ELON MUSK ON THE FERMI PARADOX: UNMASKING THE VAST TIMESCALE OF THE UNIVERSE "If we send probes out there, we might find the remains of long-dead alien civilizations. If physics is correct, the universe is about 13.8 billion years old. Earth is about 4 and 1 billion years old. But at 13.8 billion years, a civilization that even lasted a million years is three digits past the decimal point. And if you consider human civilization, I dated from the first writing. So that first writing was the ancient Sumerians' archaic pre-cuneiform around 5,500 years ago. So that is one millionth of Earth's lifespan. That's how long writing has existed. If we would last as a civilization for million years, that would be incredible. And we would actually probably be in every part of the galaxy." Elon Musk’s take cuts straight through cosmic time, revealing just how brief our moment is and how much bigger our potential could be. His ability to link Earth’s story to the wider galaxy shows a rare clarity, not just in science but in vision. It pushes us to think about the survival of our civilization with urgency and wonder, blending precision with a bold call to look beyond our small slice of the universe. Source: Elon Musk interview with Michael Milken, May 6, 2024