Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Associate producer Cameron Kieffer asks, Gary, not sure if you’ve read the three body problem, Netflix did an adaptation of the book. But my question is if there is an intelligent life in the universe, should humans actively try to find and communicate with it? Personally, I think if SETI could transmit your episodes daily, we’d find the only life worth finding.

If you remember back, I did an episode on the Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Paradox simply asks the question, if there are alien civilizations, where are they?

The Three Body Problem’s approach to the question is what is known as the Dark Forest Hypothesis. In fact, the Dark Forest Hypothesis is based on the Three Body Problem books.

The Dark Forest Hypothesis proposes that the reason why we can’t see alien civilizations is that everyone is hiding from each other. If they make themselves known, they run the risk of destruction. Likewise, if you were to find another civilization, you should want to destroy it before they do the same to you.

I think the Dark Forest Hypothesis is highly, highly unlikely. I don’t think there will ever be a technology that makes interstellar travel easy. There is no need to attack another civilization for resources. There are ample resources in pretty much any solar system and the cost of going to another star system to steal another civilization’s resources is just too high.

The only thing of value you could get from an intelligent civilization is information. Information can be shared and is far more valuable than any physical resource, and it is much easier to trade than trying to physically travel.

So, if you wanted a movie that would accurately depict what would happen if we found an intelligent civilization, I think it would be Contact.