The Fermi Paradox: Fallen Empires 

Now THIS is a Stellaris moment

I was going to build a massive interstellar empire--but then things got really busy at work.

Congrats on 9 years Isaac and Team! Happy Patreon Supporter since 2017. Still the best channel on RU-vid.

The man's speech impediment is light-years better then the start of the channel. Man's an inspiration to people with trouble speaking in public

This is the channel that got my to create a RU-vid account. I saw one of your vids and knew I couldn’t miss any of your Fermi paradox videos. You got me reading sci-fi again after not touching a book for almost two decades. You’re an outstanding educator and an inspiration sir.

After witnessing so many anniversaries of the channel I really hope, transhumanism permitting, to be still here when Isaac becomes president of the United Federation of Planets

9 years and no signs of slowing, we love your work and it inspires so much in all of us.

Thanks for this episode, it really touches on a point that has bugged me since the 2009 Star Trek film, where Vulcan is destroyed. It seemed like this pushed the Vulcans to near extinction. While the total destruction of a home world is a huge blow, the logical thing to do is to prepare for it. The Vulcans having FTL for 100s of years before the event, one would expect them to have colonized dozens of worlds. Some worlds specifically as contingency plans just in case a disaster of this sort happened.

Hard to believe that it's been 9 years already. It's like my dad would say, time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana.

What I think would be cool would be to make a near future/ cyberpunk crime drama. The characters travel to many destinations, but they never have a large panoramic shot. Then, as the movie ends, we pan up and out to reveal it all took place in a O'Neil Cylinder, and there are thousands of them 💫

I believe the first time I heard of Isaac Arthur was when I was on a forum and found a certain quote from the episode Iron Stars. "One eternal engine of thought, for one kilogram of mass-energy." I felt I had to look it up, found the episode in question, and then I was hooked. Didn't subscribe at the time, but as the show went on, that eventually changed. Here's hoping we all live long enough to see the things spoken on this show become a reality!

Thank you for nine years of incredible content! Here's to watching even more of it en route to the Venusian cloud colonies.

For some now lost reason several years ago i searched for dyson sphere on RU-vid. I signed up to RU-vid just to subscribe to this channel. 300+ more channel subscriptions later Isaac you are still a favourite 👍

Thanks for 9 years of great content. I always recommend you to people wanting to get into space stuff. Anton does the practical, you got the theoretical.

I'm so glad YT decided to recommend your Iron Stars vid back in 2016 to me. Here's hoping for many more years of quality content! Congrats on 9 years!

Thanks for nine years of content! Looking forward to more! 🥳🎉

Happy 9 years!!! It's so crazy to think I started watching these the same year you started and the year I graduated highschool, really feels like I've grown up with Issac. You've come so far and are by far my favorite RU-vid channel. Also just amazing work with your speech I know you've spent a lot of work on it and it's insane how far you've come with it I don't hear it at all anymore ❤❤

Congratulations on 9 years Isaac! I've been watching since 2018. You've built something great here, and shared it with us for free - thank you!

You need, or we need, a single video showcasing all these amazing animations from all your vids.

We love you, dude. Few channels educate, inspire, and entertain as well as your’s has done consistently across all of these years.

Congrats on providing 9 years of infotainment! Thanks for your efforts SFIA & Team! +1

35:00 - but we're also here for you. Thank you for making such great videos and adding your knowledge to the world in a digestible way!

yoooo 9 yearssss.... Thank you for sharing high quality science and fiction for so long.💚💯

Amazing. Watching and listening since ep 1, and to think its been 9 years already

9 years and I still get exited every week to listen to your videos, through high school, uni and onwards, can't wait for what future topics will be covered.

Wow, congratulations on 9 years. That means I’ve been watching for 6 years now. I still remember when I first found your old megastructures video on a free documentaries website. It was 3 years in then. When I found it, I proceeded to consume everything on your channel like I was sitting at a kingly feast and I’d been starving. Finished them in a matter of days. Now I’m glad I get a couple meals a week from this channel haha. Thanks for everything you do. Here’s to 1000 years more.

