Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Where are all the aliens?! This is the essence to the Fermi Paradox. It's most popular solution is the "Great Filter." What is the obstacle that life and/or intelligent species are unlikely to survive? Let's discuss.
00:00 Cold Open
00:18 Introduction
00:48 History of the Fermi Paradox
02:48 Fermi Paradox Explained
03:55 Drake Equation Explained
07:04 The Great Filter
09:56 Rare Earth Hypothesis
10:53 Geologic Time in Galactic Years
14:48 Evolution of Intelligent Life
17:03 Conclusions
19:11 Poll Results
19:47 Outro
20:10 Featured Comment
Nick Lucid - Host/Writer/Editor/Animator
Natalie Wells - Researcher
________________________________
VIDEO ANNOTATIONS/CARDS
What is Life?
youtu.be/AF2Ykg8Fq2w
Cosmic Time:
youtu.be/mbe6ZbGuQFg
________________________________
RELATED YOUTUBE VIDEOS
PBS Space Time on Fermi Paradox:
youtu.be/BAoEnV3Zt_Q
youtu.be/8wa1l7M5gU8
Kurzgesagt on Fermi Paradox:
youtu.be/sNhhvQGsMEc
youtu.be/1fQkVqno-uI
youtu.be/UjtOGPJ0URM
________________________________
SUPPORT THE SCIENCE ASYLUM
Patreon:
patreon.com/ScienceAsylum
YouTube Membership:
youtube.com/channel/UCXgNowiGxwwnLeQ7DXTwXPg/join
Advanced Theoretical Physics (Paperback):
lulu.com/shop/nick-lucid/advanced-theoretical-physics-a-historical-perspective/paperback/product-24250687.html
Advanced Theoretical Physics (eBook):
gumroad.com/l/ubSc
Merchandise:
scienceasylum.com
________________________________
HUGE THANK YOU TO THESE SUPPORTERS
Asylum Counselors:
Nikolaos Vasiloglou II
Asylum Orderlies:
Dhruv Singhal, Fabio Manzini, Medec Hurtz
Einsteinium Crazies:
Bosphorus, Eoin O'Sullivan, Ilya Yashin, Jonathan Lima, Joseph Salomone, OnlineBookClub, Sean K, Wacky, Blank NA, Flying Monkey, Christopher Schiele
Plutonium Crazies:
Al Davis, Compuart, Ellis Hall, Kevin MacLean, Rick Myers, Vid Icarus
Platinum Crazies:
Benjamin Dixon, Benjamin Reynolds, Clayton Bruckert, David Johnston, James Coley, Jon Adams, Jonas Wepeel, Jonathan Reel, Marino Hernandez, Mikayla Eckel Cifrese, Mr. Orn Jonasar, Olga Cooperman, Stephen Blinn, Stephen Gailey, Don Wilshe
________________________________
OTHER SOURCES
General Background:
seti.org/project-ozma
seti.org/drake-equation-index
aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/30665
lanl.gov/discover/publications/1663/2013-july/_assets/docs/firsts.pdf
osti.gov/biblio/5746675-where-everybody-account-fermi-question
Details and Facts:
https://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/greatfilter.html
technologyreview.com/2008/04/22/220999/where-are-they
asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2015/07/22/how-many-stars-in-the-milky-way
exoplanets.nasa.gov/discovery/exoplanet-catalog
scientificamerican.com/article/when-did-eukaryotic-cells
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/life-science/early-life-earth-animal-origins
britannica.com/topic/Homo
britannica.com/topic/Homo-sapiens/Origin
Scienfic Papers:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9841
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AsBio..16..359F/abstract
arxiv.org/abs/1806.02404
doi.org/10.2307/2709100
doi.org/10.1089/ast.2014.1247
Books:
openstax.org/details/books/astronomy
"Intelligent Life in the Universe." by I. S. Shklovskii & Carl Sagan (1966)
books.google.com/books/about/Intelligent_Life_in_the_Universe.html?id=QrnoPwAACAAJ
"Is Anyone Out There?" by Frank Drake & Dava Sobel (1992)
books.google.com/books/about/Is_Anyone_Out_There.html?id=DYXvAAAAMAAJ
"If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?: Fifty Solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life" by Stephen Webb (2002)
books.google.com/books/about/If_the_Universe_Is_Teeming_with_Aliens_W.html?id=Kp6g79LuKWEC
________________________________
LINKS TO COMMENTS
youtube.com/watch?v=fivCstgXlDo&lc=Ugxl3ekHrRHBwSMlaax4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=fivCstgXlDo&lc=Ugy9jlvTtIkSA6i9vOV4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=fivCstgXlDo&lc=UgzkGAgy76jmjMfLPYV4AaABAg
________________________________
IMAGE CREDITS
Heavy Bombardment (Bennu's Journey):
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=20220
Los Alamos ID Badge Photos:
lanl.gov/about/history-innovation/badges.php
Herbert York:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herbert_York.jpg
Frank Drake:
repository.aip.org/islandora/object/nbla%3A291451
Where are all the aliens?! This is the essence to the Fermi Paradox. It's most popular solution is the "Great Filter." What is the obstacle that life and/or intelligent species are unlikely to survive? Let's discuss.
