Cooper argues that we can reasonably assume two things about any civilization that has reached a point where it is engaging in space travel. First, the civilization will consist of many individuals. (Why should we expect alien numbers to be legion? Well, Cooper argues that it’s hugely expensive to escape the gravitational field of a planet large enough to possess an atmosphere. In humanity’s case it wasn’t until billions of individuals were available that sufficient resources could be brought to bear on the problem, and Cooper argues that the same will be true of ETCs.
Wow
