The Drake Equation After Sixty Years | Part 1 of 2

Sixty years ago Frank Drake wrote down an equation that has become one of the most famous in astronomy - the Drake Equation. This formula, aiming to estimate the number of alien civilizations communicating within the galaxy, has been celebrated, abused and criticized. Today, we are taking a deep dive into this special equation in a two part special. Written and presented by Prof David Kipping. Thanks to Jason Wright and Nadia Drake for help with this video.
This video was sponsored by CuriosityStream - sign up for CuriosityStream here: curiositystream.com/CoolWorlds and be sure to use the code: "CoolWorlds"
WATCH PART TWO HERE: • The Birth-Death Drake ...
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Thank-you to our supporters T. Widdowson, D. Smith, M. Sloan, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, J. Allen, S. Brownlee, G. Fulton, N. Kildal, M. Lijoi, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zanjonc, C. Wolfred, F. Rebolledo, T. Leger, L. Skov, G. Suter, M. Elliot, M. Wallstab, B. Daniluk, J. Patrick-Saunders, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, V. Alexandrov, L. Macchia, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, H. Jensen, F. Linker, J. Rockett, N. Fredrickson, N. Geisler, P. Cleeves, R. Case & B. Desormeaux.
::References::
► Kipping, D., 2021, "A Stationary Drake Equation Distribution as a Balance of Birth-death Processes", RNAAS, 5, 44: iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
::Check out Dr. Sutter's videos for more::
► Paul M. Sutter - The Equation is Useless (Part 1): • The Drake Equation is ...
► Paul M. Sutter - The Equation is Useless (Part 2): • The Drake Equation is ...
::Music::
Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], or via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (creativecommons.org/licenses/..., or with permission from the artist
► "Bruised Hope" by Hill [Spotify at open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkv...]
► "Long Note Two" by Kevin MacLeod
► "Y" by Joachim Heinrich
► "Always Dreaming" by Caleb Etheridge
► "Fusion" by Indive
► "Cylinder Five" by Chris Zabriskie
► "Ticking" by Alternate Endings
::Movies clips used::
► Agora (2009) 20th Century Fox/Newmarket Films
► Contact (1997) Warner Bros.
► The Big Short (2015) Paramount Pictures
► Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993) Paramount Television
::Chapters::
0:00 Prologue
2:48 Origins
8:23 The Drakonian Free-For-All
14:58 Criticisms of the Drake Equation
#DrakeEquation #AreWeAlone #CoolWorlds

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Thanks for watching everyone and thanks to our sponsor, CuriosityStream. You can sign up for CuriosityStream here: curiositystream.com/CoolWorlds and be sure to use the code: "CoolWorlds".

[@artdonovandesign]

Thank YOU, Dr. Kipping.

[@andrew300169]

It looks like a shopping list of things we would like to know. Problem is Scientists are like a person going to the shop with a shopping list whilst hungry. They start picking up the things the thought they wanted but keep finding ever more interesting things they didn’t realise they’d ever really needed 👍 that’s why science is awesome.

[@abielkim960]

A new solution to the Fermi Paradox: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5qkaat3faykZsk Estimates # civilizations over time and eliminates Drake’s “L” parameter. Check it out if youre interested in mathematics or this subject at all. Thank you very much

[@chrisbova9686]

for every alien visitation, there are probably 20,000 human made uap events that get reported. Just a guess.

[@senecaryan4155]

Check out SEA too. You won’t be disappointed

[@stevenandsally3298]

Cool Worlds, Isaac Arthur, Event Horizon and John Michael Godier = THE best four channels on KZbin.

[@stevenandsally3298]

@@crsdomain7 atlas Pro too lol

[@Alex-xr5mb]

dr becky is quite good

[@TheJonix46]

Agree with both of you, what a time to be alive!! Feel free to share more if you have

[@phapnui]

Anton Petrov

[@PafMedic]

@@phapnui ,I Like Him Too❤️

[@jackjacoby1535]

Professor Kipping's presentations, his verbal gentleness, and his great wisdom is such a pleasure to listen to. Thank you.

