Have you ever heard of the Fermi paradox? If not, it's basically the contradiction between the HIGH statistical probability that aliens exist and the lack of contact we've had with them.
Summed up: It's extremely likely aliens are somewhere, so why haven't we encountered them?
Here are 11 potential answers to the Fermi paradox. Vote on each one and discuss what YOU believe in the comments.
1. Humans aren't capable of receiving the type of signals alien civilizations have sent us.
Imagine trying to contact someone by making a phone call to a fax machine or sending a text to a landline. Aliens could be sending out signals right this very moment; we're just unable to comprehend them.
Read more on this theory here.
2. Aliens are quietly observing us like zoo animals.
Highly advanced beings are studying us from afar (or maybe even visiting) but not engaging in interaction. There are many reasons why they might choose only to observe, whether it’s because they’re waiting for our civilization to meet particular criteria or they simply want to observe us in our natural habitat without knowledge of their existence.
Read more on this theory here.
3. Humans and other intelligent beings are waiting for incoming contact instead of reaching out to make contact.
Imagine seven people scattered across Earth's continents. Each of them has a cellphone that they could use to try to contact each other, but instead of dialing different combinations in the hopes of making contact, they just keep an eye on their respective phones, waiting for an incoming call from someone else.
Read more on this theory here.
4. Intelligent civilizations' life spans are so short (compared to the age of the universe) that they don't overlap.
Reddit user matchstiq summed this theory up best: "The time span between when a civilization becomes capable of transmitting radio frequencies and when that civilization annihilates itself is so short that we seldom overlap."
Humans just discovered radio waves in the 1880s, so maybe we'll learn interstellar travel sooner or later and annihilate ourselves through war or some sort of technological accident shortly thereafter, leaving the next intelligent civilization to wonder where everyone's at.
Read more on this theory here.
5. Aliens exist but they’ve made themselves undetectable.
Perhaps it's to avoid potential danger if they're discovered. Maybe there are vicious predators lurking throughout the universe and advanced beings don’t want to be found by them.
Read more on this theory here.
6. We’re living in a simulation, so our reality is whatever the programmers decide it to be.
Perhaps some higher beings created a simulation and we're a part of it. Maybe this virtual reality was made for research purposes, or perhaps it's a simulated planetarium of sorts. Either way, if the creators don't encode aliens into it, we'll never encounter 'em.
Read more on this theory here.
7. Other intelligent life exists, but it's very, very rare.
Life can only happen under particular, improbable circumstances, so intelligent beings are out there, but they're so uncommon that it's extremely unlikely we'll cross paths.
Read more on this theory here.
8. Or life is so rare that no other intelligent beings exist. It's just us.
Somehow humans being in the universe alone isn’t any less disturbing than the other possibilities. It might not be as exciting as other theories, yet it manages to be just as existentially troubling.
Read more on this theory here.
9. Advanced beings learned how to upload their consciousness to a simulated universe, so they’re too busy enjoying that to spend time interstellar traveling.
As Kurzgesagt brilliantly explained, a “Matrioshka brain” is a theoretical “megastructure surrounding a star.” It’d have enough computer power for an entire species to “upload their consciousness and exist in a simulated universe.” This would mean one could potentially experience “an eternity of pure ecstasies without ever being bored or sad.” If that type of technology has been achieved, aliens certainly won’t be cruising around space searching for others.
10. Alien existence has already been confirmed, but the general public is unaware.
Plenty of folks claim to have seen or to have been abducted by aliens, but they’re not taken seriously. What if governments know of aliens but are withholding information from the masses? Surely there’s a concern that announcing their existence would lead to some sort of global hysteria, so maybe those atop the chain of command choose to keep aliens a secret.
Read more on this theory here.
11. Advanced beings are so far ahead of us that they see us as a primitive species, the same way we look at insects.
Neil deGrasse Tyson compared it to the way humans view chimps. He says humans and chimps share over 98% identical DNA, yet we’re significantly more intelligent than them. Humans create art and develop technology, but chimps can’t, despite only being a small percentage different. So what if there were aliens 1% different from us in the way that we are from chimps?
DeGrasse Tyson says, “We’d be drooling, blithering idiots in their presence.” If an advanced alien species trying to have a conversation with humans would be like humans trying to have a conversation with a chimp, or a bird, or a worm, then that could explain why we haven’t encountered them.
See more on this theory here.