Hart–Tipler conjecture (original) (raw)

The Hart–Tipler Conjecture is the idea that an absence of detectable Von Neumann probes is contrapositive evidence that no intelligent life exists outside of the Solar System. This idea was first proposed in opposition to the Drake equation in a 1975 paper by Michael H. Hart titled "Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth". The conjecture is the first of many proposed solutions to the Fermi paradox (the conflict between the lack of obvious evidence for alien life and various high probability estimates for its existence). In this case, the solution is that there is no other intelligent life because such estimates are incorrect. The conjecture is named after astrophysicist Michael H. Hart and mathematical physicist and cosmologist Frank Tipler.