The Great Filter

Many people believe that aliens exist somewhere in the universe, but is that something we want? The Fermi Paradox is the lack of evidence that proves aliens exist. If thousands of species live on earth there must be other forms of life on other planets, right? But, we have yet to find any life on a different planet. There is a possible solution to this paradox, the Great Filter.

Some people see the Great Filter as a major theory when they question why we haven't discovered any intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos. It resembles a large obstacle course that any civilization has to pass to survive and become advanced.

Think of it like a game where you have to pass levels. In the game, the levels get more challenging, and if you can't beat a level, you have to start over. The Great Filter is similar to the hardest level of the game, and if a civilization can't pass it, they don't make it to the next level.

The Great Filter could be something hard, like the start of life. Imaginably, it's simply hard for life to start from scratch, and most planets don't get past that level. Or maybe it's when life has to change from being single-celled to multicellular like us. That's a really big jump, and perhaps most planets don't make it past that level.

The Great Filter could be something dangerous, like nuclear war or a giant asteroid hitting the planet. There could have been a lot of civilizations that became advanced but then destroyed themselves before they could explore the universe.

We haven't found any other civilizations yet, so some people think that maybe the Great Filter is responsible. We may have already passed it, and that's why we're here. Or maybe it's still ahead of us, and we haven't gotten to it yet. This reality is scary since we don't know what it is or how to beat it.

It's important to think about the Great Filter because it helps us understand how special life is. If life is rare in the universe, it makes us appreciate it more and want to protect it. If the Great Filter is still ahead of us, it's a reminder that we need to be careful and work together to make sure we don't destroy ourselves before we can explore the universe.

Sources:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter) 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjtOGPJ0URM) Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell