I've read this little lesson from some scientist a few times over the past couple years so I'll give it to you here. If there is sentient life out there currently it probably sees and hears and senses and communicates everything on a completely different level than humans. Also, with the time span of the universe, it could have been billions of years ago or will be billions of years in the future that even one alien civilization existed or will exist. I love space. I love science fiction set in space. I love the thought of having alien friends and counterparts. However, the realist side of me just says, "If there were aliens out there they wouldn't be so hard to find." And that, I'm afraid, is the sad truth of the whole situation
Yeah, I have the same thoughts. Humans tend to think that the only kind of sentient life that exists is ones they've already seen. It doesn't occur to them that other forms of life in other areas of the universe could be radically different, in ways we can't conceive. They may innately have a mastery of quantum reality. Their insides can be their outsides. They may be invisible. They may be part of the conscious air, with hands reaching down into whatever for them counts as grass. They may play with gravity as infants, tap into wellsprings of physics, propel themselves into motion like it's a playground. They may exist as dark matter. They might breathe solids. They may exist in a timeframe one shift away from our own. And right there is only the stuff my limited human mind can try to imagine. I think the reality would be immensely more fascinating, and I hope if we encounter such lifeforms, humanity can lose its hubris. "Oh," the thin beast said. "Aren't they lonely?” ― Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time“They are very young. And on their earth, as they call it, they never communicate with other planets. They revolve about all alone in space."
Also, they may live for a long time and communicating one sentence could take years. They might perceive time differently.
That's true, alien life would probably function very differently to us. I see what you're saying, but I can't say I agree. The universe is a big place, even our galaxy alone is a big place at about 100,000 light years across. That alone is a pretty unfathomable distance. It's hard to accept that there isn't any alien civilization out there. The big problem is just the sheer distance. I mean the nearest earth-like planet is already 24 light years away, and even then 'earth-like' is a bit of a stretch. I'm of the opinion that there definitely are aliens out there and almost certainly ones that would be able to hear our messages. I don't think they'll get them for a long, long time though, and by the time they get them and send something back, humans mightn't be around to receive a reply.If there were aliens out there they wouldn't be so hard to find.