[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.20,0:00:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Somewhere out there in that vast universe,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.41,0:00:22.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there must surely be countless\Nother planets teeming with life,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.54,0:00:24.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but why don't we see any evidence of it?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.75,0:00:28.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, this is the famous question\Nasked by Enrico Fermi in 1950:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.86,0:00:30.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Where is everybody?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.61,0:00:35.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Conspiracy theorists claim\Nthat UFOs are visiting all the time
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.31,0:00:37.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the reports are just being covered up,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.38,0:00:39.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but honestly, they aren't very convincing.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.51,0:00:42.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that leaves a real riddle.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.88,0:00:45.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the past year,\Nthe Kepler space observatory
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.29,0:00:49.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has found hundreds of planets\Njust around nearby stars,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.08,0:00:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if you extrapolate that data,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.96,0:00:54.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it looks like there could be\Nhalf a trillion planets
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.32,0:00:55.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just in our own galaxy.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.79,0:01:01.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If any one in 10,000 has conditions\Nthat might support a form of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.38,0:01:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's still 50 million possible\Nlife-harboring planets
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.82,0:01:06.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right here in the Milky Way.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.07,0:01:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So here's the riddle.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.85,0:01:10.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our Earth didn't form
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.31,0:01:13.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until about 9 billion years\Nafter the Big Bang.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.13,0:01:17.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Countless other planets in our galaxy\Nshould have formed earlier
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.69,0:01:20.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and given life a chance to get underway
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.31,0:01:23.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,billions or certainly\Nmany millions of years
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.39,0:01:25.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,earlier than happened on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.79,0:01:28.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If just a few of them\Nhad spawned intelligent life
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.49,0:01:31.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and started creating technologies,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.14,0:01:34.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those technologies\Nwould have had millions of years
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.12,0:01:36.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to grow in complexity and power.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.70,0:01:39.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.39,0:01:41.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we've seen how dramatically\Ntechnology can accelerate
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.01,0:01:43.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in just 100 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.02,0:01:48.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In millions of years,\Nan intelligent alien civilization
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.54,0:01:51.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could easily have spread out\Nacross the galaxy,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.26,0:01:54.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perhaps creating giant\Nenergy-harvesting artifacts,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.73,0:01:57.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or fleets of colonizing spaceships,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.63,0:02:00.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or glorious works of art\Nthat fill the night sky.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.54,0:02:04.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the very least, you'd think\Nthey'd be revealing their presence,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.75,0:02:06.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deliberately or otherwise,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.04,0:02:09.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through electromagnetic signals\Nof one kind or another.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.70,0:02:12.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet we see no convincing\Nevidence of any of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.28,0:02:13.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.76,0:02:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, there are numerous possible answers,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.83,0:02:19.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of them quite dark.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.93,0:02:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe a single,\Nsuperintelligent civilization
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.03,0:02:25.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has indeed taken over the galaxy,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.57,0:02:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and has imposed strict radio silence
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.38,0:02:31.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's paranoid\Nof any potential competitors.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.48,0:02:34.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just sitting there\Nready to obliterate
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.48,0:02:36.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anything that becomes a threat.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.57,0:02:40.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or maybe they're not that intelligent.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.82,0:02:43.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or perhaps, the evolution\Nof an intelligence
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.18,0:02:45.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,capable of creating\Nsophisticated technology
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.86,0:02:47.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is far rarer than we've assumed.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.66,0:02:49.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After all,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.14,0:02:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's only happened once on Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.78,0:02:52.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 4 billion years.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.51,0:02:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe even that was incredibly lucky.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.04,0:02:58.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe we are the first\Nsuch civilization in our galaxy.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.73,0:03:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or, perhaps, civilization carries with it
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.64,0:03:04.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the seeds of its own destruction
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.46,0:03:07.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through the inability to control\Nthe technologies it creates.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.94,0:03:11.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there are numerous\Nmore hopeful answers.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.01,0:03:13.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For a start, we're not looking that hard,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.100,0:03:16.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're spending a pitiful\Namount of money on it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.13,0:03:20.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only a tiny fraction\Nof the stars in our galaxy
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.44,0:03:23.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have really been looked at closely\Nfor signs of interesting signals.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.65,0:03:27.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And perhaps, we're not looking\Nthe right way.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.49,0:03:29.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe as civilizations develop,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.58,0:03:32.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they quickly discover\Ncommunication technologies
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.28,0:03:35.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,far more sophisticated and useful\Nthan electromagnetic waves.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.63,0:03:38.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe all the action takes place
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.74,0:03:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside the mysterious\Nrecently discovered dark matter,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.11,0:03:43.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or dark energy,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.56,0:03:46.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that appear to account\Nfor most of the universe's mass.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.74,0:03:50.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or maybe we're looking at the wrong scale.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.00,0:03:53.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps intelligent civilizations\Ncome to realize
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.47,0:03:56.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that life is ultimately just complex\Npatterns of information
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.56,0:03:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interacting with each other\Nin a beautiful way,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.78,0:04:01.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that can happen\Nmore efficiently at a small scale.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.85,0:04:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So just as on Earth, clunky stereo systems\Nhave shrunk to beautiful, tiny iPods,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.27,0:04:08.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe intelligent life itself,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.06,0:04:10.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to reduce its footprint\Non the environment,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.52,0:04:12.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has turned itself microscopic,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.15,0:04:14.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the Solar System\Nmight be teeming with aliens,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.46,0:04:16.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're just not noticing them.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.13,0:04:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe the very ideas in our heads\Nare a form of alien life.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.100,0:04:22.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, okay, that's a crazy thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.41,0:04:24.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The aliens made me say it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.98,0:04:28.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it is cool that ideas do seem\Nto have a life all of their own,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.85,0:04:31.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that they outlive their creators.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.23,0:04:35.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe biological life\Nis just a passing phase.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.63,0:04:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, within the next 15 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.64,0:04:42.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we could start seeing\Nreal spectroscopic information
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.72,0:04:44.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from promising nearby planets
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.13,0:04:46.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will reveal just how\Nlife-friendly they might be.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.06,0:04:48.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And meanwhile SETI,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.23,0:04:50.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Search for\NExtra-Terrestrial Intelligence,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.74,0:04:52.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is now releasing its data to the public
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.70,0:04:55.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that millions of citizen scientists,\Nmaybe including you,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.72,0:04:58.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can bring the power of the crowd\Nto join the search.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.05,0:05:01.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here on Earth,\Namazing experiments are being done
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.02,0:05:03.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to try to create life from scratch,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.00,0:05:07.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,life that might be very different\Nfrom the DNA forms we know.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.87,0:05:10.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of this will help us understand
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.20,0:05:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether the universe is teeming with life
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.98,0:05:14.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or, whether indeed,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.08,0:05:16.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's just us.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.36,0:05:20.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Either answer, in its own way,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.76,0:05:22.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is awe-inspiring,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.98,0:05:25.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because even if we are alone,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.69,0:05:28.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the fact that we think and dream,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.19,0:05:30.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ask these questions
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.06,0:05:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,might yet turn out to be\None of the most important facts
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.70,0:05:33.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.80,0:05:37.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I have one more piece\Nof good news for you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.63,0:05:40.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The quest for knowledge\Nand understanding never gets dull.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.41,0:05:42.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It doesn't. It's actually the opposite.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.41,0:05:43.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The more you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.68,0:05:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more amazing the world seems.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.30,0:05:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's the crazy possibilities,\Nthe unanswered questions,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.77,0:05:50.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that pull us forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.02,0:05:53.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, stay curious.