Author:
Forgan, Duncan, 1984- author.
ImprintCambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Descriptionxvii, 413 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
Note:Part I. Introduction -- Introducing the paradox -- Fact A- The Great Silence -- Classifying scenarios and solutions to the paradox -- Part II. Rare Earth solutions -- Habitable worlds are rare -- Life is rare -- Intelligence is rare -- Part III. Catastrophist solutions -- Doomsday arguments -- Death by impact -- Death by terrestrial disasters -- Death by star -- Death on a galactic scale? -- Death by unsustainable growth -- Death by self-induced environmental change -- Self-destruction at the nanoscale -- Artificial intelligence and the singularity -- War -- Societal collapse -- Part IV. Uncommunicative solutions -- Intelligent life is new -- Exploration is imperfect -- Probe exploration is dangerous -- The aliens are quiet -- They live too far away -- The zoo/interdict hypothesis -- The simulation hypothesis -- They are already here -- They were here long ago -- Part V. Conclusions -- Solving Fermi's paradox.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (pages 375-409) and index.
Note:Exploring the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) through the lens of Fermi's so-called paradox, this volume summarises current thinking on the prevalence of intelligent life in the universe. It describes the methodology of SETI and how many disciplines feed into the extra-terrestrial life debate, providing a comprehensive introduction for graduates and researchers.