[@LordLotman]

Don’t forget @SEA

[@karupt422]

@@LordLotman nah he's angry

[@artdonovandesign]

His oratory prowess is incredible. Notice how clearly he pauses between words, giving entire phrases clarity and emphasis. It's one of the finest tutorials on public speaking we'll ever hear.

[@abielkim960]

A new solution to the Fermi Paradox: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5qkaat3faykZsk Estimates # civilizations over time and eliminates Drake’s “L” parameter. Check it out if youre interested in mathematics or this subject at all. Thank you very much

[@josephhewes3923]

The Drake Equation is not evidence, but it does provide for reasonableness. It cements the idea that a number can be discovered at some point. That there is a number. It is indirectly, evidence.

[@chuckz2934]

Strikes me as more of a framework and thought experiment than an intended equation. Also fascinating is the social and media component as we are all so geeked out about anything on the subject matter.

[@jamesknapp64]

Agreed. It's a framework and without efficent intersteller travel its near impossible to acturately approximate each of the terms

[@bartybum]

@@jamesknapp64 Is the Drake equation not just a statistical definition?

[@LiloEmyoung]

There’s poetry in your words, truth in your voice, and science in your sentences, what better could I ask for?! Thank you.

[@MrFancyFingers]

This is literally my favorite subject, I live in the mountains so the stars are even more generous for me and just staring up at the stars, wondering who staring back at me consumes much of my night time viewing.

[@rothandre6497]

This is one of my favorite stories. As a SSgt in the USAF, I was stationed in South Dakota. The very first troop that got right out of his training was a kid that had lived most of his life in Chicago, followed by Dallas. After he got to our station, I invited him to dinner at my house up in the Black Hills. After dinner, we were standing out on my porch, looking at the stars. I made the comment, "I bet you've never seen stars like that in the big city." His response, "Yeah. I've never seen so many stars. It's a shame it's cloudy though." It was a perfectly clearly night. I was dumbfounded. "What do you mean cloudy?" He responds, "That big wide cloud going across the sky." I realized what he was talking about. "No, bud, those aren't clouds, those are stars. That's the Milky Way." I've never seen someone have their entire universe expanded in such a short amount of time.

[@bond3161]

Big bang theory Creator Lord and God

[@QuackingKing]

Dude, these videos are what make KZbin unique. Amazing video, as always.

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Wow, thanks!

[@swank8508]

Check out isaac arthur too!

[@raidermaxx2324]

its channels like these, that i have ZERO regrets cutting the cord with cable tv and going all in on internet viewing for my television endeavors... so much cheaper, so much better, because you can never find specific, niche programming, like this, on the regular cable tv.. I mean, dont get me wrong, this aint Fox News, the king of television, but still very interesting and well worth the investment!

[@tonypoore440]

@@raidermaxx2324 I agree 100%. Try scanning or surfing the channels for scientific content like Cool Worlds and the other channels we all go to, nada, you're not going to find it.

[@theunluckycharm9637]

@@raidermaxx2324 Fox news will always be below youtube

[@baTonkaTruck]

IDK how this was mixed, but the way Carl's voice is so forward and kind of binaural is brilliant. Props to the audio engineering here, it really makes this video stand out. Glad to hear there's still such attention and importance given to sound.

[@peecon7]

You know its going to be a good video when Carl Sagan starts it off

[@emzywillrich7243]

I am hoping one day to watch all his videos from Cosmos. I was working long hours during the time it was on television. Carl Sagan has a voice that was very enriching (enchanting, bewitching) like Prof. Kipping's delivery of scientific information. Prof. Kipping would make a great replacement for Neil deGrasse Tyson on the new Cosmos when Dr. Tyson retires.

[@peNdantry]

Agreed -- although it would be better if the volume setting hadn't been set so low that one has to strain to hear the great man's words.

