> I just assume the Universe is so big (and expanding) that nobody besides bacteria could make it alive to Earth.
Why would you assume that ?
Even if the speed of light is an absolute barrier why do you rule out the following:
- ET's that are immortal or with enormous lifespans, either naturally or because they re-engineered themselves that way
- ET's that have produced artificial intelligent entities that are immortal
- Generation ships
- Ships that travel at a significant fraction of c, causing time-dilation effects to greatly reduce travel times in the traveler's frame of reference
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if humans were able to achieve at least one of these in the next thousand years and an ET civilization could easily be millions of years ahead of us.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think ET's are the most likely explanation for what's happening either, but I also don't think they can be ruled out entirely.
I think that the problem with all that is the communication barrier gets exacerbated to the point that its a self limiting mechanism for intelligent life.
Why would you assume that ?
Even if the speed of light is an absolute barrier why do you rule out the following:
- ET's that are immortal or with enormous lifespans, either naturally or because they re-engineered themselves that way
- ET's that have produced artificial intelligent entities that are immortal
- Generation ships
- Ships that travel at a significant fraction of c, causing time-dilation effects to greatly reduce travel times in the traveler's frame of reference
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if humans were able to achieve at least one of these in the next thousand years and an ET civilization could easily be millions of years ahead of us.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think ET's are the most likely explanation for what's happening either, but I also don't think they can be ruled out entirely.