by The_Blode » Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:29 pm
The universe is infinite and so is time. The odds of another sentient race existing sometime, somewhere? It's guaranteed.
But the odds of them:
-existing at the same time as us
-having the means of contacting/visiting us at the same time we can receive and document it
-coming to our tiny corner of the solar system (which is in turn an inconceivably small corner of the galaxy (which is, again, in turn an imperceptibly small corner of the universe))
are so incredibly small they might as well not exist whatsoever. CAN it happen? Yes. But the odds are so incredibly unbelievably low that it's not even worth thinking about.
People always debate the size of the universe when it comes to aliens, but they always forget time. How long has the internet been around compared to, electricity? A fraction. Electricity compared to writing? A smaller fraction. Writing compared to all of human existence? Not as small a fraction but you get the point.
Now think of how long humans have been around compared to the existence of the universe. Those previous fractions are now completely and utterly irrelevant compared to how tiny this fraction is.
And then you need to consider how long we have left. Could be as little as a decade. Even another few millenia isn't very long, all things considered.
There's a very small window of opportunity for spacefaring races to hunt down other species.