Firstborn hypothesis

Short description: Idea that humanity is the first intelligent life

The firstborn hypothesis is a proposed solution to the Fermi paradox which states that no extraterrestrial intelligent life has been discovered because humanity is the first form of intelligent life in the universe.[1][2]

## Background

Main page: Astronomy:Fermi paradox

There is no reliable or reproducible evidence that aliens have visited Earth.[3][4] No transmissions or evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life have been observed anywhere other than Earth in the universe. This runs counter to the knowledge that the universe is filled with a very large number of planets, some of which likely hold the conditions hospitable for life. Life typically expands until it fills all available niches.[5] These contradictory facts form the basis for the Fermi paradox, of which the firstborn hypothesis is one proposed solution.

Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist and cosmologist, has suggested that Earth may be a very early example of a life-bearing planet and that life-bearing planets may be more likely trillions of years from now. He has put forward the view that the Universe has only recently reached a state in which life becomes possible and this is the reason humanity has not detected extraterrestrial life.[6]

## Relationship to other proposed Fermi paradox solutions

The firstborn hypothesis is a special case of the Hart–Tipler conjecture (the idea that the lack of evidence for interstellar probes is evidence that no intelligent life other than humanity exists in the universe) which asserts a time-dependent curve towards discovery.[1] The firstborn hypothesis is also a special time-dependent case of the rare earth hypothesis which states that conditions for creating intelligent life are exceedingly rare.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Williams, Matt (27 September 2020). "Beyond "Fermi's Paradox" X: What is the Firstborn Hypothesis?". Universe Today. https://www.universetoday.com/147591/beyond-fermis-paradox-x-the-firstborn-hypothesis/.
2. ↑ Ian O'Neill (27 October 2015). "Earth Bloomed Early: A Fermi Paradox Solution?" (in en). Space.com. https://www.space.com/30889-earth-bloomed-early-fermi-paradox-solution.html.
3. ↑ Tingay, Steven (May 19, 2022). "Is there evidence aliens have visited Earth? Here's what's come out of US congress hearings on 'unidentified aerial phenomena'" (in en). The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/is-there-evidence-aliens-have-visited-earth-heres-whats-come-out-of-us-congress-hearings-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-183443.
4. ↑ Kolbert, Elizabeth (14 January 2021). "Have We Already Been Visited by Aliens?". The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/25/have-we-already-been-visited-by-aliens. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
5. ↑ Papagiannis, Michael D. (1978). "Are We All Alone, or could They be in the Asteroid Belt". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 19: 277–281. Bibcode: 1978QJRAS..19..277P. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1978QJRAS..19..277P.
6. ↑ Kaufman, Marc (25 August 2016). "Are We The Earliest Intelligent Life In The Universe?" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/08/25/491307739/are-we-the-earliest-intelligent-life-in-the-universe.

* v
* t
* e

Astrobiology

Disciplines|

* Astrochemistry
* Astrophysics
* Atmospheric sciences
* Biochemistry
* Evolutionary biology
* Exoplanetology
* Geomicrobiology
* Microbiology
* Paleontology
* Planetary science

Main topics|

* Abiogenesis
* Allan Hills 84001
* Biomolecule
* Biosignature
* Drake equation
* Earliest known life forms
* Earth analog
* Extraterrestrial life
* Extraterrestrial sample curation
* Extremophiles
* Hypothetical types of biochemistry
* List of microorganisms tested in outer space
* Molecules detected in outer space
* Ocean planet
* Origin of life
* Panspermia
* Planetary protection
* Search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)
* Yamato meteorite

Planetary
habitability|

* Habitability of binary star systems
* Habitability of K-type main-sequence star systems
* Habitability of natural satellites
* Habitability of red dwarf systems
* Circumstellar habitable zone
* Earth analog
* List of potentially habitable exoplanets
* Tholin
* Extraterrestrial liquid water
* Galactic habitable zone
* Superhabitable planet

Space
missions|

| Earth orbit|

* BIO
* BIOCORE
* Biolab
* Bion
* BIOPAN
* Biosatellite program
* E-MIST
* ERA
* CROPIS
* EXOSTACK
* EXPOSE
* Lunar Micro Ecosystem
* O/OREOS
* OREOcube
* Tanpopo
* VEGGIE

|

Mars|

* Beagle 2
* ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
* Fobos-Grunt
* Mars Science Laboratory
* Curiosity
* Phoenix
* Viking

Comets and
asteroids|

* Hayabusa2
* OSIRIS-REx
* Rosetta

Planned|

* BioSentinel
* Dragonfly
* Europa Clipper
* ExoMars
* Rosalind Franklin rover
* Kazachock lander
* Mars 2020 rover
* HX-1

Proposed|

* CAESAR
* Enceladus Explorer
* Enceladus Life Finder‎
* Enceladus Life Signatures and Habitability
* Europa Lander
* ExoLance
* Explorer of Enceladus and Titan
* Icebreaker Life
* Journey to Enceladus and Titan
* Laplace-P
* Life Investigation For Enceladus
* Mars sample return mission
* Oceanus
* THEO
* Trident