You are one of my biggest heroes, Isaac. Such an inspiration! Over the last few years that I have been a part of your community you've given me so much hope for the future and lit a burning curiosity in me to learn more about the world and universe I am a part of. Thank you so much! Congratulations on 9 years, and here's to many more!!

Thank you so much for the past 9 years. Your videos - and the great community that watches them - have inspired me time and time again. In fact, your videos even helped me find a career in governmental space policy, a personal dream come true. I hope this channel will continue for many more years to come!

Thanks for 9 years of opening our eyes! Your special type of intelligence is creativity and we are all the better for it ❤

While I haven't been here since the VERY beginning, I have watched damn near every vid you've uploaded over the last five or six years. Thank you for nine years of content, here's to hoping for at least nine more.

I love hearing that you love to do this job more than any other. One day I hope to be able to say that. To many more years of this great content, Isaac! I'm a natural pessimist so your optimism about humanity and everything we can do at our best is always appreciated.

Have been a fan for my of these years. Nearly from the start. Never have i seen a youtuber with such a consistent good video's. Every single one is good. And i love the positive futurisem. So many channels focus on the negative stuff these days. Its good we have some possitives aswell

Congratulations on nine years. This is one of the most mind expanding channels I have seen on RU-vid. Keep up the effort!

This episode really reminded me a lot of two things. Schlock Mercenary, a webcomic. And Eclipse Phase, A TTRPG. Thanks for another great episode, Isaac.

Happy 9 year anniversary, Isaac, i hope to be bingeing this channel in preparation for the new episode a century or two from now, while I'm vacationing on one of the many Aldrin Cyclers that head to Mars and back

Don't sell yourself short Isaac, we're here as much for you as the content you create. It wouldn't be the same if anyone else presented it. Happy ninth, and many happy returns :)

Thank you so much for making this show, being a teacher and a companion for all these years. Yes the topics are important, educational and entertaining but you are just as important, (at least for me) so thank you for being you and being here. Happy anniversary! :)

Grats on 9 years! I love how forward thinking, and optimistic you are.🎉

First off, congratulations on 9 years!, secondly, my favorite poem of all, 'Ozymandias'... and also; dusty plains make sandpaper winds, blown over deep blue dreams, scour the sky clean. My own statement on the downfall.

Yes ! Fallen Empires ! My favourite subject in sci-fi ! So much so that I basically integrate it in some level or another in all of my novels XD (Awww crap, editing the message to fix a mistake took off Isaac's heart. Oh well).

Very good point on us often paying more attention to the "brute force" aspects of futuristic warfare, while neglecting the "smart ways". As for speed of engagements though, at least in warfare here on Earth, max speed of a vehicle is almost never the same as tactical speed or engagement speed. Yeah it pays off to give your projectiles or missiles that extra oomph, by going the speed of heat, but as far as actual maneuvering or evading, going as fast as possible, usually makes you an easier target, especially for guided weapons.

I'm here from your episode "Tidally Locked Worlds" back in 2015. Man, time really do fly even without traveling at relativistic speeds...

Congratulations on 9 Years! Thanks for all the excellent content all these years.

Here’s to another 9 nine years! I only wish RU-vid would have recommended your channel to me sooner!

Congratulations on your ninth year of content creation! Your dedication to exploring diverse topics has been truly fascinating. Speaking of which, I noticed that your second episode tackled the Fermi Paradox, albeit in a different context. Perhaps the solution to this enigma lies in a simpler perspective. Considering our limited observational capabilities, it's astonishing to think that we've only been studying the cosmos via astrology for a few millennia. With the aid of advanced telescopes, we're merely scratching the surface of celestial phenomena. Assuming our intelligible signals have been broadcasting for approximately a century, their range is restricted to a 100 light-year radius surrounding Earth. It's reasonable to infer that potential extraterrestrial life might not have received our messages yet, or they could be unaware of our existence due to the vastness of space. In essence, the answer to 'where is everyone?' is that we simply don't know, mainly because the universe is enormous.

You're very welcome, and we stick around for the amazing topics and explorations. Thank you.

