Great Filter

Great Filter

English

Etymology

Coined by American economist Robin Hanson in 1996.

Proper noun

the Great Filter

  1. (exobiology) A barrier which prevents intelligent life from developing to a level where it can be detected across interstellar distances.
    • 2026 February 26, Ross Douthat, “The New Space Race”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:
      Well, maybe that means that there is — the term, I think it’s from the economist Robin Hanson — that there’s a great filter. That basically, it’s so hard to become a multiplanetary species that even though life is everywhere, every species gets stuck somewhere around where we are: Achieving some things, and then never getting off our initial planet.
  2. (exobiology) The hypothesis that such a barrier exists.
    • 2024 March 18, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: SCP-3426 - Reckoner” (0:50 from the start), in The Exploring Series‎[2], archived from the original on 30 March 2024:
      While there are plenty of potential explanations and counterarguments for the Fermi paradox, one that has grabbed a lot of attention is known as the Great Filter - the idea that there is some sort of filter that prevents a civilization from becoming advanced enough to traverse the galaxy.

Translations

Translations

Further reading

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