Work

The Great Filter – Is it just a matter of time?

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The discussion on the second day of the symposium centred on the Great Filter, a concept proposed by Robin Hanson as a way to reframe the analysis of the Fermi Paradox. It asserts that there must be a least one Great Filter – an evolutionary step that is extremely improbable – somewhere along a chain which starts from a lifeless Earth-like planet, followed by the sequential development of simple, complex, intelligent/technological life, and culminating in an explosive phase of readily-detectable galactic colonization. Some 25 years on from Hanson’s proposal, we examine the Great Filter’s continuing usefulness as a concept and current thinking on whether any such filter lies in our past (Early Great Filter), or is waiting in our future (Late Great Filter), and what this means for us and our search for life in the Universe.

Source: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union

DOI: 10.1017/s1743921324001352

Authors: R. J. Wilman, A. E. Nicholson, J. Haqq-Misra

Institutions: Durham University, University of Exeter, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science

Language: English

Topic: Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Leverhulme Trust, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission