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This visualization implements the model from Hanson, Martin, McCarter & Paulson (2021), which offers an explanation for the Fermi Paradox.
Life's origin required passing through n "hard steps" — extremely unlikely evolutionary transitions.
If each step has a very low probability per unit time, then the time t for a civilization to emerge follows a power law:
Once a civilization becomes "grabby" it expands at ~50% of lightspeed, claiming territory:
Territories expand until they meet. The boundary between two civilizations forms where their expanding wavefronts collide.
This implements the algorithm from Paulson's simulation code:
Scale: 1 unit = 1 billion light years. Observable universe ~100 Gly across.
Paper: arXiv:2102.01522
Civilizations emerge after n evolutionary "hard steps." More steps means later, rarer emergence.
"Grabby" civs expand at ~50% lightspeed, claiming territory until they meet neighbors.