'm sure if we last is Earth a   lone Oasis Of Life or is the universe teeming  with hidden organisms waiting to be discovered   the vast number of stars each  potentially harboring planets   with conditions ripe for Life leads many  scientists to believe we can't be alone   the very elements that sparked life on Earth  carbon hydrogen oxygen are abundant throughout the   cosmos could this be the cosmic recipe for Life a  universal secret shared across the galactic canvas   join us as we embark on an unparalleled journey  to unlock the mystery of life beyond our world   if you look at the history of life on Earth then  so Earth formed there was no life it was a ball   of rock and almost as soon as it cooled down we  see evidence of life so certainly 3.8 billion   years ago possibly even further back than that we  see evidence of life on Earth so somewhere along   the line geochemistry active geochemistry became  biochemistry on Earth and we have some idea if   you get a gradients of temperature and acid and  alkaline and the conditions that are naturally   present on the surface of oceans then complex  carbon chemistry spontaneously happens so we know   that life almost certainly we know that life began  on Earth the other option is it came from space or   something like that but it probably didn't it  probably began on Earth so that means that at   least here that happened and that we know that  the conditions that led to the origin of life on   Earth were present on Mars 3.8 4 billion years ago  and we know that they're present on Europa today   so I don't see that there's anything special  life is just chemistry the idea that geochemistry   becomes biochemistry is not fanciful because  it happened here so I think that given the same   conditions it would be surprising to me if the  same thing didn't happen in that life begins to   test that is one of the great frontiers of science  now it's one of the great challenges so it would   be good to know what I've said is right the way we  find out is to find life or evidence of past life   the universe may be filled with life so  why haven't we found any evidence yet this   perplexing question is known as the Fermi Paradox  some propose the zoo hypothesis suggesting that   extraterrestrial civilizations might be watching  us intentionally avoiding contact like zookeepers   observing animals meanwhile the recent surge in  UFO and UAP reports has stirred excitement and   curiosity but are these truly indications of other  worldly visitors despite tantalizing stories and   sightings solid proof remains elusive the Galaxy  remains a silent enigmatic void withholding its   secrets but who knows really could the answers  be just beyond our reach waiting for the right   moment to reveal themselves that point seems  to me once you said I don't know you might as   well put full stop there and shut up I don't know  but then I think this you know it's like someone   asked me the other day about unidentified flying  objects as this Congressional panel on UFOs and   I said the thing is it's in the words and it's  just unidentified so should we just show up now   it's still identified therefore I think there's an  alien civilization close by that's building flying   sources that are trying to evade our defenses  and there's a big cover-up and the CIA are not   telling us everything so no unidentified that's  it I don't know what they are the Fermi Paradox   continues to baffle us a cosmic conundrum  echoing through the void if the universe is   teeming with life why is the evidence so elusive  some argue that technological limitations hinder   our search confining our gaze to a mere sliver  of the galactic expanse others believe that the   great filter an unknown barrier to the advancement  of civilizations might be preventing species from   reaching a point where we could detect them could  it be that life is abundant but intelligent life   is exceptionally rare or is there something  more profound a hidden truth veiled by the   vastness of space itself awaiting our discovery  there is an argument as well that technology is   so Advanced would be difficult for us to detect I  mean we tend to think of Starship Star Wars right   big energy things that you can see the signature  of but actually it may be the civilization just   becomes a nano civilization because that's more  efficient it's a better way to do things so it's   possible I suppose that there are space probes  all over the place that are so small and is so   efficient and you sell little energy that we  just don't see them as far as that is possible   the great filter hypothesis presents a  chilling explanation for our Cosmic silence   it suggests that somewhere along the path to  becoming a space-faring civilization there's   a nearly insurmountable barrier a filter that  prevents advancement is this filter behind   us making our existence a rare Triumph against  astronomical odds or is it ahead of us a future   obstacle that might extinguish our civilization  as it has possibly done to others before   the great filter looms large in our search for  extraterrestrial intelligence casting a shadow   of both hope and Dread it's a theory that forces  us to confront not only our place in the universe   but our future within it