How do we Reconcile With the Fermi Paradox?

The Fermi Paradox questions the discrepancy between the vastness of the universe and the apparent lack of intelligent life. This paradox has been discussed at length with many experts and as all paradoxes go, there is no clear conclusion. However, there does appear to be strong rebuttals to the paradox.

One rebuttal that I find to be convincing is that the intelligence that we have defined as humanity is most likely significantly different from the intelligence of “aliens”. Our mission to colonize space is viewed as a manifestation of humanity’s intelligence but there is nothing to suggest that colonization is an inherent motivation amongst “intelligent” beings. It may be the case that the intelligence that an alien civilization has does not compel them to explore or colonize space.

Another strong explanation for the Fermi Paradox is the doomsday proposition which posits that civilizations will most often meet their “doom” and become extinct before being able to colonize space. This is compelling because even on Earth, we have only been able to meaningfully explore space through probes and spacecrafts in the past couple decades. Earth is a geologically active and decently friendly planet but despite its friendliness, we’ve had multiple extinction level events. The timeframe for humanity is incredibly short in the context of the age of the universe so it may be the case that the lack of evidence for intelligent life makes complete sense when we consider how short of a time we have been looking.