#28 Robin Hanson - Aliens Exist and They're Coming Towards Us
Bold Conjectures with Paras Chopra
English - January 27, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 48 MB - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsScience science physics consciousness reality economy psychology evolution Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Do aliens exist?
Robin Hanson has developed a mathematical model called "Grabby Aliens" that not just predicts that they exist also suggests that they're rapidly expanding in the universe.
Robin is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. Personally, I’m a fan of his book “The Elephant in the Brain”; it had a major impact on how I view the world.
What Robin says in this episode is both provocative and grounded in logic.
== What we talk about ==
0:00 - Introduction
1:10 - What made you interested in aliens?
1:44 - What is the Fermi paradox and what is its relation with the Great Filter?
5:45 - Thinking about the future is the same as thinking about the aliens
7:09 - How does the Great Filter lead to the model of Grabby Aliens
15:48 - The Grabby Aliens model
25:13 - When can we expect to meet the aliens as per your model?
30:19 - What might be some of the observations/evidence that, if found, will decrease confidence in your model?
32:32 - What if the Grabby Aliens encounter conflicts with each other during expansion?
41:43 - Why competition is a good thing
45:29 - What are your views on the work SETI is doing?
48:04 - Why do you think that finding alien civilizations or UFOs is a matter of concern for us?
1:02:07 - Did your research findings change your worldview?
1:05:34 - With all the technological advancements we are making, is there any tiny chance that we might be able to see the Grabby Aliens in the near future?