[@plazmikpond]

These videos are eargasmic and eyegasmic at the same time- true works of art

[@abielkim960]

A new solution to the Fermi Paradox: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5qkaat3faykZsk Estimates # civilizations over time and eliminates Drake’s “L” parameter. Check it out if youre interested in mathematics or this subject at all. Thank you very much

[@slugcult-10_years_and]

I love channels like this, that blow my mind on a regular basis. When I was a kid, my Grandpa told me that no matter what I do, who I meet or what new things I may try, always try to learn something from it. Be it a person, a place or activity. Learn from it. Even if it doesn't seem to teach something at the time, you will realize later on, that those experiences may help when you least expect it. Because of his influence, I've always made it a point to learn something new every day. Granted, that is much easier these days, thanks to the internet and channels like this. It always amazes me, that despite how much humans learn, it pales in comparison to what isn't known, and may NEVER be known. Or as Grandpa would say through is ultra thick, weathered Scottish brogue: "You learn something new every day, and you still die an idiot." I miss Grandpa. Thanks for all the work that goes into these videos.

[@user-dg3he7gz2w]

@DjohnDjay you have highlander wisdom you made my day after reading this good job i have to share this with my PTSD class

[@sebbythegod7747]

Thats kinda dark

[@geemanbmw]

Just gotta say I haven't watched it yet but I'm terribly excited that cool worlds put up a video........ I'll be back!

[@HimanshuKumar_24]

Same.❤️

[@raidermaxx2324]

yea its pretty good stuff

[@shugarburke1987]

I know this video was put out some time ago and I'm a little late to the show BUT.. I came across this video on a sleepless night and *WOW* !! I started binge watching your video catalog and I instantly subscribed 😉 I'm a Cosmos geek and I love the way you explain topics and explore new ways of thinking 🤔 looking forward to seeing more content from you 🌌☄️✨☀️🪐🌎🌍🌏

[@luisibarra5993]

Professor David Keeping is, from all other Scientist that I have paid attention to, the most honest and humble around . A kind of modern Socrates admitting that "The only thing we know for sure, is that we don't know it yet.." I'm not being sarcastic at all. I do appreciate the fact that when I listen to his lectures, I know he is not trying to fool us around.

[@prototropo]

I agree-it’s refreshing to trust what someone says in public, when so many voices are using deception to acquire power, and pursue selfish goals.

[@macbuff81]

I like your calm narration style. A beautiful rhythm. It really makes science come alive and accessible. Awesome I see the Drake equation as a call to action, to break the problem down into steps which we can endeavor to find answer to

[@TheExoplanetsChannel]

Great video. I recommend everybody reading the 2020 paper 'The Astrobiological Copernican Weak and Strong Limits for Intelligent Life', in which the authors suggest that there could be *36 alien civilizations in our galaxy*

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Actually I really don't recommend that! That's precisely an example of an abuse of the Drake Equation (we even talk about that in these videos!)

[@masonman_2113]

Robert Zubrin has his own version of the Drake equation that suggests there may be an alien civilization around 60 light years away.

[@CoolWorldsLab]

@@masonman_2113 Again it's the same point, no-one has any idea what the values for most of the terms are no matter how you parameterize it, so the answer isn't that there may be an alien civilizations within 60 ly, the answer is "we don't know" and that's all there is to it

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

@@CoolWorldsLab Which really makes the formula...meaningless. The only answer is observation. Which we are certainly doing, and with latger and better telescopes, we will eventually narrow down the paraketers. My feeling is that N=1.

[@omerkaracay6019]

Wow.. You deserve millions of subscriptions and views. This channel deserve so much more than this. Keep up the excellent work! Thank you so much for the great content!

[@hermit811]

This is my favorite and most inspiring video that you've made so far. Thank you for putting this one together, Prof. Kipping.

[@jeffreyneedle2191]

Excellent. The Drake equation is simply an analytical framework for estimating the number technological civilizations. It is useful for that purpose and generates stimulating thought and conversation. Call it an equation if you must. Keep posting. Thanks.

