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The Fermi Paradox: A Song

2010-10-07 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Science & nature · comedy performance

Hank announces that Song Wednesdays are back until the end of 2010 and sings a song explaining the Fermi paradox: with 400 billion stars, he can't believe humans are unique, so he lists possible reasons aliens are silent and suggests we may just not be listening well enough.

What is said

00:00:00 — Song Wednesdays return until the end of 2010; the song is a companion to an earlier video

  • ★★★ Hank announces that Song Wednesdays are returning: until the end of 2010 he will do a new song every Wednesday. — 00:00:00 · Song Wednesday > «From now until the end of 2010, I'll be doing a new song every single Wednesday.»
  • ★★ Hank says he is doing it because songs are stuck in his head and he needs motivation to get them out, so he is motivating himself through Nerdfighteria. — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria, Song Wednesday
  • ★ Hank says the song is a companion to a video he made a while ago. — 00:00:00

00:00:31 — The song: Fermi at Los Alamos, the paradox, possible resolutions, our short and limited listening; outro and sign-off

  • ★★★ The song recounts that in 1950 at Los Alamos, Enrico Fermi, talking with friends about the universe, shouted 'Where is everybody?' and did simple calculations suggesting Earth should have been visited (wording partly unclear). — 00:00:31
  • ★★★ The song states the Fermi paradox: if aliens are out there, why don't we hear them? Hank can't believe humans are unique in so big a galaxy, yet we are stuck in the paradox. — 00:00:31 > «If they're out there, why don't we hear them talk?»
  • ★★ The song says the galaxy has 400 billion stars. — 00:00:31
  • ★★★ The song lists possible resolutions: advanced technology rarely evolves, technology leads to its own destruction, species lose interest in reproduction (wording unclear), or aliens hide until we grow up. (hedged) — 00:01:20
  • ★★ Hank sings that, as far as he is concerned, the question of whether there is more life out there is moot. — 00:01:55
  • ★★★ The song argues our listening is limited by our senses and has lasted only a couple dozen years, so we may not notice aliens; the cosmic phone could be ringing unanswered. (hedged) — 00:01:55
  • ★ Hank says he is excited about Song Wednesdays' return and cannot stop writing nerdy songs. (playful) — 00:02:43 · Song Wednesday

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