[ExI] Fermi question, was is a FTL drive a dream . . .

[Eugen Leitl]

On Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 05:22:42PM -0700, Keith Henson wrote:

> 2)  Something removes intelligences from large scale interaction with
> the universe.  I have theorized this might be the attractiveness of
> virtual worlds or perhaps the speed of information propagation.  A

There is nothing particularly virtual about hardware. It's large,
bulky, and takes entire stars to power in sufficient quantities.

The speed of information propagation is a red herring, because
you're happy enough to interact mostly-locally. People got out
of Africa on foot just fine, one band of primates by another. 

Would you say that seven billion people are pretty observable?
This planet sure thinks so.

> million to one speed up would limit interactive communication to a
> distance much smaller than the earth.

It takes too long to talk to somewhere more than a light seconds
away? Don't do it, then! Just talk to people closer to you, and
so will they, and so on. 

Why do you insist to talk at all, for that matter? Seeds are 
pretty inert. They never get bored, and sprout just fine on 
the other end of the journey.
 
> 3)  Perhaps the most bizarre reason for the Fermi problem is the world
> as we know it being a simulation.  There are probably ways to test for

Yes, but this is religion. We don't do religion here.

> being in a simulation, but testing ends the simulation (and the
> universe as we know it) so it might not be something you want to try.

So the pesky rodents gets terminated when they get too uppity, and
realize they've been living in cage #9?

Occam sez: I will cut you.