How the Rare Earth Hypothesis Explains the Absence of Life in the Universe

Humanity might be alone in the great beyond.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Are we alone in the Universe?

This is one of the most common questions to ask yourself or those around you when staring up at the stars. It’s started heated debates and led to existential crises, yet we are no closer to an answer. Despite the fact that the Universe is absolutely massive, there has been no definitive evidence of life discovered in the stars.

Now, of course, one can say that the Universe is simply too big to have discovered life yet. Maybe that’s true. I hope that’s true.

Enrico Fermi posed his famous paradox decades ago, and numerous potential answers have emerged in the years since. I would accept any of the answers, even those that are more sinister, such as the Dark Forest Theory.

That’s because what could be the truth is more terrifying than any theory that’s ever been presented:

We are alone.

Let me introduce you to the Rare Earth Hypothesis. This is one of the leading beliefs as to why humanity may be alone and it’s very…isolating.

To understand this hypothesis, we need to go back in time. Frank Drake and Carl Sagan are two names commonly known…