Terrifying Idea, the “Dark Forest Hypothesis” Says Aliens Stay Silent to Avoid Being Wiped Out — Here’s Why Humanity’s Radio Signals Could Be a Mistake

There are countless number of theories that aims to explain the Fermi paradox, which simply states the contradiction of a high probability that there are alien civilizations out there due to how vast the universe is, and the lack of any observable evidence we have of them. However, the “Dark Forest Hypothesis” might be the most terrifying of them all.

What if our universe is full of danger, and we, sending signals out there of where we are, are actually making a big mistake? That is one of the key ideas in this specific theory. But, how could this answer the question of why we have not met any aliens yet? Let’s dive deeper into this theory and see what it could mean for humanity.

What Is the “Dark Forest Hypothesis”?

The “Dark Forest Hypothesis” is an idea presented by Chinese author Liu Cixin in his book, The Dark Forest. In the book, most, if not all, alien civilizations are intentionally hiding and going silent, in fear of being destroyed by another more advanced civilization.

The theory suggests that rather than a peaceful and cooperative universe, we might be living in a place that is dangerous and where everyone is out for themselves, like a dark forest. It could be that every civilization is armed and acts like a paranoid hunter.

If this is the nature the universe really is, then the logical strategy is to stay silent and hidden. Because a civilization revealing itself to the rest could just make it prone to being a target for destruction.

Read more: Wikipedia | IFLScience

Why Might All Aliens Be Silent?

Dark Forest: Should We NOT Contact Aliens?

Dark Forest is a chilling theory that could explain the Fermi paradox. It might be why we have not met any aliens yet. Going deeper into how and why alien civilizations could think and behave this way, the author built on a few key components from game theory.

First, every civilization, no matter how nice they think they are, has survival as its primary instinct. Regardless of whether they have democratic laws like ours or a moral code and principles on how to live their lives, if their existence is threatened, then they will most likely prioritize ensuring they survive, no matter what. This is what the theory assumes about most or all other civilizations.

Another is, there are finite resources in this world, and that might be the case for this wide universe, too. On Earth, humans, as the dominant intelligent species, have fought over limited resources as observed in our history. The chance of the same scenario happening if multiple advanced alien civilizations met, where the availability of finite matter and energy is also at stake, is very high.

There is also the idea of a technological explosion or rapid progression of a civilization. Just think about it in human civilization’s case, just a few thousand years ago, we were cavemen, a few hundred years ago, we were fighting with swords, and then today we have developed a weapon capable of ending our own civilization with a click of a button. Relative to the age of the universe, this timeline is incredibly fast.

So, in other words, even if a civilization is below someone else in terms of technological development, they could just as easily progress to the point that they will be a threat. This idea leads to the same point again, that it might be best not to contact the other alien civilizations, and to stay hidden as much as they can.

Why Humanity’s Radio Signals Could Be Dangerous

The terrifying Dark Forest hypothesis made our attempts to look for signs of alien civilization a big mistake. We have not stayed hidden, nor have we ever tried to. We have been sending radio waves, whether via TV shows, radio broadcasts, or even specific messages to other civilizations, into space for several decades now.

This might seem harmless, but if we assume the same mindset as the alien civilizations in the author’s have, then maybe staying hidden and silent is the better way to go. In the hypothesis, a concern was raised about the impossibility of knowing the true nature of other civilizations.

Across light-years of distances where there are time delays in communication between two dominant species, understanding one another would prove to be difficult. So, the best course of action is to assume the other civilizations are hostile and possess weapons of extinction.

Read more: The Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics

What This Means for Humanity

Could the Dark Forest Theory be the MOST HAUNTING Thought Ever?

We don’t really know if the nature of our universe is this hostile and dangerous, like a dark forest. However, this is a hypothesis that prioritizes the safety of our civilization, although it does it by being paranoid. But, if the theory proves real, then it means our noisy signal across the space might be a big mistake.

In other words, it means we should think twice about sending out more radio signals and satellites out there. If we somehow discovered an alien civilization, it might be best to just listen, observe them, and stay silent as much as we can.

Because an alien civilization operating at the same mindset and logic as that in the Dark Forest hypothesis would most probably do a preemptive strike. They could come to a conclusion that it is best to eliminate humanity while we are confined to the safety of our home planet, before we gain the ability to be an intergalactic threat.

Author's Final Thoughts

We hope you enjoyed reading through this terrifying theory. However, before we end the article, we would like to remind the readers that this hypothesis is just one of many, and none of them are proven.

The one thing that could be believable in this theory, though, is that it assumes that all life forms value their lives, that they would rather end a civilization to protect theirs, than perish. This is very reminiscent of how a country or a nation in our real world acts. So, the Dark Forest hypothesis is not entirely impossible.

Read next: Recent Theory, the “Great Filter” Suggests Aliens Keep Destroying Themselves Before They Can Spread — Here’s Why That Could Spell Trouble for Humanity