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mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A3_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="مبدأ العادية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="مبدأ العادية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principio_de_mediocridad" title="Principio de mediocridad – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Principio de mediocridad" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principo_de_mezumoj" title="Principo de mezumoj – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Principo de mezumoj" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principe_de_m%C3%A9diocrit%C3%A9" title="Principe de médiocrité – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Principe de médiocrité" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B3%B4%ED%86%B5_%EC%9B%90%EB%A6%AC" title="보통 원리 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="보통 원리" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prinsip_medioker" title="Prinsip medioker – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Prinsip medioker" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principio_di_mediocrit%C3%A0" title="Principio di mediocrità – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Principio di mediocrità" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA" title="עקרון הממוצעות – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="עקרון הממוצעות" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middelmatigheidsprincipe" title="Middelmatigheidsprincipe – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Middelmatigheidsprincipe" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princ%C3%ADpio_da_mediocridade" title="Princípio da mediocridade – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Princípio da mediocridade" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principiul_mediocrit%C4%83%C8%9Bii" title="Principiul mediocrității – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Principiul mediocrității" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BF_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%83%D1%80%D1%8F%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8" title="Принцип заурядности – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Принцип заурядности" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na%C4%8Delo_povpre%C4%8Dnosti" title="Načelo povprečnosti – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Načelo povprečnosti" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C4%B1radanl%C4%B1k_ilkesi" title="Sıradanlık ilkesi – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Sıradanlık 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#b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-One_source plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-one_source" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>relies largely or entirely on a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_with_a_single_source" title="Wikipedia:Articles with a single source">single source</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Relevant discussion may be found on the <a href="/wiki/Talk:Mediocrity_principle##" title="Talk:Mediocrity principle">talk page</a>. Please help <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">introducing citations to additional sources</a>.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22Mediocrity+principle%22">"Mediocrity principle"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22Mediocrity+principle%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Mediocrity+principle%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Mediocrity+principle%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Mediocrity+principle%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Mediocrity+principle%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">December 2012</span>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>mediocrity principle</b> is the <a href="/wiki/Philosophical" class="mw-redirect" title="Philosophical">philosophical</a> notion that "if an item is drawn at random from one of several sets or categories, it's more likely to come from the most numerous category than from any one of the less numerous categories".<sup id="cite_ref-Kukla2009_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kukla2009-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The principle has been taken to suggest that there is nothing very unusual about the <a href="/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System" title="Formation and evolution of the Solar System">evolution of the Solar System</a>, <a href="/wiki/Earth%27s_history" class="mw-redirect" title="Earth's history">Earth's history</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Evolution_of_biological_complexity" title="Evolution of biological complexity">evolution of biological complexity</a>, <a href="/wiki/Human_evolution" title="Human evolution">human evolution</a>, or any one <a href="/wiki/Nation" title="Nation">nation</a>. It is a <a href="/wiki/Heuristic" title="Heuristic">heuristic</a> in the vein of the <a href="/wiki/Copernican_principle" title="Copernican principle">Copernican principle</a>, and is sometimes used as a philosophical statement about the place of humanity. The idea is to assume mediocrity, rather than starting with the assumption that a phenomenon is special, privileged, exceptional, or even <a href="/wiki/Supremacism" title="Supremacism">superior</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-MediocrePZ_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-MediocrePZ-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/David_Bates_(physicist)" title="David Bates (physicist)">David Bates</a> ascribed the mediocrity principle to <a href="/wiki/Sebastian_von_Hoerner" title="Sebastian von Hoerner">Sebastian von Hoerner</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> who as early as 1961 wrote the following:<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"> <p>Because we have no knowledge whatsoever about other civilizations, we have to rely completely on assumptions. The one basic assumption we want to make can be formulated in a general way: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd><dl><dd>Anything seemingly unique and peculiar to us is actually one out of many and is probably average.