[@KingsMom831]

This is awesome!! I love your videos, they are, to me, something that gives me the same tingling curiosity I got from listening/watching Carl Sagan. 🙏🏼😊

[@emzywillrich7243]

Professor Kipping, we've been eagerly awaiting your return. You have rewarded us with a great topic of discussion. Thank you and Happy Easter to you and your family.

[@Rob_Mike_Litterst]

Randomly choosing this video to say that : ❤ your content and ways to craft quality content for some curious, intelligent but not specifically nor academically trained into the field of astronomy but, the aforementioned audience into whom I partake are quite grateful to hear your ideas phrased in an exquisite fashion and somehow sounds like a personal point of view with the science backing it.

[@AS_319]

Your videos are the one that i can rewatch again and again and still want more. Thank you for making this channel.

[@radar9561]

I just rewatched your other videos on alien life in the galaxy. SO awesome that you just uploaded this!

[@ArtWolfProductions]

Simply the best content on youtube. Already watched 80% of all of your videos. Keep making them, I and many othes really enjoy them!

[@zakariyamohamed9035]

Just unfathomably wonderful upload

[@robfoster8228]

And now my Easter is complete, quite sublime. Thanks cool world's.

[@christinearmington]

Praise Ishtar, Isis, Venus. 🐇

[@kenchesnut4425]

Carl Sagan had the ability to reel u in and set the hook..and would not release u until he stopped talking....Prof.Kiping has the same gift..wonderful as all ways

[@Toker888]

There's something about the way you layout and present the information that just follows a beautiful natural order and makes the way you explain things nearly perfect.

[@philsalee]

How does this channel only have 329k subscribers???? This is one of my favorite channels!

[@CoolWorldsLab]

We’re thrilled to have any!!

[@philsalee]

Do you think there is intelligent life outside of earth?

[@scotthalpern5631]

Great video! The way I see it, the beauty of the Drake equation is that it breaks down a complex problem into a series of simpler problems. It also gives us a pathway to estimate the number of civilizations without directly observing one through statistical methods. It is conceivable that we could one day measure the value of each term with experimentation and measurement.

[@oguzhan9424]

One of the best voices at the moment. Thank you for your teachings professor Kipping. You are highly apriciated

[@FloGrown863]

Love this man! Hope all is well and Happy Easter.

[@Cheekymukka]

I really enjoy your talks David, I will keep my views until the end of part 2.

[@atreeintheforest]

Thanks professor Kipping, this was very satisfying stuff to learn. I'm not usually into the numbers and equations end of science but you have a really nice way of explaining things... looking forward to part 2

[@tobischmitz4372]

I find your voice as soothing and comforting as Carl Sagan‘s. Hearing such a voice transporting wisdom and used for education is truly a blessing for the world

[@Success4u247]

Thank for starting with Mr Sagan . He was my hero and I received a letter from him when he was a professor in Cornell universe. He took his time to write to someone who was asking questions. Deep question that was 1983 . I love the darke equation . I love that the Cosmos vibrates

[@doomguydon]

I was able to attend a NANOGrav conference at Green Bank and got to go up on the telescope. Knowing the history of the site, the scale of the science, and the ongoing science made it amazing to be able to attend as an undergraduate.

[@Wild-Eye]

At exactly 8:54 of this video I decided to subscribe to your channel. Identifying what is not teaching you is beneficial. You are a fantastic teacher. All the best to you good sir!

[@akikleist]

I love your videos, they are never boring in whatsoever and you could livestream a paint drying with your commentary and I would watch the whole stream

[@fernandotenorio88]

Man, you're such a talent professor. Brillant. Amazing!

[@234suesan]

I've learnt so much from you! Wish you woulkd upload regularly

[@hamzaabid6344]

2:57 famous meeting of astronomers and they decide to write "ass" and point at it. SCIENCE HAS BEEN ACHIEVED!

[@krato890]

I'm so glad I came across this channel!

