There are many other planets like Earth orbiting around these stars.
The age of the universe is is almost 14 billion years.
So why havent we heard anything?
Arrival
There are a lot of creepy ideas about how to explain the Fermi paradox.
Another theory that explains the Fermi paradox is the dark forest theory.
Imagine you are alone walking through a dark forest.
You hear a noise.
This is the dark forest theory.
It comes from the sci-fi bookThe Dark Forest, by Liu Cixin.
Cixin says that any life that has sustained itself has a core desire for self-protection.
From the novel:
The universe is a dark forest.
Even breathing is done with care.
The hunter has to be careful, because everywhere in the forest are stealthy hunters like him.
Its hard to even find fault here.
We dont deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I wouldnt take that risk if my familys lives were on the line.
We think theyre going to come here and help us.
There is nothing in the natural world that suggests this would be the case.