</dd></dl></dd></dl></dd></dl> </blockquote> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Extraterrestrial_life">Extraterrestrial life</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Extraterrestrial life"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The mediocrity principle suggests, given the existence of life on Earth, that should <a href="/wiki/Life" title="Life">life</a> exist elsewhere in the <a href="/wiki/Universe" title="Universe">universe</a>, it will typically exist on <a href="/wiki/Earth_analog" title="Earth analog">Earth-like planets</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Measurement_of_distance_to_stars">Measurement of distance to stars</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Measurement of distance to stars"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The mediocrity principle was implicitly applied during the 17th century, when astronomers attempted to measure the distance between distant <a href="/wiki/Star" title="Star">stars</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a>. By assuming that the <a href="/wiki/Sun" title="Sun">Sun</a> was just an average star, and that some stars seemed brighter simply because they were closer to us, they were able to estimate how far these stars were from the Earth. Although this method was flawed due to the differences among stars, it gave astronomers at that time a rough idea of how far the stars were from the Earth. For example, <a href="/wiki/James_Gregory_(mathematician)" title="James Gregory (mathematician)">James Gregory</a>, <a href="/wiki/Isaac_Newton" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a> and <a href="/wiki/Christiaan_Huygens" title="Christiaan Huygens">Christiaan Huygens</a> were able to estimate the distance between <a href="/wiki/Sirius" title="Sirius">Sirius</a> and the Earth through this method.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Comparison_with_other_approaches">Comparison with other approaches</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Comparison with other approaches"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The mediocrity principle is in contrast with the <a href="/wiki/Anthropic_principle" title="Anthropic principle">anthropic principle</a>, which asserts that the presence of an intelligent observer (humans) limits the circumstances to bounds under which intelligent life can be observed to exist, no matter <a href="/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis" title="Rare Earth hypothesis">how improbable</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Both stand in contrast to the <a href="/wiki/Fine-tuned_universe" title="Fine-tuned universe">fine-tuning hypothesis</a>, which asserts that the natural conditions for intelligent life are implausibly rare. </p><p>The mediocrity principle implies that Earth-like environments are necessarily common, based in part on the evidence of <a href="/wiki/Doomsday_argument" title="Doomsday argument">any happening at all</a>, whereas the anthropic principle suggests that no assertion can be made about the probability of intelligent life based on a sample set of one (<a href="/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect" title="Dunning–Kruger effect">self-described</a>) example, who are necessarily capable of making such an assertion about themselves. </p><p>It is also possible to handle the Mediocrity Principle as a statistical problem, a case of a single <a href="/wiki/Data_point" class="mw-redirect" title="Data point">data point</a> statistics, also present in the <a href="/wiki/German_tank_problem" title="German tank problem">German tank problem</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Longevity_estimation">Longevity estimation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Longevity estimation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Lindy_effect" title="Lindy effect">Lindy effect</a></div> <div class="thumb tright" style=""><div class="thumbinner" style="width:-moz-fit-content; width:fit-content;"><div class="thumbimage noresize" style="width:auto;"> <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\begin{array}{c}\left({\frac {z}{1-z}}\right)\cdot T_{\text{start}}\leq T_{\text{now}}\leq \left({\frac {1-z}{z}}\right)\cdot T_{\text{end}}\\z={\frac {1-{\text{confidence interval}}}{2}}\end{array}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtable rowspacing="4pt" columnspacing="1em"> <mtr> <mtd> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>z</mi> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>−</mo> <mi>z</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>⋅</mo> <msub> <mi>T</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>start</mtext> </mrow> </msub> <mo>≤</mo> <msub> <mi>T</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>now</mtext> </mrow> </msub> <mo>≤</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>−</mo> <mi>z</mi> </mrow> <mi>z</mi> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>⋅</mo> <msub> <mi>T</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>end</mtext> </mrow> </msub> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>z</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>confidence interval</mtext> </mrow> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\begin{array}{c}\left({\frac {z}{1-z}}\right)\cdot T_{\text{start}}\leq T_{\text{now}}\leq \left({\frac {1-z}{z}}\right)\cdot T_{\text{end}}\\z={\frac {1-{\text{confidence interval}}}{2}}\end{array}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/cf3ee1604b7b6c605b67284cdbc49c786f22bd90" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.838ex; width:36.913ex; height:8.