[@vailpcs4040]

I had the opportunity to go to a guest lecture at the U of A with Dr. Drake presenting his equation. Seeing him talk through it in person was surprisingly funny. He builds it up and up and then says at the end, that the answer is... "N". We don't know! That was ~20 years ago and the answer hasn't changed. It's a great thought experiment and the equation itself was well-crafted by a fun, interesting person.

[@KodyVermaak]

Much love from South Africa! Absolutely love your uploads.

[@Legio__X]

I love this channel. Best bedtime videos on the internet. Fascinating

[@bariizlam638]

this episode was so engaging! loved it

[@thefloridaexpress1811]

It sometimes brings tears to my eyes watching your videos. Their so beautiful. All we I ever want to know In life is if there are other life forms out in the universe and you help me with that and I find peace in your videos hoping we’re not alone.

[@dsacilot]

This was a beautifully inspiring video.

[@trilliamc5185]

Man I love your videos. I’m a big fan of astronomy and your vids are so informative

[@BrokenNat]

I find your videos extremely intertaining

[@eggsbacongritsandsausage8178]

Excellent content, loving it, thank you.

[@lmfaook.7971]

My favorite teacher! Kinda newish to the channel. But ever sense I found you. My entire work day is watching and listening/learning from you! Thank you! Your awesome! Keep it up plz!!! More alien stuff. Lol

[@ungmd21]

Dr Kipping You are so gracious in your presentations. You honestly evaluate the pros and cons of every argument objectively. There are alot of problems with the Drake equation as you have shown. I appreciate your scientific honesty. Buy the way, what kind of guitar do you have, it looks like a Martin dreadnought.

[@TheRob625]

Prof. Kipping, Thanks for another great video. Your description of the Drake Equation (around 6:36) brought back some memories. A rate (of star formation), multiplied by a series of constants, multiplied by time: dimensional analysis, something I've not done for nearly forty years! But is that why Drake used the rate of star formation in the Milky Way in his equation, rather than the total number of stars. Around 18:37 you observe that the Drake Equation "... splits something we don't know into lots of things that we don't know." But isn't that how science works? You take a big problem, break it up into smaller problems, assign values to each one and combine the results to give an answer to the original problem.

[@greenthumbbe]

The beginning of a great day starts, when you see that Cool Worls has posted a new video :)

[@ungolcost]

You got me to watch a video about an equation and not just that but kept me engaged. Well done! Thank you!

[@jimmyshrimbe9361]

Awesome stuff!! Thank you!

[@donnysandley6977]

Great job friend 👍 I totally love this video 💥✨🍻

[@jsb2277b]

The most underrated Cool Worlds video... Incredible

[@bhaskersuri1541]

yeeaahhhhhhhh !!!! Excited to hear about it from you !! I didn't even watch the video !

[@cosmicsaipen875]

Man I love you, you inspire me.

[@paulkar1]

Very good video/talk about the Drake equation

[@jasonm8019]

Awesome channel super informative!

[@williamreyes2735]

Welcome back. Too long without a video. Kipping 2024!!!!

[@animavideography1379]

Been waiting for what seems like ages for your latest vidro David! Deep Diving into this right now...I'm sure you saw that study last year calculating that at any one time there are 36 advanced civilizations in our galaxy. Seems like a very arbritary number to me. No doubt you'll emoy your Bayesian Logic here Professor!?

[@TheJonix46]

Professor, you are the best!

[@beachboardfan9544]

Eagerly awaiting part 3 where the new equation is proposed!

[@ChinnuWoW]

I hate the idea that a concept should be completely discarded just because something about it is inaccurate when it should instead be delved deeper into until it could potentially become useful in some way.

[@maxkronader5225]

It is useful as a thought experiment. But it is based on multiple unknown (and currently unknowable) values to such a degree that, factually speaking, it is simply guesswork.

[@kennethadkins8432]

This guy is very knowledgeable and understanding of the universe in many ways and has a good knowledge of history in astronomy and astro physics

[@GrouchyHaggis]

(less than 10 seconds in note) There's only 1 thing greater then Prof Kipping's voice at the start of the video, and that's Carl Sagans' lol. Don't worry though, I consider you both legends however. Now to have my mind blown...

