Fermi Paradox: The Prime Directive

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Spacecraft, Scifi, Engineering, Interstellar Travel, Civilizaiton, Space Station, Future, Future Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, Technological Future, Cybernetics, Human Civilizaiton, Sci Fi, Space Megastructures, Astronomy, Megastructures, Energy Abundance, Physics, Space, Space Infrastructure, Technology, Futurism, Genetics, Starship, Post Scarcity, Transhumanism, Long Term Future, Space Colonization, Spaceship, Future Of Humanity, Space Industry, Science

4.9 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 15 November 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One solution to the Fermi Paradox, the big question of where all the aliens are, is that extraterrestrials might hide from us to avoid altering our society, a concept we see in Star Trek called the Prime Directive. Is such a policy ethical, and if so, should we follow it? Watch the Video Version: https://youtu.be/TwNdj76CK-E Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/IsaacArthur/ Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Listen or Download the audio of this episode from Soundcloud: Episode's Audio-only version: https://soundcloud.com/isaac-arthur-148927746/fermi-paradox-the-prime-directive Episode's Narration-only version: https://soundcloud.com/isaac-arthur-148927746/fermi-paradox-the-prime-directive-narration-only Credits: The Fermi Paradox: The Prime Directive Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur Episode 264a; November 15, 2020 Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur Written by: Isaac Arthur Editors: Darius Said Jerry Guern Keith Blockus Cover Art: Jakub Grygier https://www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier Graphics: LegionTech Studios https://hades9.com Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners.
0:02.5	In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,
0:05.2	we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare
0:08.0	is because most aliens are huge.
0:10.5	To hear it and every episode early and ad-free,
0:13.3	plus hours of bonus content,
0:15.1	check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur,
0:17.8	and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:19.9	This episode is brought to you by Brilliant.
0:23.1	Possibly one of the best known solutions for why we don't see or hear from aliens is that they
0:27.6	can contact us, but feel morally obliged not to, and that perhaps in the future we'll feel the
0:33.7	same. Star Trek is perhaps the most culturally influential of all science fiction franchises,
0:44.3	and one of its best known features is the prime directive of the Federation Starfleet,
0:49.3	also known as General Order Number 1, or the Non-interference Directive.
0:53.3	It's been stated in various forms over the years, but the general idea is that they are
0:57.5	not supposed to interfere in other civilizations, and for those who lack the ability to engage
1:01.9	in interstellar travel not to be detected by them.
1:05.3	The priority of this is considered so high that Starfleet personnel are expected not
1:09.5	to violate the prime directive
1:11.2	even to save their own lives or their ships or shipmates.
1:14.7	This often seems rather extreme, but as we'll see today, if a civilization did want to
1:19.1	follow a directive like this, they essentially would have to be that extreme about it,
	...

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