there's in the Drake  equation which is wasn't trying to estimate   the number of civilizations really it was to try  and focus your mind on what the variables are how   you should think about it but at the end of that  the way that you wrote it there's an L the letter   L which is the length of time a civilization  will be broadcasting or contactable through   radio waves and I mean we've been around in that  form which is with radio telescope I like it that   astronomers Define civilization as when did you  get a radio telescope then you're civilized and   you know it's less than 100 years so we've only  been that L for us is the contextable lifetime of   civilization it is you know 100 years or so for  us you know we could have gone you think about   the Cuban Missile Crisis for example that could  have been 20 years for us you know we're still in   that position you know how long is L how long  is the lifetime of civilization wants it once   it acquires nuclear weapons for example which  he will how long does your civilization manage   that it's not clear we're doing the experiment  and we've dodged it a few times when might the   great filter arise some propose it occurs in the  early stages of life where the spark of existence   is snuffed out by harsh Cosmic realities others  argue it may surface later when intelligence   emerges presenting challenges that civilizations  struggle to overcome the development of complex   technology though a sign of advancement could  also Mark a dangerous precipice take nuclear   weapons for example a Marvel of human Innovation  yet a potential harbinger of our own destruction   could they represent a great filter a threshold  that has annihilated other civilizations before us   the answers May Define not only our quest to  find extraterrestrial life but our very survival   Oppenheimer thought about this a lot because  he now the Manhattan Project he'd been Felts   himself responsible for creating the bomb you  can look at it many ways you can say that he's   shortened the war in the Pacific I can say that  he invented this thing that we don't have the   wisdom to control he was very worried about what  he'd done he just strongly felt that he might   still be right that we didn't have the wisdom to  control the knowledge so it could be the case so   that could be another answer so the great silence  that people call the Learning Paradox might just   be because we are fundamentally idiots the great  stupidity intelligent beings are fundamentally   just dumb they raise themselves from the Universe  I challenge anyone who's listening to argue that   there's at least a possibility that that's  what we are the great filter hypothesis delves   deeper into the haunting Silence of the cosmos  offering a profound explanation for our isolation   could it be that every civilization faces a  series of critical barriers tests that must   be overcome to reach the Stars these barriers  might include surviving planetary catastrophes   avoiding self-annihilation through Warfare or  navigating The Perils of unchecked technological   advancement the great filter posits that few  if any Traverse this perilous path successfully   hence the quiet universe it's a theory that  resonates with both optimism and warning   urging us to reflect on our choices  on the universal Journey we share   the way I look at life is that it's the  most important phenomenon that exists   in the universe without life the universe is by  definition meaningless clearly meaning enters the   universe with Consciousness and Consciousness  is a property of living things and so without   living things there's no meaning so I think that  if this is the only planet in the Milky Way galaxy   that currently hosts an intelligent civilization  then it's the only island of meaning in a CF 400   billion stars and therefore we have a tremendous  responsibility to protect this island of meaning   if we mess it up we will be responsible if that's  the case for annihilating meaning perhaps forever   in a galaxy so I think life's important in our  quest to understand the universe we've explored   the tantalizing possibilities of life elsewhere  grappled with the Enigma of the Fermi Paradox   and delved into the profound great filter  hypothesis from the basic elements forming   life to the silence echoing across the cosmos our  journey reveals both hope and caution but as we   gaze into the infinite void one question ignites  our curiosity and fuels our imagination in this   vast Mysterious Universe are we the exception or  the rule is the key to unlocking alien life within   our grasp or is the secret buried deeper in the  cosmos than we ever dared to dream foreign [Music]

Channel: Science Time

Views: 819,792

Keywords: brian cox, brian cox fermi paradox, brian cox alien life, Brian Cox the great filter hypothesis, Alien Life, great filter hypothesis, Drake Equation, Fermi Paradox, Intelligent Life, Universe, Physics, Astronomy, Place within the universe, the universe, solving fermi paradox, cosmology, exoplanet, AI alien, science, science time, Zoo Hypothesis, Extraterrestrial civilizations, Brian Cox & The Great Filter, Intelligent life

Id: TrGpG0OrNws

Length: 11min 32sec (692 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 19 2023