[@GrouchyHaggis]

absolutely amazing. I've always considered the drake equation (one of) humanities great inspirational conundrums. As often in science, previous generations leave unanswered questions for future generations. The drake equation, to me, is a thousand year, multi generational puzzle. Something to spark young minds into the fields of science. Big questions like Fermi's paradox, Drakes equation and Implications of, and moving up the Kardashev Scale, all inspirational goals for humanity to achieve. I believe when we can answer all of these within a reasonable error margin that we will have entered a new age of humanity and hopefully be able to solve most, if not all problems by that point in time. Between the great thinkers (like yourself, Sagan, Fermi & Hawking to name a few) and the people with the will (and the money), ie) Musk, love him or hate him, is inspiring people to find ways to do things previously thought impossible. Maybe one day we can fill in the blanks, But even if when we do, if the answer is a resounding 'no life except on Earth', I'll still hope that there is and we've just missed something as the alternative is just too depressing to know that we've almost screwed it. It's people like you and the community around here and channels like it that restore my faith in humanity in dark times. Thank you!

[@user-bt5zg7tf6o]

Thank You Sir for this wonderful video and your beautiful narration. Yes, you are right here. As we do not know the values, that does not mean the 'Drake Equation' is wrong. Maybe in some day in future, we may got those values and only then we can use it effectively.

[@obrienjohnj]

The Drake Equation being compared to bond ratings is brilliant! Thanks for your channel; I love it. I only wish I did a lot better in math in high school and college.

[@tistrisha]

If you taught math and science when I was in high school I definitely would have paid attention. None of my teachers were this good at explaining.

[@ThePresident001]

Watching this as the notification for part 2 pops up. Nice.

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Awesome, that was the viewer experience I was hoping for!!

[@mrdonut3382]

@@CoolWorldsLab two uploads in one day. I respect the dedication.

[@maleficarus]

Professor Kipping is one of the reasons why I love science! I must ask you this professor: How does it make you feel that right now there is a little helli on mars getting ready for the historic first flight?

[@agusrodriguez1]

great video!

[@sawwwru]

This is what KZbin is made for

[@BIGV1N]

Two for one?! CW uploads get me the most excited out of any of my subs!

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Thank-you 🙏 !

[@marqessanzcora4089]

..'ve been waiting. Finally .

[@SpacefarerIndustries]

4:39 i was hoping you were about to say something about "so long and thanks for all the fish"

[@absolutelyreel8795]

I always enjoy listening to your logic! When it comes to fe, intelligence with communication tech, do we even fall into that category? Radio signals/communication could be viewed as smoke signals to a civilization 10,000 years ahead of us?

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Exactly - that’s why I really prefer modifying the Drake equation to just count civilizations and not get bogged down in what constitutes communication

[@theblackswan2373]

👍👍 Well presented, exceptionally well considered ideas. TBS

[@ardakkumerian8088]

The Drake Equation is like coming up with a point spread for a Super Bowl that will be played ten years in the future.

[@kugaththeplaguefather6332]

His voice is so chill.

[@johnwells1015]

As inconclusive as the Drake equation may be, its basically a physical equation of hope for other intelligent beings. Thank you for your videos.

[@PirrePirre]

Funny that you talk about this now, i actually sat down a few days ago and counted(gussed) how many system in our galaxy maybe can have complex life, i came up to 10-40 million system that maybe can have complex life, but how many of them that can communicate is a different story.

[@sfcmathews32]

Professor Kipping, thank you for the videos. What portion of distant galaxy's masses could be due to relativistic speeds from our reference frame? Would that mass account for any mass calculations based on dark matter?

[@CoolWorldsLab]

In the galaxy’s rest frame it has no extra mass so the galaxy would fly apart given rotation speed without dark matter

[@sfcmathews32]

@@CoolWorldsLab Thank you for the reply.

[@haroonkhosa665]

Marvelous!

