Aliens & Origins

I listened to a This American Life podcast episode recently titled Fermi's Paradox. The theme of the episode was "Are we alone?" and the Fermi paradox section was specifically tackling that question from an intergalactic scale. 

Taking directly from the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) website, Fermi's paradox goes like this:

Fermi realized that any civilization with a modest amount of rocket technology and an immodest amount of imperial incentive could rapidly colonize the entire Galaxy. Within ten million years, every star system could be brought under the wing of empire. Ten million years may sound long, but in fact it's quite short compared with the age of the Galaxy, which is roughly ten thousand million years. Colonization of the Milky Way should be a quick exercise. 

So what Fermi immediately realized was that the aliens have had more than enough time to pepper the Galaxy with their presence. But looking around, he didn't see any clear indication that they're out and about. This prompted Fermi to ask what was (to him) an obvious question: "where is everybody?"

Fermi wasn't asking where in the galaxy are these aliens, he was implying that maybe they aren't out there to begin with because we would have seen them by now. Essentially, maybe we're it. As he looked at it from a mathematical point of view, it's statistically probable that they should have shown up by now.

In the This American Life episode, one of the Producers of the podcast, David Kestenbaum, was wrestling with this idea and finding it quite saddening to think that we humans might be the only intelligent lifeforms in the galaxy. Much of the podcast was devoted to David's soul-searching and trying to find someone who he could share this grief with.

What bothers me about the whole topic is that these are highly intelligent people, spending a lot of time grappling with this paradox and yet they give no consideration to the explanation of the origins of life that I believe in, and that is that God created us. If they would direct even a small amount of their brain power and honest scientific exploration towards this explanation I am convinced it would all make sense. But they simply toss that theory out the window as if it's laughable.

Case in point. Here's the only mention of God from the whole podcast:

Melissa Franklin And then you would say, OK, if that's the case, I have to believe in God. So that's what you're saying. 

David Kestenbaum How many physicists do you know who believe in God? 

Melissa Franklin Six.

The specific and small number was intended to be a punchline. After that interaction they immediately move on to talk about a New Yorker cartoon. Back to matters of greater importance, I suppose.

Let's think about Fermi's paradox here. I get the sense that this is no longer considered a rational thought but what if our planet is not billions of years old but can be measured in thousands? What if it didn't just "happen" but was the intentional act of an intelligent designer? When it comes to talks of paradoxes and the origins of life, I am perplexed that we write this option off as not even plausible anymore.

If the earth isn't billions of years old, then the whole formula behind Fermi's paradox changes. And if the stars were created by God, then there is hope. Isn't an explanation that ends well even worth exploring? It's like we're trying to find someone's contact info in our phone and yet that person is standing right next to us and we're saying "Not now. I'm busy looking for something."

In my opinion, a core flaw in this science-focused mindset is that we look at ourselves as a higher form of intelligence scrutinizing lower forms of intelligence. Science posits that we should be able to explain everything. Sure, if you create something, you have a right to scrutinize it and understand it in and out. After all, you know exactly where it came from and why. But so far I haven't seen any humans make any habitable and self-sustaining planets. So we are the students here, not the teachers. The most we can only ever hope to know is just as much as the teacher.

"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher." - Luke 6:40

I am not proposing, by any means, that I have the answer to Fermi's paradox, or any other paradox for that matter. I am simply bothered by the close-minded nature of our approach in exploring the answers.

If science can be defined as "systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation" (Dictionary.com) then, for me, there is a blurry line between that and religion because what I've observed and experienced is that God is real. Just like the wind, I can sense his coming and going, anticipate his direction, and see the effects him moving all around me. Is wind also a religious belief? Can God be explained by science? Why do we put our faith in meteorologists but not pastors? Because meteorologists get stuff wrong all the time. Just sayin'...