The Drake Equation/Fermi Paradox

So_Where_Is_Everybody?

The Drake Equation and Enrico Fermi‘s paradox have always intrigued me.

The Drake Equation is represented as follows:

Equation

Obviously, when you look at the questions behind the various parameters – How many stars are there in the milky way? How many stars have habitable planets? etc. – there’s a considerable amount of guesswork involved.  As we learn more, parameters can be slowly refined and N can be calculated with a tad more certainty.

The real value of the Drake Equation is not in the answer itself, but the questions that are prompted when attempting to come up with an answer

The video below pulls-together both equation and paradox – and then neatly dovetails the concept of The Great Filter hypothesis.

Dan Carlin engagingly explains how it all fits-together.

A really interesting video.

The Umbrella Man

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One of my all-time favorite New York Times OpDoc videos by Errol Morris.

Josiah “Tink” Thompson – who wrote the book “Six Seconds in Dallas” – describes The Umbrella Man.

I have watched this six-minute video at least twenty times in the past couple of years. I feel compelled to share it.  It is a terrific reminder.

If you haven’t seen it, I really hope you enjoy it.  If you have seen it, please enjoy it again.

Mr. Thompson’s ‘cautionary tale’ is pure wisdom.

Images courtesy of The New York Times.  Music:  Spiegel Im Spiegel (Mirror in the Mirror) by Arvo Pärt.