[@larph7270]

Apart from not standing the test of time, e.g. we have now broadened our understanding of what could be the habital zone, I've always thought of it as unsolvable, because by the time you can be (fairly) certain of some of the components, which would mean you have encountered other civilisation(s), I'm pretty sure we don't care about N anymore 😁.

[@FreshhGraffz]

can someone tell me what the audio effect in the prologue is called?

[@toniroberts8117]

It’s cool that we are at least finding lots of exoplanets now, none were discovered when Drake equation started. If we can find tons of exoplanets, we can figure out how many of them are in the Goldilocks zone, rocky, containing water, if they have a large moon, if they have a Jupiter like planet protecting it, if the planets star is in an older, mature galaxy. A big question is just how important all those factors really are. But even if all those situations are required, there’s just soooooo many stars it seems almost impossible that advanced life isn’t out there. I think many scientists are mostly talking about the Drake equation pertaining to our galaxy. I realize it’s huge with 400 billion stars. However even if theirs only one or two planets with advanced life in our galaxy, think about how much life exists in the universe! There are as many galaxies in the universe (with billions of stars in each one) than their are stars in our galaxy. That’s a lot of planets. Based on mathematics alone, it just seems impossible we are alone. I honestly think that even if we assume life can only evolve with a planet with all the things we understand as necessary (large moon, Jupiter planet nearby, liquid water, plate tectonics etc…. I think we’d still find plenty of life out there, based on the numbers. That’s of course just my guess. I also wouldn’t be surprised at all if life exists out there that requires totally different things than we do. One of the coolest things to think about is if life exists out there that we wouldn’t recognize as being life. I also have to wonder if the universe is still pretty young for having advanced life (at its peak)? Seems like the older the universe gets, the more “safe” it becomes to allow life to evolve. Even though the universe is 14 billion years old, it’s still a “baby” in comparison to how long it will last. Our milkyway galaxy happens to be a pretty old galaxy, maturing now for billions of years so it’s not super active like many galaxies.

[@craigthescott5074]

Are we alone in the universe? Yes. So there’s no other intelligent civilizations out there? No there are but they are alone too.

[@rogerramjet8637]

Awesome voice and content

[@bazoo513]

I find the Drake Equation to be a nice, clear catalog of things we don't know, or, if you will, the possible solutions to Fermi paradox. How inevitable (or rare) life is even in favorable conditions (in other words, are we here by a wild striko of luck, or is any other outcome next to impossible)? Is intelligence a frequent adaptive strategy, or a fluke (our biosphere seems to indicate the former, with other apes, crows, cetaceans, cephalopods...)? Are civilizations inherently short-lived (again, judging by those on Earth, yes)? All these questions can be investigated independently of their use in this (in)famous equation. We have picked the low-hanging fruit - first two, maybe three factors, to an order of magnitude or two. Now the hard work remains, and it is outside of the scope of astronomy. But all those remaining questions speak of our own past and future, and that's why they are of inherent, intense interest. Where the Great Filter lies, and how to avoid it?

[@pedrogiro837]

Is the second part out? I can’t find it.

[@KryogenKeeper]

@time- It's fascinating to think that maybe something like New Physics could arise from the deeper math that would be involved by changing the perspective frame to one that sets time to the zero plane. (I'm not a scientist, nor mathematician, but I wish I were!) What would the universe look like from the view of an eternally ubiquitous Photon? Or what symmetries are observed from combined end sum of Time? Thank you for this topic! It appears the Drake equation is more or less a guideline, or perhaps the best Litmus test we have so far. You could probably tell alot of a race by looking at how they each devise this equation. Finally, the breaking down into smaller parts seems to be a recurring theme in our approach to nature.

[@KryogenKeeper]

Once again, progress is obscured by the complications arising from it's presentation. When drama attaches to an idea, more attention is given to the drama, than the idea. Thus, to a degree, an idea can be diminished by maliciously causing drama.

[@alanjenkins1508]

The Drake equation is just a bit of fun and an interesting talking point. It is more to do with exploring how much we don't know rather than what we know. It just needs to be taken in that context.