boundegar t1_j0ygg41 wrote on December 20, 2022 at 10:02 AM

Reply to comment by HollowVoices in Which theory about aliens is the most likely? by [deleted]

Another thing I haven't seen mentioned: We spent almost all of our million years in the Stone Age. What if there are a dozen species we would recognize as "intelligent" sprinkled throughout the galaxy... and they're all hunter-gatherers?

Manarus t1_j0yh6lx wrote on December 20, 2022 at 10:13 AM

Or due to distance we could only see the time when they were in the stone age or before

Elongated_Mayonnaise t1_j0yor4j wrote on December 20, 2022 at 11:52 AM

What if we are the last ones and every other species is already dead?

escaai t1_j0ys8ct wrote on December 20, 2022 at 12:32 PM

I think Fermi's Paradox talks about this. It would mean that the other civilization started almost at the same time as us (50-80k years is literally a second in the grand scheme of things). If they're behind us, it would mean that we're the first, hence we won't mean anyone until we discover them. If they're first, we would see the domination of their galaxy (if it's close enough to us). The first one makes it even more unlikely added to the other necessary things for life to begin (2 simultaneous life forms starting).

boundegar t1_j110tid wrote on December 20, 2022 at 9:52 PM

Well that's the way it is in Traveller - but that's TTRPG, not reality. All of the "Major Races" started colonizing the stars in about the same century, so that when they find each other, both sides are strong. That makes for a better game, but there's no reason it's likely to happen.