You need hobbies during a pandemic. Thinking about the future is one of mine. I'm endlessly fascinated by the possibility of making contact with aliens, for example. I know that there is no substantial evidence that somewhere out there in space there is a civilization as advanced as ours. Given the large number of stars with planets out there, it is unthinkable that there are no advanced alien civilizations. This is called the Fermi paradox.
Life should be everywhere yet everywhere we look there is only silence. One theory proposes that life is rare because all life has to pass through a Great Filter before it can evolve into a higher intelligence. Although we can quibble about the meaning of "advanced civilization," there is no question that humans are relatively advanced when compared to other species of Earth. Perhaps we made it through a great filter sometime in our evolutionary past. Among the myriad hominid species that existed, we became the dominant on the planet.
Alternatively, the Great Filter may still lie ahead of us. We might even be passing through it as we speak. Are viruses the reason why civilizations can't ever make contact?
Reminds me. It's been a while since I've seen the stars.
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