Congratulations on 9 wonderful years. I’m sure there’s been ups, downs, and everything in between but I’m here for the next 9 if you keep making content :)

Nine years and still going strong. Another fantastic video, Isaac, and congrats on the nine years of this channels operation. There is nothing on the internet quite like this, informative and hopeful of the future. And what a future it may be. I hope to experience it with you later.

Congratulations on 9 years, Issac. I just wish I could have several long-duration discussions with you about Creationism, Electric Universe Theory, UFO aliens, and the real agenda out in space, and in other dimensions.

How did RU-vid not recommend this channel to me earlier??? Great work, amazing quality, and very interesting accent. Congrats on milestone! And now I have to go and watch everything else that’s here. ✋🏻

9 years of great content. This is my favorite channel on the platform.

Congrats on 9 years SFIA. Love your work and hope you keep doing it for a long time to come.

Very enjoyable Isaac, and you make a salient point that, with FTL, even a galaxy-wide conflict could be resolved in relatively short order. Perhaps this hints at yet another answer to Fermi.

I love the apocalyptic writing on this episode! Totally badass. But more importantly, congratulations, both on the channel anniversary and the other good things happening in your life! It's wonderful that the work you love also brings knowledge, thoughtfulness, and enjoyment to so many other people. Life - You're doing it right!

congrats on the 9 years of amazing work, i can only say, respect sir, its an amazing journey

Massive congrats, it's been amazing watching this channel grow over the years, all the love my friend.

9 years and many more to go I hope, Your chanel gets me through many boring days. Thank you for all the interesting shows.

I love the idea of near future humanity discovering a mountain sized piece of debris from an alien spaceship hurtling through the sol system an scrambling to land scientific teams aboard to investigate it. You could make am Andy Weir style hard sf novel or go more in the direction of 70s horror movies in space. You could also take a page out of Alastair Reynolds books (especially revalation space and inhibitor phase) You could even use it as a jumping off point for humanity in a future histories book series.

Sir, that was a wonderful thank you towards the end of the episode, and putting some real life perspective into things was fantastic. Happy nine years! 👍❤

Wow, 9 years. I wonder when I first heard one of Isaac's episodes and then I wonder how long before I subscribed. I remember very early stuff, being impressed by the thoroughness and scif-fi / science geek fun, and wondering if there was a hearing impairment plus the speech patterns. And after a few episodes, I subscribed. I'm way used to the voice now too. -- I also remember very early episodes from Anton Petrov at his channel, and how it has changed and improved over the years. Brilliant and interesting stuff. -- Ad John Michael Godier's speculative and science topics. These three are all great for anyone who likes space and science and science fiction.

Love the fermi paradox videos!

Congratulations 9 wonderful years thank you Issac 😊

This guy is so freaking wholesome, imaginative and knowledgeable!

Congratulations Isaac, thanks for all great, informative and enjoyable shows, Happy Spacey Birthday. Here's to the next nine years. God bless you and your family. PEACE and LOVE to EVERYONE ❤❤.

Thank you for your hard work and quality content

Nice thumbnail😉 Fallen Empire indeed. Love your content. Thanks for your work!

Congratulations man! You deserve all you've achieved and more.

Thank you sincerely for what you do - I feel a great debt to you and profound gratitude for your efforts - there is no nobler contribution than to illuminate and expand the consciousness and imaginations of others.

I can tell you are quite the fan of Stellaris, as a lot of your sci-fi tropes are there. Just that it hand waves some of the gritty, more hard sci-fi problems like FTL communication and logistics. However fallen empires are very cool. Empires that were once prosperous and controlled much of the galaxy that have since stagnated from some great interstellar war or some other reason and now live as tiny husks of their former glory.

Thank you for the awesome videos that you put out. I'm sure everybody on here is going to say something similar. We also thank you for your service 👍

Nine years... damn, I didn't find you until maybe your second year and now it's been another 7 years! So glad you're still doing this and basically are the champion of this kind of programming on youtube!

