[ExI] extropy-chat Digest, Vol 268, Issue 27

[Ben Zaiboc]

BillK wrote:

> 8. When the Universe Seeds Life but Civilizations Stay Silent > 
> The building blocks of life may be forming in deep space long before
> planets are born.
> Date: January 21, 2026 Source: Aarhus University
> 
> https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260121034125.htm
> 
> Quotes:
> New experiments reveal that protein precursors can form naturally in
> deep space under extreme cold and radiation. Scientists found that
> simple amino acids bond into peptides on interstellar dust, long
> before stars and planets exist. This challenges the idea that complex
> life chemistry only happens on planets. It also boosts the odds that
> life-friendly ingredients are widespread across the universe.
> -------------------------
> 
> But there are probably still many light-years of distance between life
> occurrences.
> BillK.

Exactly. I've been saying this for ages. Even if there are many many technological civilisations in our galaxy, it would be like a handful of fireflies in a continent-spanning rainforest.

I appreciate the 'von Neumann probe' argument, but not all civilisations are going to go that route, and for those that do, we've not had that much time yet for them to become apparent. Maybe in a couple of hundred million years, we can start to come to some conclusions, but not yet.

I have a hunch that we tend to vastly underestimate the difficulty of interstellar travel. Combine that with the enormous appeal of uploaded experiences, and I think we have a convincing explanation for the Fermi Paradox. Not so paradoxidal after all, I reckon.

---
Ben