Hello, SFIA audio listeners, in this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,

we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.

To hear it and every episode early and add-free, plus hours of bonus content, check out

go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for

and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more

bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened, Douglas Adams.

So today we'll be discussing some common misconceptions about space, time, life, the universe,

and everything.

Some of these are pretty well-known, but have a twist.

Some are well-known misconceptions but actually wrong themselves.

And some are sadly less known,

and we'll be correcting those today.

We have a lot of topics to cover, from common misconceptions about space that is cold or dark

or empty or quiet, to grander ideas like where the edge or center of the universe are,

its beginning and end, and how we might

travel around it, see new worlds around alien suns, and even survive the death of the stars

themselves.

I feel obliged to say from the outset that this episode is going to have a lot of actually

moments, where it might seem like a nitpick and a few probably really are, tastes vary and some are

really there for completeness, or bearing on more important misconceptions, or less well-known

...