this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2026
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Suppose an advanced civilization on the other side of our galaxy observe the Earth at this very moment, they are seeing the early homo sapiens. Suppose they send a radio signal to say "Hello world!", it will be received about 100 000 years later when our civilization will likely be not anymore. The End. Now, if you think about a courtesy visit, it's even worse, odds are the Solar system will be no more by the time they arrive.
This was the problem inherent in the Fermi paradox. Fermi never really appreciated how human brains really cannot understand just how far a light year is. We did not evolve with any possible frame of reference.