Semi-OT: A General Tech Question Thread for me :)

[Hunpecked]

Starhawk writes: "Or generally speaking the universe is really freaking huge and what are the odds of an interstellar empire just happening to bump into us?"

El_phil writes: "The universe is somewhat large, you do know this right?"

I also know a billion years is a long time. Given FTL travel and a few billion years' head start, the entire known universe is well within reach of one intelligent species. Note that any restrictions put on FTL travel to keep this (these) species out of our neighborhood also work against our own exploitation of FTL technology.

Granted, the "no contact" observation can also be interpreted as evidence against the existence of other intelligent, expansionist species--though we really need only one besides our own. Given the relative ease with which life developed on Earth--within a few hundred million years--and the "really freaking huge" size of the universe, what are the odds of that?

So no, this is not a joke. There are a number of possible explanations for this observation, but it remains a fact that has to be explained. And even if it can be plausibly explained, it's unlikely the explanation will be consistent with the kind of Space Empires-ish universe so popular in sci fi.

Note also that real science is a double-edged sword for sci fi: while future breakthroughs may confirm that FTL travel is both possible and practical, science may also shut the last theoretical door on FTL.