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\begin{array}{c}\left({\frac {z}{1-z}}\right)\cdot T_{\text{start}}\leq T_{\text{now}}\leq \left({\frac {1-z}{z}}\right)\cdot T_{\text{end}}\\z={\frac {1-{\text{confidence interval}}}{2}}\end{array}}}"></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Longevity Estimation Equations</div></div></div> <p>The mediocrity principle can also be used to estimate the future <a href="/wiki/Life_expectancy" title="Life expectancy">life expectancy</a> of presently observable objects, and is especially useful when no hard <a href="/wiki/Data" title="Data">data</a> is available. <a href="/wiki/J._Richard_Gott" title="J. Richard Gott">Richard Gott</a> extended the mediocrity principle to argue that if there is nothing special about observing an object in the present moment (T<sub>now</sub>), then one can expect the present moment to occur randomly between the start (T<sub>start</sub>) and the end (T<sub>end</sub>) of the observed object's longevity. Therefore, the total longevity of an observable object can be expected (with 50% confidence) to lie in the <a href="/wiki/Interval_(mathematics)" title="Interval (mathematics)">interval</a> 1/3 ⋅ T<sub>start</sub> < T<sub>now</sub> < 3 ⋅ T<sub>end</sub>. This estimation technique was derived after a 1969 visit to the <a href="/wiki/Berlin_Wall" title="Berlin Wall">Berlin Wall</a>, which was constructed eight years earlier. Gott reasoned that there was nothing special about the timing of his visit, so the above equation (with T = 8) estimates that the Berlin Wall would be likely to last for at least 2.67 years but no longer than 24 years. (The Berlin Wall fell 20 years later, in 1989.) </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Estimation.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Estimation.png/220px-Estimation.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="124" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Estimation.png/330px-Estimation.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Estimation.png/440px-Estimation.png 2x" data-file-width="1920" data-file-height="1080" /></a><figcaption>Time interval of a random observation within a lifespan</figcaption></figure> <p>Longevity estimation reflects the <a href="/wiki/Maxim_(philosophy)" title="Maxim (philosophy)">maxim</a> "old things tend to last and new things tend to disappear." Most applications of longevity estimation use a 95% confidence interval, which decreases the precision of the estimate by drastically increasing the interval of estimation. One useful estimation made on this confidence interval is the survival of <a href="/wiki/Human" title="Human">Homo sapiens</a>, which is thought to have emerged around 200,000 years ago. If there is nothing special about our observation of <a href="/wiki/Species" title="Species">species</a> now, in the 21st century, then longevity estimation (with T = 200,000 and a confidence interval of 95%) yields a projected timespan of between 5,100 and 7.8 million years during which the human species will be extant. </p><p>Some other projected lifespans (with 95% confidence) include <a href="/wiki/Industrial_technology" title="Industrial technology">industrial technology</a> (estimated to last somewhere between 7 years and 10,000 years), the <a href="/wiki/Internet" title="Internet">internet</a> (between 7 months and 975 years), and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> (between 6 months and 772 years). <a href="/wiki/Jim_Holt_(philosopher)" title="Jim Holt (philosopher)">Jim Holt</a> analyzed longevity estimation and concluded that our understanding of <a href="/wiki/Humour" title="Humour">humor</a> and <a href="/wiki/Number" title="Number">number</a> will survive for at least one million years. Humans share these traits with other species, which implies we share these traits with some <a href="/wiki/Most_recent_common_ancestor" title="Most recent common ancestor">common ancestor</a> that lived millions of years ago. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Other_uses">Other uses</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Other uses"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/David_Deutsch" title="David Deutsch">David Deutsch</a> argues that the mediocrity principle is incorrect from a physical point of view, in reference either to humanity's part of the universe or to its species. Deutsch refers to <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Hawking" title="Stephen Hawking">Stephen Hawking</a>'s quote: "The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred <a href="/wiki/Billion" title="Billion">billion</a> galaxies". Deutsch wrote that Earth's neighborhood in the universe is not typical (80% of the universe's matter is <a href="/wiki/Dark_matter" title="Dark matter">dark matter</a>) and that a concentration of mass such as the Solar System is an "isolated, uncommon phenomenon". He also disagrees with <a href="/wiki/Richard_Dawkins" title="Richard Dawkins">Richard Dawkins</a>, who considers that humans, because of natural evolution, are limited to the capabilities of their species. Deutsch responds that even though evolution did not give humans the ability to detect <a href="/wiki/Neutrino" title="Neutrino">neutrinos</a>, scientists can currently detect them, which significantly expands their capabilities beyond what is available as a result of evolution.