The Great Silence : Science and Philosophy of Fermi's Paradox

The Great Silence explores the multifaceted problem named after the great Italian physicist Enrico Fermi and his legendary 1950 lunchtime question 'Where is everybody?' In many respects, Fermi's paradox is the richest and the most challenging problem for the entire field of astrobiology and the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) studies.

This book shows how Fermi's paradox is intricately connected with many fields of learning, technology, arts, and even everyday life. It aims to establish the strongest possible version of the problem, to dispel many related confusions, obfuscations, and prejudices, as well as to offer a novel point of entry to the many solutions proposed in existing literature. Cirkovic argues that any evolutionary worldview cannot avoid resolving the Great Silence problem in one guise or another.

"If you've already read a few books about the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, and you're looking for something a little deeper, then this would be a great book for you." – Andrew May, The Fortean Times Magazine

"A detailed, logical, impartial and much-needed exploration, examining one of the most fascinating controversies of this (or any) era." – David Brin, author of Earth and The Postman