The Fermi Paradox suggests that we are not attractive on the interstellar dating scene

The human body biodegrades. In a billion years, the remains of our burial sites could provide interstellar archaeologists with Neuralink chips that outlast the human body in which they were embedded. Everyone's carbon footprint disappears when they die, whether thousands of billionaires previously traveled on private jets and luxury yachts, or billions of other people traveled on foot.

The blow to the human ego by the beginning and end of this non-negotiable contract for life as we know it makes everything in between a transient gift with an expiration date.

Given this basic setup, it would make the most sense for people to work together and turn this brief life into a rewarding experience for all. Instead, many people spend most of their time in toxicity and conflict and take pleasure in limiting the happiness of others on social media or in the real world.

It's presumptuous to imagine that aliens would be impressed if they found one Gold recorda message in a bottle launched into interstellar space aboard the spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2. Even if Voyager crashed onto an exoplanet a million years from now and a curious astrophysicist dug its ruins out of the ocean, extraterrestrials' fascination with Earth would die down as soon as their powerful probes detected how we are behaving badly. It's strenuous to gain the respect of bright neighbors when they notice primary conflicts through the open windows of our house.

From the perspective of interstellar observers, the allocation of resources to acts of aggression in terrestrial geopolitics compared to peaceful space exploration could have been handled much more intelligently. If aliens were really bright, they would avoid us. They know that mud wrestling is messy and that playing chess is better. The Fermi Paradox suggests that we are not attractive on the interstellar dating scene.

Finding partners in our cosmic neighborhood would teach us how to do better. Their space junk could be our treasure. For this reason Galileo project searches for extraterrestrial technological artifacts. Materials recovered from the fireball site of the interstellar meteorite IM1 have been analyzed over the past year, with the results published last week in a recent journal detailed paper.

We are planning another expedition in 2025 to recover larger pieces of the IM1 wreckage and decide whether it was a rock or a Voyager-like meteoroid. In parallel, a recent paper, soon to be made publicly available, summarizes preliminary results from monitoring half a million airborne objects in the sky from Harvard University's first Galileo Observatory. In 2025, we plan to build and operate two additional Galileo observatories.

Why is learning so exhilarating? Because recent data allows us to learn unexpected facts about our cosmic neighborhood, instead of being circumscribed to what other people tell us.

Collecting evidence and analyzing it requires much more effort than expressing an opinion. Therefore, most people express their opinion about the existence of extraterrestrials rather than invest their time and money in searching for evidence. It is complex to train an artificial intelligence (AI) system to follow a path of evidence-based reasoning about extraterrestrials because there is very little documentation of humans following this path. Polarization between skeptics and believers discourages those who might put in the strenuous work of searching for evidence. Common sense is not common on this matter.

But being a scientist is a great privilege. Yesterday, during the opening of the podcast, Erik Huberman asked me about my origin story. Finally, he asked what advice I would give to my younger self. I said that if I stepped into a time machine, my advice to my younger self would be to ignore social toxicity and stay the course in pursuing your passion. We live so brief that it is better to focus on what is essential.

I received an email from a teenager who wrote:

“Dear Professor Loeb,

I am writing to express my admiration for your work on black holes. Your research into the future of the universe was extremely inspiring to me, especially as an 11-year-old passionate about astronomy. I would also appreciate if you could give me advice on study tips or interesting facts about your research.

Best regards, Victoria”

To which I replied:

“Dear Victoria,

Great to hear from you. I strongly encourage you to follow your dreams and become a scientist, because science offers the privilege of pursuing childhood curiosity (and they pay for it).

“Avi”

As a poor substitute for stepping into a time machine, I enjoy helping young scientists. My service in leadership positions as president and director of several organizations and research initiatives was intended to help other scientists pursue their passions.

Learning offers the privilege of remaining curious from beginning to end. Yes, our brains are biodegrading, but the lessons learned from space will remain in the minds of our followers forever. The unknown is limitless and humans can pursue it forever.

My mother used to say that when she watched me as a newborn in the delivery room, I would look up in wonder at the world around me while the other babies looked at each other. If she were alive today, she would be proud to see that I have not stopped being surprised and that I have no trace on social media.

Hey, humanity: you better take care of yourself. Dress up, do your makeup and get ready for your next superhuman encounter.