The universe—it’s so vast, filled with billions of galaxies and holding millions of stars, planets, ecosystems, and things we have not even dreamt about! It feels like we shouldn’t be alone, and yet- here we are. Through the years, with our growing space technology and radio communication... nothing. There were no indications of life, no attempts at communication, and nothing unusual was observed. This mystery connects us to one man, Enrico Fermi.
Enrico Fermi: an intellectual guy.
It was a casual lunchtime at the LA national laboratory in the early 1950s when Enrico, with many of his colleagues—Emil Konopinski, Edward Teller, and Herbert York—were talking when the topic of UFOs and sightings came up, and during the discussion, Enrico blurted out, "But where is everybody?" Kindling the thoughts of many around the world, to come up with the “Fermi Paradox”.
Physicists came and went in the time people researched, leaving their marks and thoughts with them: “If the universe is enormous and so old, why haven’t we seen anybody?” And in 1984, York said that Fermi “followed up with a calculation on the probability of Earth-like planets, the probability of life given an Earth, the probability of humans given life, the likely rise and duration of high technology, and so on. He concluded based on such calculations that we ought to have been visited long ago and many times over."
Are there any answers?
Answers to these very hard questions – asking about life itself and how we tend to think of some things, really, REALLY bug our minds. There may be a bunch of answers, terrifying or not, which some want to think about and others don’t, just because it “may” change what’s happening right now.
Around the world, we see news, articles and much more about people “finding” aliens, “spotting” UFO’s which are not true most of the time, shifting our perspective to think there are no aliens at all. And that may be true
1.Cosmic Jelly….
Just like jellyfish are the first creatures on our planet, are we too? The universe is 13.8 billion years old, but life, with the ability to think and communicate, requires a lot: the right kind of star, the proper distanc, atmosphere and even luck (like Jupiter taking asteroids for us). If life is way too rare or slow to evolve, we might genuinely be the first "intelligent" species to arise, even though we come under the type 1 civilisation.
Why? Because Earth is young compared to the cosmos, earlier planets might not have had enough time if life takes billions of years to develop intelligence.
2.Zoo animals?
Thought of in the 1970s, the zoo hypothesis says that the existence of technologically advanced aliens and other terrestrial life may be reasons they refrain from contacting us. It is one of many theoretical explanations for the Fermi Paradox. The theory posits that extraterrestrial life deliberately refrains from communication with Earth to facilitate natural development, observe our growth, behaviour, and way of life, and prevent contamination, akin to observing animals in a zoo or cage.
1. Star Trek Theory
In Star Trek, the Federation enforces strict rules of no contact with growing life to avoid cultural contamination. A real alien civilisation could follow very similar rules.
· “Alleged” UFO sightings could be "monitoring probes" that avoid direct engagement. 2. Why No Leaks? The Flawless Viewing
If aliens are watching us, their technology would be much, much better than ours.... How do they do this?
· Spy technology, above our understanding.
o If cloaks can bend light or spacetime on a much larger scale, their ships could be invisible, like in Harry Potter.
o Nanoscale drones: Microscopic or cloaked drones could be everywhere, disguised as natural phenomena. (e.g., Spider-Man: Far from Home)
"The truth might not be that we’re alone, but that we’re being kept in the dark." A wise person once quoted this.
3.The Dark Forest Hypothesis... .
It's simple, imagine if we were alone at night in a pitch-black forest, and suddenly, you see or hear something in the distance. Would anyone risk calling out whatever that is? Would it be dangerous or not? Exactly like the humans we are—and the instincts we have— anyone would go in the opposite direction. Now, thinking of it from a universal perspective, we would be contacting things we don’t know. The hypothesis states that there may be many creatures out there, but they may be avoiding contact with other aliens in case one is hostile, and there are questions about whether we should do the same thing, staying hidden and observing silently.
40,000 Years of Cultivation is a book on this theory. Basically (if the novel is correct in its interpretation), the idea is that the universe beyond our realm of control/understanding (like a forest) is where countless untold dangers lurk, ready to devour anything that wanders into its depths. It’s like the survival of the fittest on a cosmic scale.
4.Are we the weird ones?
In 1974, the Arecibo department sent a coded message towards the star cluster. In 1977, the Voyager probes launched, carrying golden records of human sounds and images. Now, our radio and TV signals continue leaking into space at the speed of light.
We are the only species we know of—so far—that intentionally broadcasts its existence to outer space... It could harm us by letting others know we are prey that are weaker than the rest or can be used like a Petri dish in a lab.
The Fermi Paradox says, If the universe is so vast and old, where is everybody? The ones who live are the ones who stay quiet.
Humans, on the other hand, are going after the endless void.
● We announce our presence with radio waves, probes, and even targeted messages (like the 2008 Beatles song transmitted to Polaris).
● We assume curiosity is everyone’s cup of tea —that any advanced civilisation would share our desire to connect.
Not all theories are so grim, maybe. But many have warned us and thought of the bad…
Some scientists, like Stephen Hawking, warned against actively messaging aliens. Others argue that hiding is pointless—our radio leakage already gives us away.
Is This The Answer?
After all these ideas, theories, and suggestions—aliens hiding, civilisations self-destructing, or maybe our human instincts—here’s the (maybe) wild truth: space isn’t silent. We just don’t know how to listen yet.
1. We are tiny creatures, just not yet able to understand everything.
o Imagine beetles in a forest trying to understand human conversations. That’s us in the cosmos.
o Advanced aliens might use tech we can’t even detect
2. Everyone’s Hiding (For Good Reason)
o The Dark Forest Theory might be real—smart civilisations stay quiet to survive.
o We’re the reckless ones blasting radio waves into space. oops
3. Or… We’re Alone (For Now)
o Maybe life is incredibly rare, and we’re the first.
What now?
Keep searching; enjoy the mystery. The universe is 13.8 billion years old. We’ve barely been looking for 100.
By
Tanvi Sarangi