The Fermi Paradox famously asks; where are all the aliens?
Despite the overwhelming likelihood that they should exist, why haven’t we discovered
them?
Over the years a number of potential solutions to the paradox have been put forward… but,
really, we’re still scratching our heads, confused by the so-called great silence.
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; is alien life
avoiding us?
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Earth is our home, the only place we’ve ever known, and the one planet amongst trillions
in the universe that we know we can survive on.
But it’s also small, a tiny speck on the cosmos, and probably not that special at all.
Earth is at once incredible and incredibly insignificant, which is one reason why the
search for alien life has so captivated our species, humankind, throughout history.
If we were to find another world with life then our sample size would immediately double
from one (here) to two (here and there).
And from there, it’s a good bet that more and more worlds populated by aliens would
be uncovered.
But, again, that’s not where we are right now.
Right now, as far as we know, we’re still entirely alone.
The idea that alien life could be avoiding us is rooted in a couple of theories; the
Zoo Hypothesis and the Dark Forest Theory.
Both can be combined, however, in the minds of some, to suggest that the real reason why
we haven’t met any aliens yet… is because we are a pretty terrifying prospect.
Broadly, the Zoo Hypothesis is a famous concept in science fiction but also a genuine scientific
approach as to how alien life might work.
It says that any intelligent alien life that is out there does already know about us and
our planet.
However, it continues to keep its distance because we are (to them) something like a
caged animal in a zoo.
Earth is our enclosure, and they (the aliens) simply watch on from afar.
One potential and relatively peaceful reason for this is that it’s a setup that would
significantly reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
Again, because life on Earth is all we know, we perhaps tend to think that it works pretty
well.
And maybe it does.
But a watching alien group wouldn’t necessarily know that… and so the Zoo Hypothesis imagines
that the fact that we haven’t discovered aliens yet is really only proof of an abundance
of caution on their behalf.
However, there are some more sinister applications for this way of thinking, as well.
For example, the Zoo Hypothesis might actually have nothing to do with contamination fears
and everything to do with an alien group (the zoo keepers) viewing Earth as some kind of
entertainment.
It’s another popular science fiction trope, whereby watching aliens follow the events
of Earth (and Earthly life) simply because it amuses them… until such time as they
become bored and just get rid of us, in one way or another.
Failing that, the Lab Hypothesis is another variation on the theme.
This time, the idea is that watching aliens might have much more control over what exactly
happens on Earth, because everything here is in some way an experiment conducted by
them.
Now, Earth is little more than a petri dish, and we’re the equivalent of a perhaps slightly
interesting smear of mold that’s emerged in the middle of it.
With all of the above, however, while the Fermi Paradox is answered, it’s never because
the absent aliens are especially afraid.
If they are avoiding us, it’s because that’s the way they specifically want it to be, whether
for their zoo-like exhibit to thrive or their ongoing, potentially demented experiments
to yield the best results.
Consider it all alongside the Dark Forest Theory, however, and you get a pretty important
change in perspective.
The Dark Forest Theory is one of the more recent attempts to answer the Fermi Paradox.
Although the general idea does date back to at least the 1980s, the term by which it’s
now known, the Dark Forest, was first used in a 2008 novel also called “The Dark Forest”
by the Chinese author Liu Cixin.
And, as far as speculative hypotheses go, it’s a fairly paranoid one.
It again suggests that, actually, alien life might abound in the universe…
it’s just that we haven’t heard from it because nothing wants anything else to know
that it’s there.
Reason being, because any intelligent species would immediately view another group as an
existential threat.
Not just humans or life on Earth but any other civilization or life form in the universe,
period.
The model asks us to picture intelligent alien groups as though they’re stealthily tiptoeing
through a dense forest, being ultra-careful not to ruffle any leaves and blow their cover.
According to proponents, that’s why we haven’t seen or even heard from aliens yet - everyone’s
in hiding.
It’s a little unsettling, though, because it also means that an alien group could be
very nearby but still undetectable.
Meanwhile, the position of humans within this particular setup isn’t exactly encouraging,
either.
For more than a century we’ve been making noise via radio waves, and in more recent
times we’ve actively sought to release messages out into space alerting potential aliens to
our presence and even directing them to our position.
If the Dark Forest Theory were ever found to be a fair reflection of what’s really
happening, then all of that will have been very naive.
But, finally, there is something of a crossover between these two modes of thought; the Zoo
Hypothesis and life in the Dark Forest.
For some, the truth could be a merging of both of them, whereby a watching alien group
does know that we’re here (as per Zoo) but, as a result of that knowledge, is extremely
frightened by us (as per Dark Forest).
A 2022 paper, co-authored by Gordon Gallup and Hesper E. Faliveno, both of The State
University of New York at Albany, took a closer look at how this particular setup could take
hold.
While the paper, as a whole, discusses what we might be able to learn from human evolution
with regard to alien development, one conclusion it draws is; “Maybe Intelligent Extraterrestrial
Life Does Not Want to be Found”.
Citing Stephen Hawking’s famous reference comparing a potential alien arrival to the
landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas - a moment in time that, as Hawking says,
did not end well for the native people - Gallup and Faliveno suggest that any alien group
would be very keen to dodge our gaze.
Or else “eventually suffer the same fate as befell the natives of Mexico and Peru”.
In this scenario, humankind certainly isn’t just an insignificant strain of mold.
Instead, with its war and disease and environmental issues, it’s perhaps more like a potential
contagion that the rest of the universe needs to keep from spreading by avoiding crossing
paths with us.
At the close of their paper, Gallup and Faliveno write; “If there is intelligent life elsewhere,
they may view humans as extremely dangerous.
Maybe this is why there is no proof or compelling evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence:
we pose too great a risk, and they do not want to be discovered”.
But, what’s your view?
Is that final thought just a little bit too harsh?
Is humankind really terrible enough to scare away a watching alien force from even contacting
us?
Or is the lack of alien proof more likely the result of one of the other two approaches;
the Zoo Hypothesis or the Dark Forest Theory?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
For now, what’s clear is that, for whatever reason, we still haven’t discovered alien
life.
In the event that it has never been to Earth, as most mainstream models imply, that means
that more than ninety-nine percent of the life that’s ever lived here has been and
gone before alien life arrived.
So what are the chances that we’ll be alive if (and when) it does make its grand entrance
onto our Earthly stage?
Statistically, it’s not actually likely at all.
On the other hand, we’ve never been more prepared to find aliens than we are right
now - with countless cutting edge telescope missions and astronomical studies ongoing.
Perhaps it’s only a matter of time.
Or maybe we’ll never meet at all.
Because that’s why alien life could be avoiding us.
What do you think?
Is there anything we missed?
Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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