[ExI] A new answer to the Fermi paradox?

[John Clark]

On Sat, Jul 18, 2026 at 10:33 AM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

*>> A super massive Black Hole like the one at the center of our galaxy
>> will decay in about 10^100 years because of Hawking radiation, but there
>> are theoretical reasons for believing that, given enough time, a proton is
>> not stable and its half life is about 10^34 years, which is VASTLY less
>> than 10^100. A proton will decay into a positron and a neutral pion, which
>> itself will almost immediately decay into 2 gamma ray photons and a
>> neutrino. *
>>
>
> *> I don't think there's strong evidence for proton instability.*
>

*There isn't. There are theoretical reasons for thinking a proton is
unstable, but if its half life is 10^34 years then it's not surprising that
we don't have any experimental evidence of it. *

*>But should that be the case, we can use either smaller black holes,*
>

*Small star sized black holes decay sooner than supermassive Black Holes
that you were talking about. *



> * > or perhaps future engineers will develop computers not based on atoms
> as we know them.*
>

*So now we've gotten to the point where you need to invoke new physics in
order to explain the Fermi Paradox! I can explain it with nothing but
existing Physics, we are simply the first in the observable universe, and
as I keep saying, somebody has to be the first. Also, you seem to think
there is a way to turn the entire mass/energy of a star into work, and that
would also require new physics. Invoking new physics should always be the
last resort not the first thing you jump to. But even new physics can't
provide a reason for not intercepting the energy of the sun right now and
using that energy to perform a calculation. *


> *>>We don't know if Dark Energy is constant so we don't know if the
>> universe will ever reach these super low temperatures, and even if they do
>> there is no reason for not doing some computations right now.*
>>
>
> *> No one is saying we can't do some computations now.*
>

*Those who claim it is an explanation for the Fermi paradox are.  *


> *> They're only saying: don't exhaust all energy sources now because it's
> wasteful*
>

* Wasteful? The low entropy energy that is radiating into infinite space
right now from our sun we are NEVER GOING TO GET BACK NO MATTER WHAT WE
DO.  So how is intercepting a low entropy photon before it radiates away,
make it power a calculation and turn into a high entropy photon, and only
then release it into infinite space, wasteful?! *

*> you dismiss the potential 10^30 X benefit of saving energy for the
> future.*
>

*Please explain what exactly we are "saving" and how our descendants 10^100
years from now will be better off because of our present energy frugality,
because I just don't get it.  *


*John K Clark*
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