The theory of 'Dark Forest' and why we still haven't found aliens

Is it true that in this vast universe, the Earth is the only place where life exists? Or do aliens have the ability to survive?

"The night is dark, the sky is pitch black. You are, for some reason, returning home on a dark, frighteningly quiet path. In your heart you understand that the darkness around you is The ideal space for robberies, kidnappings, even murders, so every time you see a shadow on the street, your heart tightens. A normal person who has to go out in the middle of the night, or a crazy assassin looking for a victim in the middle of the night, The safest option for you then, is to hide in the dark , to avoid attraction. pay attention to me, try to return as quietly as possible. Or at least hide yourself, until the sunlight rises . ".

In a way, the vast universe out there is just like this forest.

The above-mentioned fictional context first appeared in the science fiction novel "The Killing Star" by Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski in 1995. This book presents readers with two main points. First , the survival of one species will be higher than the existence of other species. Therefore, human life will always be a higher priority than any other creature other than the vast universe. Secondly, when a civilization grows to the extent that it is able to travel to space, that civilization will also become more wary of any potential danger beyond the vast universe.

And if we believe that the above two arguments are true for humans, as well as for any other civilization other than the universe - chances are aliens think the same about us. In other words, like the fictional scene we set out at the beginning of the article, the wiser choice may be to hide from the discovery of others - because the possibility of a possible conflict exists. in. That may also be the reason that aliens have never responded to the signals that humans send to outer space.

A wise choice is probably to hide themselves from the discovery of others.

This hypothesis was once again mentioned in the science fiction novel " Liu Bei's Dark Forest" (The second part of the book "The Tale of the Earth" includes Tam The, Dark Forest. , and Eternal Death). In this book, the "Dark Forest" theory is mentioned by the author as an attempt to answer the Fermi paradox, that why we have yet to find aliens while in terms of figures, In the vast universe, there can be at least 10,000 different civilizations with about 20 civilizations close to our human. The above figures come from the equation of astronomer Frank Drake in 1961, estimating the number of civilizations that can exist in outer space, through variables that can affect the development of the universe. a civilization.

Frank Drake's equation.

In the Drake equation above, N is the number of galaxies that we can contact, R * is the average rate of stars formed each year in our galaxy, fp is the probability stars have planets, ne is the probability that planets in the planet will support life, fl is the probability of life developing on a planet that supports life, fi is the probability for life to develop. smart objects, fc is the probability that a civilization has a technology so advanced that their signs can be seen in space, and L is the period of time when such a civilization can broadcast signals. into space.

This hypothesis is the reason many believe that we should not actively seek out alien life.

Back to the book "Dark Forest", author Luu Xu Xin said that all living things possess a great instinct for survival, while we have no way of knowing the intentions of any other civilization out there . And since there's no way to guarantee that communication with any civilization other than the universe will take place in peace, the safest option will be to kill the aliens before they attack. we. Besides, if the civilizations out there are less developed than the Earth, they will also find a way to hide themselves from being discovered by humans, because they fear that people might attack and destroy them.

"The universe itself is a dark forest. All civilizations are hunters, trying to quietly move forward like ghosts. Even, they have to be careful. These hunters are always careful, because in this forest is full of other people just like him.If he finds anyone - his only option is to shoot and kill them. [.] Anyone who shows up will be destroyed in the blink of an eye. That is the big picture of civilization in the universe. It is also an explanation for the Fermi paradox "- Quote " Khu dark forest " , Luu Tu Han (translation).

Many scientists oppose the arbitrary signaling of people to outer space.

This thesis was supported by NASA consultant David Brin when explaining the vastness of outer space. Any civilization that discovers and uses radio waves has put itself at risk and can be destroyed by a more developed civilization. Speaking of which, we would surely think: so are we humans also in danger, having emitted a lot of radio signals to outer space in an attempt to find extraterrestrial life? Is that possible too?

David Brin is not the only one who thinks that the "dark" scenario mentioned above is entirely possible. During his lifetime, Stephen Hawking and several other scientists also warned of arbitrary signaling to search for aliens in space. At that time, there were a lot of debates on forums about "should or should not arbitrarily send signals to outer space" , thereby allowing extraterrestrial civilizations to be able to locate them. be the position of mankind. If that affects the survival of all mankind, who has the right to make that decision on behalf of the Earth?

But in the end, this theory is probably just one of many "conspiracy theories" online.

Naturally, this theory still has many controversial points. Firstly, is there a civilization that can hide for a long time without being discovered? Or if the aliens were really belligerent and sought the goal of conquest in the vast universe, they would have attacked the Earth after we sent too many signals into space - but that didn't Are we still unharmed? Or is it like the story of extraterrestrial civilizations being able to ally themselves against one common enemy, another threat, but not necessarily destroy each other?

As for Lưu Từ Hân, in his novel, he believes that when the existence of an entire planet is on the scale, it is understandable if the civilizations out there regard interplanetary communication. bring greater risk than benefits, and that's why they choose to remain silent.

In the end, the "Dark Forest" theory is just a way of thinking that imposes the thinking of human society on the civilizations out there, and that's just a hypothesis that we will have to take very seriously. It will take a long time to verify right and wrong. And most likely, we will find some civilization in outer space better, more friendly to us. Or maybe we will destroy ourselves in the process of searching. But it is a story of a more distant future.

1. Why aliens have not come?
2. Cause we have not met aliens