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="margin-left:0.1em; white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify" title="Wikipedia:Please clarify"><span title="The text near this tag may need clarification or removal of jargon. (August 2015)">clarification needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 15em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abiogenesis" title="Abiogenesis">Abiogenesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anthropic_principle" title="Anthropic principle">Anthropic principle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Copernican_principle" title="Copernican principle">Copernican principle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cosmicism" title="Cosmicism">Cosmicism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cosmological_principle" title="Cosmological principle">Cosmological principle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cosmic_pluralism" title="Cosmic pluralism">Cosmic pluralism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deep_ecology" title="Deep ecology">Deep ecology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Doomsday_argument" title="Doomsday argument">Doomsday argument</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drake_equation" title="Drake equation">Drake equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Exceptionalism" title="Exceptionalism">Exceptionalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neocatastrophism" title="Neocatastrophism">Neocatastrophism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Particle_chauvinism" title="Particle chauvinism">Particle chauvinism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plenitude_principle" class="mw-redirect" title="Plenitude principle">Plenitude principle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis" title="Rare Earth hypothesis">Rare Earth hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uniformitarianism" title="Uniformitarianism">Uniformitarianism</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">In a footnote, von Hoerner thanked <a href="/wiki/Frank_Donald_Drake" class="mw-redirect" title="Frank Donald Drake">F. D. Drake</a> for his input on the subject.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><div class="side-box metadata side-box-right"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-abovebelow"> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Library" title="Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Library">Library resources</a> about <br /> <b>Mediocrity principle</b> <hr /></div> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-text plainlist"><ul><li><a class="external text" href="https://ftl.toolforge.org/cgi-bin/ftl?st=wp&su=Mediocrity+principle">Resources in your library</a></li> <li><a class="external text" href="https://ftl.toolforge.org/cgi-bin/ftl?st=wp&su=Mediocrity+principle&library=0CHOOSE0">Resources in other libraries</a></li> </ul></div></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Kukla2009-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Kukla2009_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFKukla2009" class="citation book cs1">Kukla, A. (2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkdqTFVNwmgC&pg=PA20"><i>Extraterrestrials: A Philosophical Perspective</i></a>. Lexington Books. p. 20. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780739142455" title="Special:BookSources/9780739142455"><bdi>9780739142455</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/LCCN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="LCCN (identifier)">LCCN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lccn.loc.gov/2009032272">2009032272</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Extraterrestrials%3A+A+Philosophical+Perspective&rft.pages=20&rft.pub=Lexington+Books&rft.date=2009&rft_id=info%3Alccn%2F2009032272&rft.isbn=9780739142455&rft.aulast=Kukla&rft.aufirst=A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DZkdqTFVNwmgC%26pg%3DPA20&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/principle-of-mediocrity">"astrobiology: principle of mediocrity"</a>. <i>Britannica</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Britannica&rft.atitle=astrobiology%3A+principle+of+mediocrity&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fscience%2Fprinciple-of-mediocrity&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-MediocrePZ-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-MediocrePZ_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170617103245/https://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_12.html#myerspz">"THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2011 — Page 12"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_12.html#myerspz">the original</a> on 2017-06-17<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2011-04-25</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=THE+WORLD+QUESTION+CENTER+2011+%E2%80%94+Page+12&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edge.org%2Fq2011%2Fq11_12.html%23myerspz&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBates1972" class="citation magazine cs1">Bates, D. R. (1972). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9112/23/1/013">"Communication with galactic civilizations"</a>. <i>Physics Bulletin</i>. Vol. 23, no. 1. pp. 26–29. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0031-9112%2F23%2F1%2F013">10.1088/0031-9112/23/1/013</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0031-9112">0031-9112</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Physics+Bulletin&rft.atitle=Communication+with+galactic+civilizations&rft.volume=23&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=26-29&rft.date=1972&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1088%2F0031-9112%2F23%2F1%2F013&rft.issn=0031-9112&rft.aulast=Bates&rft.aufirst=D.+R.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fiopscience.iop.org%2Farticle%2F10.1088%2F0031-9112%2F23%2F1%2F013&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFvon_Hoerner1963" class="citation book cs1">von Hoerner, Sebastian (1963). Cameron, A. G. W. (ed.). <i>Interstellar Communication: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life; A Collection of Reprints and Original Contributions</i>. New York: Benjamin. p. 272.