> ...technological civilization doesn’t last long enough for it to happen.”
Writer:
> Both York and Teller seemed to think Fermi was questioning the feasibility of interstellar travel—nobody thought he was questioning the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations
What happens when a technological civilization 'doesn't last long enough'? It stops existing.
But it did exist, which is clearly the point here.
>> Both York and Teller seemed to think Fermi was questioning the feasibility of interstellar travel—nobody thought he was questioning the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations
>What happens when a technological civilization 'doesn't last long enough'? It stops existing.
(your emphasis.)
Your observation that a civilization does not exist after it has ceased to exist does not "question the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations". To the contrary, unless we assume the author intended to state an empty tautology (which would be too pedantic an assumption to take seriously), then the statement I have just quoted is actually predicated on the assumption that it is possible for them to exist. So, when Fermi suggests that civilizations tend to fail before they colonize the galaxy, he is not questioning their possible existence.