Dark Forest Hypothesis - Are aliens hiding because they are afraid? Cosmic silence explained
What is the Dark Forest Hypothesis? This theory is linked to aliens and that other civilisations in the universe might be hiding and keeping their existence a secret to prevent another group of aliens from attacking them.
Universe is vast, so why haven't we found any other alien life till now?
Humans have been looking at the sky for thousands of years, wondering what else might exist out there. For the longest time, scientists thought the Milky Way was it, and it was the whole universe. Then, in 1925, Edwin Hubble saw that the stars in the Andromeda Galaxy were too far to exist in our galaxy. This is when we realised that the universe contained millions and billions of other galaxies, and the universe was expanding. This also triggered the search for alien life. The thought was - If there are so many cosmic bodies out there, Earth could not be the only place where life exists. So why haven't we found any other life forms in the universe till now?
Dark Forest Hypothesis
One theory that is used to answer this age-old question is the Dark Forest Hypothesis. According to this theory, if alien life exists, then it is hiding itself. Extra-terrestrial beings wouldn't want to show themselves for various reasons, the foremost being their safety. Since alien life might not be the same everywhere, as it could be technologically or naturally stronger, those living on other planets are likely wary of coming out in the open.
Origin of Dark Forest Hypothesis
The theory gets its name from a Chinese novel published in 2008. It was the second book in Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. Liu uses "dark forest" as a metaphor to describe the cosmos: every civilisation is like a hunter hiding among trees, trying not to produce any sound (i.e. reveal their existence), because there might be others ready to kill if they detect you.
Better to stay silent than expose and risk extinction
Liu was not the first one to come up with this idea, and was only someone who coined the phrase "Dark Forest." Humans have held this inherent belief for the longest time that in a universe with many civilisations, uncertainty about others’ intentions may push everyone to stay silent or even preemptively destroy others. It has made the basis of several science fiction novels and other texts.
Survival instinct: Staying alive is top of the list
Threats, either real or perceived, are the primary reason for an alien civilisation hiding itself. Survival is the main instinct not just for humans on Earth, but also possibly for anyone else in the universe. It is almost impossible to know how many other worlds that support life are in the universe, and what kind of people might live there.
Communication risks meeting hostile civilisations
There is no way to be sure whether an alien race is benign or hostile. Communication at cosmic scales is difficult, which is why it is important to relay the true intentions. And again, since one cannot for sure what the other civilisation is like, one would not want to expose oneself by even trying to talk to them. Hence, a cosmic paradox builds.
Lack of resources might lead hostile alien civilisation to kill another
Technology advancements can make any civilisation hostile. Even a relatively less advanced civilisation could become dangerous if its technology improves rapidly. So any civilisation may be considered a risk. An alien civilisation might even attack another to encroach upon its resources, which might not be enough for everyone's survival.
Suspicion prevents civilisations from reaching out to each other
Suspicion about a certain civilisation will always remain. If Civilisation A knows about B, but doesn’t know B’s nature and fears B might inform Civilisation C about them. The latter might even be much stronger and could be looking for more universal resources. Here, there is a chain of uncertainty, increasing the incentive to act preemptively or stay silent.
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