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Interstellar+Communication%3A+The+Search+for+Extraterrestrial+Life%3B+A+Collection+of+Reprints+and+Original+Contributions&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=272&rft.pub=Benjamin&rft.date=1963&rft.aulast=von+Hoerner&rft.aufirst=Sebastian&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVon_Hoerner1961" class="citation magazine cs1">Von Hoerner, Sebastian (1961). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1707703">"The Search for Signals from Other Civilizations"</a>. <i>Science</i>. Vol. 134, no. 3493. pp. 1839–1843. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0036-8075">0036-8075</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1707703">1707703</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Science&rft.atitle=The+Search+for+Signals+from+Other+Civilizations&rft.volume=134&rft.issue=3493&rft.pages=1839-1843&rft.date=1961&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F1707703%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.issn=0036-8075&rft.aulast=Von+Hoerner&rft.aufirst=Sebastian&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F1707703&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Chaisson, Eric, and Steve McMillan. <i>Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe.</i> Ed. Nancy Whilton. San Francisco: Pearson, 2010.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources"><span title="This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears. (August 2012)">page needed</span></a></i>]</sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGingerich2006" class="citation book cs1">Gingerich, Owen (2006). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/godsuniverseowen00ging"><i>God's Universe</i></a></span>. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/godsuniverseowen00ging/page/20">20</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780674023703" title="Special:BookSources/9780674023703"><bdi>9780674023703</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=God%27s+Universe&rft.place=Cambridge%2C+Massachusetts&rft.pages=20&rft.pub=The+Belknap+Press+of+Harvard+University+Press&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=9780674023703&rft.aulast=Gingerich&rft.aufirst=Owen&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fgodsuniverseowen00ging&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/cosmo/lectures/lec24.html">"Anthropic Principle"</a>. <i>abyss.uoregon.edu</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=abyss.uoregon.edu&rft.atitle=Anthropic+Principle&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fabyss.uoregon.edu%2F~js%2Fcosmo%2Flectures%2Flec24.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDavid_Deutsch2011" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/David_Deutsch" title="David Deutsch">David Deutsch</a> (2011). <i>The Beginning of Infinity</i>. Penguin UK. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-14-196969-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-14-196969-5"><bdi>978-0-14-196969-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Beginning+of+Infinity&rft.pub=Penguin+UK&rft.date=2011&rft.isbn=978-0-14-196969-5&rft.au=David+Deutsch&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMediocrity+principle" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mediocrity_principle&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1235681985"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/60px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/80px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Look up <i><b><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mediocrity" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:mediocrity">mediocrity</a></b></i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.</div></div> </div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9704289v1">Goodwin, Gribbin, and Hendry's 1997 Hubble Parameter measurement relying on the mediocrity principle</a> The authors call this the 'Principle of Terrestrial Mediocrity' even though the assumption they make is that the Milky Way <i>Galaxy</i> is typical (rather than Earth). This term was coined by <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Vilenkin" title="Alexander Vilenkin">Alexander Vilenkin</a> (1995).</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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class="navbox-title" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output 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4em"><a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life" title="Extraterrestrial life">Extraterrestrial life</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Events and objects</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Shergotty_meteorite" title="Shergotty meteorite">Shergotty meteorite</a> (1865)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nakhla_meteorite" title="Nakhla meteorite">Nakhla meteorite</a> (1911)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Murchison_meteorite" title="Murchison meteorite">Murchison meteorite</a> (1969)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Viking_lander_biological_experiments" title="Viking lander biological experiments">Viking lander biological experiments</a> (1976)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allan_Hills_77005" title="Allan Hills 77005">Allan Hills 77005</a> (1977)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allan_Hills_84001" title="Allan Hills 84001">Allan Hills 84001</a> (1984)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yamato_000593" title="Yamato 000593">Yamato 000593</a> (2000)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/CI1_fossils" title="CI1 fossils">CI1 fossils</a> (2011)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Signals of interest</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Misidentified</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/PSR_B1919%2B21" title="PSR