this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2026
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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Like, we're destroying the one place we know is a sure bet on where we can prosper if we keep it healthy, but instead the world's richest man is trying to expand to other planets while this one's ability to sustain life is in jeopardy. IMO that makes us potentially a very stupid species compared to a species that doesn't really care about meeting other aliens because they value the life on their own planet far more than we do.

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[–] fizzle@quokk.au 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Does it?

The Fermi Paradox which proposes the great filter suggests that despite the vastness of space we should still be able to detect radio waves from other civilisations.

The question of the great filter would not be posed, if we were unlikely to detect other civilisations because of the expanse of space.

[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Inverse square law. We're probavly bombarded by millions of alien signals. They're just not very loud

[–] fizzle@quokk.au -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh wow you've cracked it. To think there are great physicists like Frank Drake who have made this search their life's work, and pondered this very question for decades, and you've deduced the solution with your astonishing intellect. Bravo.

[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It was a thought experiment meant to provoke discussion at the time, not a rigorous theorem. Check the fc coefficient, there's much debate about its value and definition of detectability.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

[–] fizzle@quokk.au 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You're aware Drake was one of the instigators of the SETI program right? He spent a significant portion of his life on a project that would have been pointless if you are correct.

[–] tetris11@feddit.uk 1 points 6 hours ago

You may have just upset every scientist in the room at the suggestion that people only expend time on money on science that will only produce positive results