Congratulations! I've been enjoying your show for about 7 years thank you so much and best of luck with the damned paperwork as well as best wishes for you and your family 🎉

Such an inspiring episode even if it's about an end point about entophy wining and how we could maybe go to those stars! Another amazing one Isaac Arthur

This video reminded me of some old SF plots from the 1950-60 period, specifically the EE Doc Smith series that featured an infinity of technological advances available by ever deeper knowledge of the structure of the universe. Like other such series, they relied a great deal on "Deus ex machina" that always aided the good guys to defeat the bad guys. I eventually grew up and began to favor more realistic literature. Nothing on these videos is unrealistic [except as far as our present stage of development is concerned], and there are ample caveats throughout.

crazy how massive empires were here one day and now they're gone as if they never existed, as if they were simply myths.

Isaac! Avoid the shovel! (and congratulations to you on your channel's success)

Ive loved your channel for years, I just wanted to say thanks Isaac!

Haha I have been watching your channel since 2016 crazy how fast time flies. Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos, they are fun and informative to watch. Can't wait for episode 500!

What an INTRO! I love that whole excerpt, this gonna be a great episode.

It's amazing that your show has lasted so long. Congratulations, Isaac. I love contemplating the lengths that humanity may achieve. Thanks for all the hard work.

“We believe the galaxy is empty because the alternative is horrifying beyond mortal tolerance. We build the interstellar navy because the alternative is horrifying beyond mortal tolerance.”

Don't sell yourself short. We love the topics, but we absolutely adore you and you're positive outlook. Long live sfia, long live Issac!

Even just imagining the future of civilization on a galactic or universal scale just gets so mind boggling so fast, I love it

Been watching since like episode 12 or so. Your work is a veritable corpus of great creativity and controlled reasoning. Thanks for helping build Nebula!

Thanks Isaac for all the great content! The litle bit about the entire labyrinth world being just a memorial to one war was spine tickling and hair raising!

Since I found this 6 years ago, this is one of the weekly shows I look forward to. Thanks for being yourself and sharing your thoughts with us.

Glad that you're in the same space and time! Keep up the good work and Congrats Isaac!!! There are plenty of channels that cover similar topics but we choose to come here because of you. Never forget that.

Thanks for all the great content, and keep up the wonderful work. As for something you mentioned: a piece of battle debris reaching us. This sounds familiar. Remember the 1982 anime "Super Dimension Fortress Macross"? It started with an alien gunboat that folded out into our solar system and crashed (catastroiphically) on Earth in its attempt to escape another alien military force.

Thanks for nine years of your magnificent work!!

We are grateful to get to listen to you every week Isaac. It’s been an amazing 9 years, and I can’t wait for the future of SFIA!

I’ve been here with you for some years now. This is the best journey I’ve joined on RU-vid so far. Let’s do a channel subs meet in 2150, both celebrating the New year and our 68th asteroid mining station launch. See you in the future!

Well done. "Have Space Suit Will Travel" is one of my favorite novels.

9 years, wow, time flies. Congratulations upon all the milestones you mentioned! Keep it up! Thank you for all the thought provoking you do!

Ooh I'm excited for this episode 🙂

I actually write fantasy but growing up nova was my fave show so my fantasy has always been built over a core of science. I'm so glad I found this channel when I was searching for more modern info about tidally locked planets!

I look forward to your show every week!

I just wanted to express my appreciation of your videos. I just discovered your channel and have been watching at a disturbing pace!

As an NSS member myself I just wanted to say thank you for your entertaining but well thought out videos and your contributions to space popularizing. I too have thought about the Fermi Paradox and have grown more pessimistic over time. Our own civilization is on track to start depopulating soon- and the more advanced countries are frequently depopulating the fastest. Furthermore, while the more developed countries educate more people, the actual decisions they make are proof that education and critical thinking skills are not the same. I believe that, like the matrix "reality" is less entertaining (and certainly harder) than simulation. Future civilization may tend to look inward and retreat to the more satisfying virtual worlds which don't worry about ESG and the difficulties of the real world. Without Elon Musk we would likely be no further along to colonizing Mars than we were 50 years ago and is testament to the inward-looking trajectory and navel gazing our civilization has become. That's why I appreciate your videos'- they are optimistic and capture the excitement that our intelligentsia don't feel. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations on 9 years of videos! I am glad I found the channel. The Sunday video is something I always look forward to now.

Those graphics are gorgeous! I'm glad to see you doing well Isaac! Congratulations on 9 years of epic content!