B1919+21">CP 1919</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(misidentified pulsar)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CTA-102" title="CTA-102">CTA-102</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(misidentified quasar)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Stars</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tabby%27s_Star" title="Tabby's Star">KIC 8462852</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(unusual light fluctuations)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/EPIC_204278916" title="EPIC 204278916">EPIC 204278916</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(unusual light fluctuations)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/VVV-WIT-07" title="VVV-WIT-07">VVV-WIT-07</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(unusual light fluctuations)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/HD_164595" title="HD 164595">HD 164595 signal</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(unknown origin)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/SHGb02%2B14a" title="SHGb02+14a">SHGb02+14a</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(radio source)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wow!_signal" title="Wow! signal">Wow! signal</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(inconclusive)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fast_radio_burst" title="Fast radio burst">Fast radio burst</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(unknown origin)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BLC1" title="BLC1">BLC1</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(radio signal)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Life in the Universe</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Earliest_known_life_forms" title="Earliest known life forms">Earliest known life forms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Planetary_habitability_in_the_Solar_System" title="Planetary habitability in the Solar System">Planetary habitability in the Solar System</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Life_on_Venus" title="Life on Venus">Life on Venus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Life_on_Mars" title="Life on Mars">Life on Mars</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Life_on_Titan" title="Life on Titan">Life on Titan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Planetary_habitability" title="Planetary habitability">Planetary<br />habitability</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Catalog_of_Nearby_Habitable_Systems" title="Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems">Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Circumstellar_habitable_zone" class="mw-redirect" title="Circumstellar habitable zone">Circumstellar habitable zone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Earth_analog" title="Earth analog">Earth analog</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial_liquid_water" title="Extraterrestrial liquid water">Extraterrestrial liquid water</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Galactic_habitable_zone" title="Galactic habitable zone">Galactic habitable zone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_binary_star_systems" title="Habitability of binary star systems">Habitability of binary star systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_natural_satellites" title="Habitability of natural satellites">Habitability of natural satellites</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_neutron_star_systems" title="Habitability of neutron star systems">Habitability of neutron star systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_red_dwarf_systems" title="Habitability of red dwarf systems">Habitability of red dwarf systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_K-type_main-sequence_star_systems" title="Habitability of K-type main-sequence star systems">Habitability of K-type main-sequence star systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_yellow_dwarf_systems" title="Habitability of yellow dwarf systems">Habitability of yellow dwarf systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitability_of_F-type_main-sequence_star_systems" title="Habitability of F-type main-sequence star systems">Habitability of F-type main-sequence star systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_potentially_habitable_exoplanets" title="List of potentially habitable exoplanets">List of potentially habitable exoplanets</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Planetary_habitability" title="Planetary habitability">Planetary habitability</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Superhabitable_planet" class="mw-redirect" title="Superhabitable planet">Superhabitable planet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tholin" title="Tholin">Tholin</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Astrobiology#Missions" title="Astrobiology">Space missions</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Beagle_2" title="Beagle 2">Beagle 2</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biological_Oxidant_and_Life_Detection" title="Biological Oxidant and Life Detection">Biological Oxidant and Life Detection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BioSentinel" title="BioSentinel">BioSentinel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Curiosity_(rover)" title="Curiosity (rover)"><i>Curiosity</i> rover</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Darwin_(spacecraft)" title="Darwin (spacecraft)">Darwin</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dragonfly_(Titan_space_probe)" title="Dragonfly (Titan space probe)">Dragonfly</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Enceladus_Explorer" title="Enceladus Explorer">Enceladus