Cancelled and
undeveloped|

* Astrobiology Field Laboratory
* Beagle 3
* Biological Oxidant and Life Detection
* Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment
* Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher
* MELOS
* Northern Light
* Red Dragon
* Terrestrial Planet Finder

Institutions
and programs|

* Astrobiology Society of Britain
* Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets
* Breakthrough Initiatives
* Breakthrough Listen
* Breakthrough Message
* Breakthrough Starshot
* Carl Sagan Institute
* Center for Life Detection Science
* European Astrobiology Network Association
* NASA Astrobiology Institute
* Nexus for Exoplanet System Science
* Ocean Worlds Exploration Program
* Spanish Astrobiology Center‎

* Category
* Commons
* Portal: Astronomy
* Biology

* v
* t
* e

Interstellar communications

Programs|

* Active SETI
* Breakthrough Initiatives
* Breakthrough Listen
* Breakthrough Message
* Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence
* Search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Messages|

* List of interstellar radio messages
* A Message from Earth
* Across the Universe
* Arecibo message
* Bracewell probe
* Cosmic Call
* CosmicOS
* Hello from Earth
* Pioneer plaque
* Teen Age Message
* Voyager Golden Record

People|

* Frank Drake
* Ann Druyan
* Hans Freudenthal
* Nikolai Kardashev
* Jon Lomberg
* Carl Sagan
* Linda Salzman Sagan
* Iosif Shklovsky
* Aleksandr Leonidovich Zaitsev

Other|

* Alien language
* Astrobiology
* Drake equation
* Extraterrestrial life
* Lincos
* Fermi paradox
* Prix Guzman
* San Marino Scale

* Book
* Category
* Space Portal

* v
* t
* e

Extraterrestrial life

Events and objects|

* ALH77005
* ALH84001
* Cells in the stratosphere
* CI1 fossils
* Murchison meteorite
* Nakhla meteorite
* Polonnaruwa meteorite
* Red rain in Kerala
* Shergotty meteorite
* Viking lander biological experiments
* Yamato 000593

Signals of interest|

| Misidentified|

* CP 1919 (misidentified pulsar)
* CTA-102 (misidentified quasar)

|

Stars|

* KIC 8462852 (unusual light fluctuations)
* EPIC 204278916 (unusual light fluctuations)
* VVV-WIT-07 (unusual light fluctuations)
* HD 164595 signal (unknown origin)

Other|

* SHGb02+14a (radio source)
* Wow! signal (inconclusive)
* Fast radio burst (unknown origin)

Life in the Universe|

* Earliest known life forms
* Habitability of Enceladus
* Habitability of Europa
* Habitability of Mars
* Habitability of Titan
* Habitability of Venus

Planetary
habitability|

* Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems
* Circumstellar habitable zone
* Earth analog
* Extraterrestrial liquid water
* Galactic habitable zone
* Habitability of binary star systems
* Habitability of orange dwarf systems
* Habitability of red dwarf systems
* Natural satellite habitability
* Planetary habitability

Space missions|

* Beagle 2
* Biological Oxidant and Life Detection
* BioSentinel
* Curiosity rover
* Darwin
* Dragonfly
* Enceladus Explorer
* Enceladus Life Finder
* Europa Clipper
* ExoMars
* Rosalind Franklin rover
* ExoLance
* EXPOSE
* Foton-M3
* Icebreaker Life
* Journey to Enceladus and Titan
* Laplace-P
* Life Investigation For Enceladus
* Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment
* Mars Geyser Hopper
* Mars sample-return mission
* Mars 2020
* Northern Light
* Opportunity rover
* SpaceX Red Dragon
* Spirit rover
* Tanpopo
* Titan Mare Explorer
* Venus In Situ Explorer
* Viking 1
* Viking 2

Interstellar
communication|

* Active SETI
* Allen Telescope Array
* Arecibo message
* Arecibo Observatory
* Berkeley SETI Research Center
* Bracewell probe
* Breakthrough Initiatives
* Breakthrough Listen
* Breakthrough Message
* Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence
* Gauss's Pythagorean right triangle proposal
* Lincos language
* NIROSETI
* Pioneer plaque
* Project Cyclops
* Project Ozma
* Project Phoenix
* SERENDIP
* Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
* SETI@home
* setiQuest
* Voyager Golden Record
* Water hole
* Xenolinguistics

Exhibitions|

* The Science of Aliens

Hypotheses|

* Ancient astronauts
* Aestivation hypothesis
* Cosmic pluralism
* Directed panspermia
* Drake equation
* Extraterrestrial hypothesis
* Fermi paradox
* Great Filter
* Hypothetical types of biochemistry
* Interplanetary contamination
* Kardashev scale
* Mediocrity principle
* Neocatastrophism
* Panspermia
* Planetarium hypothesis
* Rare Earth hypothesis
* Zoo hypothesis

Related topics|

* Astrobiology
* Astroecology
* Biosignature
* Brookings Report
* Planetary protection
* Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact
* Exotheology
* Extraterrestrials in fiction
* Extremophile
* Nexus for Exoplanet System Science
* Noogenesis
* San Marino Scale
* Technosignature
* UFO religion
* Xenoarchaeology

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firstborn hypothesis. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Astronomy:Firstborn_hypothesis&oldid=2991428"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template