We Might Be Living in a Galactic Cage, Scientists Think

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1:05And over 170 billion galaxies give or take in the observable universe. Conditions for life are all over space. So where is everybody? Nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi came up with this exact same question during a lunch break with his colleagues in 1950, leading to one of the most unsettling paradoxes in the universe. Even though there's a huge probability of extraterrestrial civilizations existing, we still haven't found any clear evidence of them. When possible explanation comes from the zoo hypothesis, it suggests that advanced extraterrestrial societies exist and know exactly who we are and where we are, but intentionally choose to stay hidden. They're just observing human quirky behaviors as if we're in some kind of a cosmic wildlife park. But their intentions could be much darker.

2:08If you're a Star Trek fan, you probably remember the main rule for Federation members. Starfleet officers shouldn't contact species that are not advanced to avoid messing with their development, even if it means risking their own lives. Now, even though it's fiction, this rule perfectly captures what the zoo hypothesis is all about. Beings from other corners of the universe see our planet as a cosmic zoo with one-way bars. They can watch us brushing our teeth in the morning or walking our dog, but we can't catch a glimpse of them. In this theory, non-terrestrial life forms deliberately keep their distance from us, sticking to a hands-off policy agreement in the vast cosmic neighborhood. It's like those super smart beings agreed that we needed to have the freedom to shape our own future and destiny, following our own path of development without external contamination. The idea is that these super-advanced civilizations could be like, oh, I don't know,

3:09500 million years ahead of us, which would explain why we haven't seen any signs of them. And maybe it's better. You've been there, settling in for an evening of tv only to waste half the night scrolling. Enter Fire TV, Entertainment with zero effort required. Fire TV serves up personalized recommendations from across all your apps. Not sure what to watch? Just tell Alexa Plus what you're in the mood for and she'll pull up the perfect recommendation. Problem solved. Stop the scroll, start the show. Find what you're looking for with Fire TV. Subscriptions may be required. It's not just something you made. It's the privilege that you get to work with your hands. It's building something that serves a purpose, proof that you have the grit to keep going. At Timberland, we understand you take your craft seriously and we do too, which is why our products are built to the highest quality. We put in the work so you can perfect yours with purpose in every detail and crafted with intention. Timberland, built on craft,

4:14visit Timberland.com to shop. After this week, as humans could eventually be destroyed or even assimilated by this new cosmic power, independent state style. As much as things like going to an art museum might be interesting to us, extra terrestrial probably wouldn't be too thrilled watching a stare at the Mona Lisa painting for hours. Interplanetary cultures might be more in debying tickets to quietly observe how we're developing new technologies, such as ultra-modern satellites. According to the Zoo Theory, they can't reach out to us until we hit a certain level of development, so improving our technology and wisdom could be the only way to show them that we're mature enough and don't need their spaceship parenting anymore. There are a couple of reasons why it's hard to buy into the Zoo hypothesis. I mean, okay, extra terrestrials might not visit or reach out because we're not all that advanced, but it is tough to explain why they keep ignoring all our attempts to communicate,

5:18even if the zookeepers try their best not to interfere with animals' lives and behaviors. I bet they couldn't just ignore a bear speaking in loud and clear English about its desire to communicate. So that's pretty much why humans keep trying and trying to provoke some reaction from inhabitants of other planets using radio signals. In 2017, in a valley eight mile southeast of the Norwegian city of Trumssa, a radar antenna transmitted some specially composed electronic music to potential intergalactic listeners. The target audience was in GJ273, also known as Light and Star. It's a runny red dwarf located 12 light years from our solar system. Since radio waves travel at the speed of light, we'll have to wait more than two decades before looking for a reply. But the main problem with radio waves is that we're kind of in the dark about where to look

6:19and civilizations might be as far as 17,000 light years away. Plus, we don't know which radio frequency extra terrestrials use to chat. Now here on Earth, we use the radio spectrum to send signals into the universe, assuming that what works for us might be a common method for other civilizations. But in fact, it could be considered a somewhat old school technique for other beings. That's why current projects are now looking for techno signatures, which are signs of technological activity from extra terrestrials, like city lights, solar panels, mega structures, or artificial satellites. Another potential clue is to study the atmospheres of planets orbiting nearby stars, as an advanced civilization might be altering its atmosphere with different gases, making it detectable. Despite decades of observations, there is still no definitive evidence that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations are out there.

7:21But that doesn't mean they don't exist. Even by expanding search fields, we're talking about odds much slimmer than hitting the jackpot, with a roughly one-in-three billion chance of finding an advanced civilization within a given distance from Earth. Maybe space creatures are responding to a- This episode is brought to you by Nespresso. Introducing Virtual Up, the latest and a long line of innovation from Nespresso. It's innovation you can touch, sense, and taste in every single cup. With a three-second start, easy open lever, and dedicated brew over ice button, it's even easier to enjoy your coffee your way. Zip for yourself. Shop virtual up exclusively at nespresso.com Our communication attempts, but in a way that we can't understand. The universe has been around for more than 13 billion years, while humans showed up just 200,000 years ago. And this is about 0.0 1% of the universe's age.

8:23It's like we're still learning to talk. While other super smart beings might be sending us messages that are all lost in translation. We keep waiting for a giant UFO to land on Earth and for green ETs with huge eyes to come out of it. But we forget that our intergalactic neighbors could be more interesting and building nanotechnologies to watch over us. They could also be trying to communicate using neutrinos, which are subatomic particles with an extremely small mass that could everlessly pass through our planet without being detected by our current technological devices. Now the Zoo Hypothesis has another issue. It is pretty tough to believe that with all these civilizations supposedly hanging out in the universe, they would all decide not to reach out to humans. For this to happen, there would have to be a great sense of structure with a higher intelligence working as the head of the universe, giving them direct orders and clear rules to keep us isolated.

9:25But we're talking about billions of possibilities for life, right? More civilizations mean that there are more chances of a violation of this no-contact rule. So, most likely, at least one independent planet would be just as desperate to find life in the universe as we are. Some scientists also believe that if such advanced life had substantially colonized Earth and many other planets, we would know it by now. The Zoo Hypothesis has two other variations that are even more frightening. In the laboratory hypothesis, nobody contacts us because humankind is actually being subjected to experiments, and Earth is essentially a giant science lab. Otherworldly creatures could be analyzing human responses to various survival challenges, such as tsunamis or massive earthquakes. In this case, the no-contact agreement between all other space groups would make a bit more sense.

10:27Since it's in the name of scientific research for the greater good, at least for them. The Planetarium Hypothesis, proposed in 2001, suggests that we are living in an artificial universe, in some kind of virtual reality, designed to give us the illusion that the universe is empty when it's not. But no possible generator could test this hypothesis. Besides the Zoo, the laboratory, and the Planetarium theories, there is another possible answer to the Fermi Paradox. Nobody contacts us because humans are completely alone in the universe. This is known as the Rare Earth Hypothesis, and it emphasizes how Earth occupies an incredibly unique position. No other planet could bring life to the universe that could be more than just bacteria. We may consider ourselves pretty lucky, as even a small change in any of Earth's orbital parameters, like the distance from the Earth to the Sun, or the rate of rotation, could make conditions to

11:30extreme for people or life in general. But again, it's hard to think that we are alone in this vast universe, so we're back to the paradox. Where is everybody?