Explorer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Enceladus_Life_Finder" title="Enceladus Life Finder">Enceladus Life Finder</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Europa_Clipper" title="Europa Clipper">Europa Clipper</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ExoMars" title="ExoMars">ExoMars</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin_(rover)" title="Rosalind Franklin (rover)"><i>Rosalind Franklin</i> rover</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ExoLance" title="ExoLance">ExoLance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/EXPOSE" title="EXPOSE">EXPOSE</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foton-M" class="mw-redirect" title="Foton-M">Foton-M3</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Icebreaker_Life" title="Icebreaker Life">Icebreaker Life</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Journey_to_Enceladus_and_Titan" title="Journey to Enceladus and Titan">Journey to Enceladus and Titan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Laplace-P" title="Laplace-P">Laplace-P</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Life_Investigation_For_Enceladus" title="Life Investigation For Enceladus">Life Investigation For Enceladus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Living_Interplanetary_Flight_Experiment" title="Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment">Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mars_Geyser_Hopper" title="Mars Geyser Hopper">Mars Geyser Hopper</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mars_sample-return_mission" title="Mars sample-return mission">Mars sample-return mission</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mars_2020" title="Mars 2020">Mars 2020</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Light_(spacecraft)" title="Northern Light (spacecraft)">Northern Light</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)" title="Opportunity (rover)"><i>Opportunity</i> rover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Perseverance_(rover)" title="Perseverance (rover)"><i>Perseverance</i> rover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Red_Dragon" title="SpaceX Red Dragon">SpaceX Red Dragon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spirit_(rover)" title="Spirit (rover)"><i>Spirit</i> rover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tanpopo_mission" title="Tanpopo mission">Tanpopo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Titan_Mare_Explorer" title="Titan Mare Explorer">Titan Mare Explorer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Venus_In_Situ_Explorer" title="Venus In Situ Explorer">Venus In Situ Explorer</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Viking_1" title="Viking 1">Viking 1</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Viking_2" title="Viking 2">Viking 2</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Interstellar_communication" title="Interstellar communication">Interstellar<br />communication</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Active_SETI" title="Active SETI">Active SETI</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allen_Telescope_Array" title="Allen Telescope Array">Allen Telescope Array</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arecibo_message" title="Arecibo message">Arecibo message</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arecibo_Observatory" title="Arecibo Observatory">Arecibo Observatory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Berkeley_SETI_Research_Center" title="Berkeley SETI Research Center">Berkeley SETI Research Center</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bracewell_probe" title="Bracewell probe">Bracewell probe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Breakthrough_Initiatives" title="Breakthrough Initiatives">Breakthrough Initiatives</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Breakthrough_Listen" title="Breakthrough Listen">Breakthrough Listen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Breakthrough_Message" class="mw-redirect" title="Breakthrough Message">Breakthrough Message</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Communication_with_extraterrestrial_intelligence" title="Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence">Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gauss%27s_Pythagorean_right_triangle_proposal" title="Gauss's Pythagorean right triangle proposal">Gauss's Pythagorean right triangle proposal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Astrolinguistics" title="Astrolinguistics">Astrolinguistics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lincos_language" title="Lincos language">Lincos language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/NIROSETI" title="NIROSETI">NIROSETI</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pioneer_plaque" title="Pioneer plaque">Pioneer plaque</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Cyclops" title="Project Cyclops">Project Cyclops</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Ozma" title="Project Ozma">Project Ozma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Phoenix_(SETI)" title="Project Phoenix (SETI)">Project Phoenix</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/SERENDIP" title="SERENDIP">SERENDIP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Search_for_extraterrestrial_intelligence" title="Search for extraterrestrial intelligence">Search for extraterrestrial intelligence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/SETI@home" title="SETI@home">SETI@home</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/SetiQuest" title="SetiQuest">setiQuest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record" title="Voyager Golden Record">Voyager Golden Record</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Water_hole_(radio)" title="Water hole (radio)">Water hole</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alien_language" title="Alien