General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The universe is much bigger than big [View all]EOTE
(13,409 posts)But once again, the Fermi "paradox" isn't a paradox at all. Why radio noise? Radio would be one of the most insanely inefficient way of transmitting data there is. And given how we're only capable of monitoring such a tiny fraction of the sky, what makes you think it's likely we'd pick up on those signals even if they were very common?
And why on earth would this belief lead us to treat the earth in a cavalier fashion? Certainly a good number of earth's inhabitants DO treat it cavalierly (to be kind), but I'd say that the more likely they are to believe that the earth is alone in terms of harboring life, the more likely they are to treat the earth like crap. Today's fundamentalist christians get fuming mad at even the suggestion of intelligent life elsewhere, yet they're the ones who are most likely to deny global warming and any other warnings scientists provide on the fate of our planet.
Anyone with more than a few functioning brain cells knows that the earth is our only home for quite some time. Those who work to destroy the planet don't do so because they think that a new home planet is right around the corner.