What is the “Dark Forest” hypothesis? Science answers!

For some time now, the topic of extraterrestrial life has been a hot topic among conspiracists and more skeptical scientists; While some people think about their future, some think they don’t. However, there are also those who believe that the answer is much more complicated than ‘is it or isn’t it’; Maybe alien life is a big dilemma even for E.T.s.

In 1950, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi commented on a theory called the Fermi Paradox. The paradox ultimately points out that the existence of extraterrestrial beings in the universe is a contradiction. If humanity already has so much technology and has been living in society for so long, why haven’t we found any form of life beyond Earth until now?? Nobody knows.

It is important to emphasize that the Fermi Paradox is just one theory as to why humanity has not encountered any alien beings despite so many telescopes and space missions. For example, The Dark Forest hypothesis suggests this may be happening for a much darker reason than we can imagine.Perhaps even more haunting than the idea of ​​being completely alone in the universe.

We still don’t know if aliens really exist, but the Dark Forest suggests they’re hiding from humanity. To explain the subject further, TecMundo gathered information from experts in the field.

What is the Black Forest?

The Dark Forest Hypothesis was first cited in author Liu Cixin’s trilogy of science fiction books., more specifically in the second book called ‘The Dark Forest’ – the trilogy is called The Three-Body Problem. The author suggests that the reason we have not yet encountered any aliens in this book is that they are perhaps hiding from humanity.

In the story told in the book, a sociology professor, a former astronomer, and the mother of a deceased character discuss this possibility. According to the professor, possible societies with intelligent life will always struggle to survive, and unfortunately there is no way to know whether they are benevolent or intent on destroying other living things.

Even in the case of a non-hostile civilization, the universe offers limited resources, which can lead to conflicts with other societies that need those resources. Because of these hostile odds, the book suggests that all intelligent civilizations may follow the safest path to ensure their survival.

This means that any other intelligent life could pose a real danger and so they must eliminate them. But that doesn’t mean that all extraterrestrials are fighting each other and destroying themselves, especially while humanity is still here. Maybe it’s all hidden.

“The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter who hides like a ghost among the trees, carefully pushing the branches blocking the way and trying to take a step without making a sound. Even breathing is done carefully. The hunter needs to be careful because there are poachers like him everywhere in the forest. If he encounters another life form—be it another hunter, an angel or a demon, a frail child or a shambling old man, a fairy or a demigod—there is only one thing he can do: open fire and destroy them. It is explained in a passage in the book.

Explanation of the Fermi Paradox

The Dark Forest hypothesis explains that if there truly is more than one alien civilization with a mission to destroy their potential enemies, It is possible that other forms of intelligent life hide to avoid detection and therefore destruction. In other words, the theory suggests that perhaps there are different types of aliens in the universe, but they are all hiding out of fear.

To understand the issue a little better, I propose to conduct a mental experiment. Imagine that you are in a forest that is completely dark and full of dangers, but you hear a voice coming from somewhere in that forest. You probably don’t check out what the noise is because you’re afraid it’s a real danger.

Is there life somewhere in the universe? There must be life in a place like this…?? pic.twitter.com/e1JqkaFtfI

— Astronomiaum (@Astronomiaum) July 29, 2023

In this case the dark forest would be the universe, and the cause of the noise would be some other kind of intelligent life. Therefore, the ‘right’ thing to do to avoid any dangerous situation that could destroy your civilization would be to hide in the forest.

The Arecibo message is just one example of how we are doing the exact opposite of what the Black Forest Hypothesis suggests; In 1974, astronomers and planetary scientists Frank Drake and Carl Sagan participated in the Arecibo program to deliver a message to a possible extraterrestrial civilization. It is sent via radio signal, The broadcast described some important information about the Earth and humanity, including the planet’s address and data on human DNA. and other details.

In the book, it is described as “Hell in this forest is other people. An eternal threat that any life that reveals its existence will quickly disappear. This is the picture of cosmic civilization. It is the explanation of the Fermi Paradox.”

Did you like the content? So, stay updated with more curiosities about life beyond Earth at TecMundo. If you wish, take the opportunity to understand what the Wow signal has to do with aliens.