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

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

To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content,

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

As technology improves, we reach ever closer to a time when starvation and depredation

become things of the past.

But what happens to humanity if scarcity fades, yet the desires that drive it remain.

When we imagine the future, few concepts are as tantalizing or as misunderstood as the idea of post-scarcity.

It's a luring vision, a world where every human need is effortlessly met, where the stress of survival

gives way to limitless potential for growth, exploration, and creativity.

Science fiction has painted vivid pictures of these utopian futures, with technologies that can conjure

food from thin air, or provide infinite energy, yet as enticing as the

concept may be, the reality is far more complex. Achieving post-scarcity is not as simple

as perfecting a piece of technology or reaching a milestone in production, it's an intricate

interplay of resources, psychology, and social dynamics.

In many ways, scarcity begins in the mind, what we perceive as lacking often shapes our reality

more than the resources themselves.

Humanity has never lived in such a time of abundance and prosperity, yet many do not feel

this to be the case.

Personally or for humanity at large. Scarcity then is not just about the lack of material goods,

it's about perception and priorities, about what people value and what they fear losing.

Even in a universe of seemingly infinite resources, the human condition ensures that scarcity,

...