language">Xenolinguistics</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_alleged_extraterrestrial_beings" title="List of alleged extraterrestrial beings">Types of alleged<br /> extraterrestrial beings</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Energy_being" title="Energy being">Energy beings</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grey_alien" title="Grey alien">Grey aliens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Insectoids_in_science_fiction" class="mw-redirect" title="Insectoids in science fiction">Insectoids</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Little_green_men" title="Little green men">Little green men</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nordic_aliens" title="Nordic aliens">Nordic aliens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reptilian_humanoid" title="Reptilian humanoid">Reptilian humanoids</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Hypotheses</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cosmic_pluralism" title="Cosmic pluralism">Cosmic pluralism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Directed_panspermia" title="Directed panspermia">Directed panspermia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drake_equation" title="Drake equation">Drake equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial_hypothesis" class="mw-redirect" title="Extraterrestrial hypothesis">Extraterrestrial hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fermi_paradox" title="Fermi paradox">Fermi paradox</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hypothetical_types_of_biochemistry" title="Hypothetical types of biochemistry">Hypothetical types of biochemistry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_contamination" title="Interplanetary contamination">Interplanetary contamination</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kardashev_scale" title="Kardashev scale">Kardashev scale</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Mediocrity principle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Panspermia" title="Panspermia">Panspermia</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Fermi_paradox" title="Fermi paradox">Fermi paradox</a> solutions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aestivation_hypothesis" title="Aestivation hypothesis">Aestivation hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Berserker_hypothesis" title="Berserker hypothesis">Berserker hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dark_forest_hypothesis" title="Dark forest hypothesis">Dark forest hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Firstborn_hypothesis" title="Firstborn hypothesis">Firstborn hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Filter" title="Great Filter">Great Filter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hart%E2%80%93Tipler_conjecture" title="Hart–Tipler conjecture">Hart–Tipler conjecture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neocatastrophism" title="Neocatastrophism">Neocatastrophism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Planetarium_hypothesis" title="Planetarium hypothesis">Planetarium hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis" title="Rare Earth hypothesis">Rare Earth hypothesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zoo_hypothesis" title="Zoo hypothesis">Zoo hypothesis</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_extraterrestrial_life" title="Outline of extraterrestrial life">Related topics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_astronauts" title="Ancient astronauts">Ancient astronauts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Astrobiology" title="Astrobiology">Astrobiology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Astroecology" title="Astroecology">Astroecology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biosignature" title="Biosignature">Biosignature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brookings_Report" title="Brookings Report">Brookings Report</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Exotheology" title="Exotheology">Exotheology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrials_in_fiction" title="Extraterrestrials in fiction">Extraterrestrials in fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extremophile" title="Extremophile">Extremophile</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hemolithin" title="Hemolithin">Hemolithin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_extraterrestrial_life_debate" title="History of the extraterrestrial life debate">History of the extraterrestrial life debate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MERMOZ" title="MERMOZ">MERMOZ</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nexus_for_Exoplanet_System_Science" title="Nexus for Exoplanet System Science">Nexus for Exoplanet System Science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Noosphere" title="Noosphere">Noogenesis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Planetary_protection" title="Planetary protection">Planetary protection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Potential_cultural_impact_of_extraterrestrial_contact" title="Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact">Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post-detection_policy" title="Post-detection policy">Post-detection policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/San_Marino_Scale" title="San Marino Scale">San Marino Scale</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Technosignature" title="Technosignature">Technosignature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/UFO_religion" title="UFO religion">UFO religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xenoarchaeology" title="Xenoarchaeology">Xenoarchaeology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: 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