| [Edit]
The zoo hypothesis is one of a number of suggestions that have been advanced in response to the Fermi paradox, regarding the apparent absence of evidence in support of the existence of advanced extraterrestrial life. According to this hypothesis, aliens would generally avoid making their presence known to humanity, or avoid exerting an influence on human development, somewhat akin to zookeepers observing animals in a zoo.
Adherents of the hypothesis consider that Earth and humans are being secretly sureveyed using equipment located on Earth or elsewhere in the solar system which relays information back to the observers. It is also suggested that overt contact will eventually be made with humanity once they reach a certain level of development.
top
Appearance in fiction
The zoo hypothesis is a relatively popular subject matter in science fiction. Some examples are given below.
In Star Trek, the Federation has a strict Prime Directive policy of non-intervention with less technologically advanced cultures which the Federation encounters. Also, the Vulcan race limited their encounters to observation until humans made their first warp flight, after which they initiated first contact.
In the movie The Matrix, most of humanity live their lives unaware that in truth everything they perceive is a totally manufactured reality, and their physical bodies and minds have always been trapped within a vast technological creation run by artificial intelligences. In this story the zoo hypothesis is expressed by way of the fundamental reality humans perceive being no more than a creation of external observers.
Arthur C. Clarke's The Sentinel and 2001: A Space Odyssey deal with the concept of a "cosmic burglar alarm", a beacon which is activated when the human race discovers it on the moon. This is a slight variation on the zoo hypothesis, in that an alien race has apparently visited us in the distant past, but is not interested in active observation until a predetermined technological level is reached.
In Robert J. Sawyer's SF novel Calculating God, Hollus, a scientist from an advanced alien civilization, denies that her government is operating under the prime directive.
In The Journeyman Project series, nuclear wars cause humanity to turn from its warlike ways and unite under a world government. Seeing that they have done this, alien beings (especially the Cyrollans) decide to allow Earth to enter the Symbiotry of Peaceful Beings, a league of alien nations created to share knowledge and culture.
In the Star Ocean video game universe, all beings that are technologically advanced enough to space flight adhere to the UP3 (Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact) Which sets rules for encountering and even visiting under developed worlds.
top
See also
|
|
