The Fermi Paradox

If intelligent extraterrestrial beings are so common throughout the universe, as many cosmologists believe, then why haven't we found any yet? This question is known as the Fermi paradox. In 1961, cosmologist Frank Drake came up with an equation, called the Drake Equation, which estimates the number of intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way alone, and the estimate he obtained is rather high, somewhere between 1000 and 100 million. So where are they, and why haven't we seen them? Join us for a two-hour free-for-all discussion of this fascinating and perplexing question. Please be respectful of all participants and try not to dominate discussion. As always, bombers will be booted and reported.