00:00 Cold Open
00:18 Introduction
00:48 History of the Fermi Paradox
02:48 Fermi Paradox Explained
03:55 Drake Equation Explained
07:04 The Great Filter
09:56 Rare Earth Hypothesis
10:53 Geologic Time in Galactic Years
14:48 Evolution of Intelligent Life
17:03 Conclusions
19:11 Poll Results
19:47 Outro
20:10 Featured Comment
Nick Lucid - Host/Writer/Editor/Animator
Natalie Wells - Researcher
________________________________
VIDEO ANNOTATIONS/CARDS
What is Life?
youtu.be/AF2Ykg8Fq2w
Cosmic Time:
youtu.be/mbe6ZbGuQFg
________________________________
RELATED YOUTUBE VIDEOS
PBS Space Time on Fermi Paradox:
youtu.be/BAoEnV3Zt_Q
youtu.be/8wa1l7M5gU8
Kurzgesagt on Fermi Paradox:
youtu.be/sNhhvQGsMEc
youtu.be/1fQkVqno-uI
youtu.be/UjtOGPJ0URM
________________________________
SUPPORT THE SCIENCE ASYLUM
Patreon:
patreon.com/ScienceAsylum
YouTube Membership:
youtube.com/channel/UCXgNowiGxwwnLeQ7DXTwXPg/join
Advanced Theoretical Physics (Paperback):
lulu.com/shop/nick-lucid/advanced-theoretical-physics-a-historical-perspective/paperback/product-24250687.html
Advanced Theoretical Physics (eBook):
gumroad.com/l/ubSc
Merchandise:
scienceasylum.com
________________________________
HUGE THANK YOU TO THESE SUPPORTERS
Asylum Counselors:
Nikolaos Vasiloglou II
Asylum Orderlies:
Dhruv Singhal, Fabio Manzini, Medec Hurtz
Einsteinium Crazies:
Bosphorus, Eoin O'Sullivan, Ilya Yashin, Jonathan Lima, Joseph Salomone, OnlineBookClub, Sean K, Wacky, Blank NA, Flying Monkey, Christopher Schiele
Plutonium Crazies:
Al Davis, Compuart, Ellis Hall, Kevin MacLean, Rick Myers, Vid Icarus
Platinum Crazies:
Benjamin Dixon, Benjamin Reynolds, Clayton Bruckert, David Johnston, James Coley, Jon Adams, Jonas Wepeel, Jonathan Reel, Marino Hernandez, Mikayla Eckel Cifrese, Mr. Orn Jonasar, Olga Cooperman, Stephen Blinn, Stephen Gailey, Don Wilshe
________________________________
OTHER SOURCES
General Background:
seti.org/project-ozma
seti.org/drake-equation-index
aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/30665
lanl.gov/discover/publications/1663/2013-july/_assets/docs/firsts.pdf
osti.gov/biblio/5746675-where-everybody-account-fermi-question
Details and Facts:
https://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/greatfilter.html
technologyreview.com/2008/04/22/220999/where-are-they
asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2015/07/22/how-many-stars-in-the-milky-way
exoplanets.nasa.gov/discovery/exoplanet-catalog
scientificamerican.com/article/when-did-eukaryotic-cells
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/life-science/early-life-earth-animal-origins
britannica.com/topic/Homo
britannica.com/topic/Homo-sapiens/Origin
Scienfic Papers:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9841
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AsBio..16..359F/abstract
arxiv.org/abs/1806.02404
doi.org/10.2307/2709100
doi.org/10.1089/ast.2014.1247
Books:
openstax.org/details/books/astronomy
"Intelligent Life in the Universe." by I. S. Shklovskii & Carl Sagan (1966)
books.google.com/books/about/Intelligent_Life_in_the_Universe.html?id=QrnoPwAACAAJ
"Is Anyone Out There?" by Frank Drake & Dava Sobel (1992)
books.google.com/books/about/Is_Anyone_Out_There.html?id=DYXvAAAAMAAJ
"If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?: Fifty Solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life" by Stephen Webb (2002)
books.google.com/books/about/If_the_Universe_Is_Teeming_with_Aliens_W.html?id=Kp6g79LuKWEC
________________________________
LINKS TO COMMENTS
youtube.com/watch?v=fivCstgXlDo&lc=Ugxl3ekHrRHBwSMlaax4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=fivCstgXlDo&lc=Ugy9jlvTtIkSA6i9vOV4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=fivCstgXlDo&lc=UgzkGAgy76jmjMfLPYV4AaABAg
________________________________
IMAGE CREDITS
Heavy Bombardment (Bennu's Journey):
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=20220
Los Alamos ID Badge Photos:
lanl.gov/about/history-innovation/badges.php
Herbert York:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herbert_York.jpg
Frank Drake:
repository.aip.org/islandora/object/nbla%3A291451
