Great video. Doesn't it take a bit of arrogance to ask, "why haven't the advanced alien civilizations made themselves known to us?" Couldn't it be that we aren't worth the effort? Perhaps there are so many wonderful things to see in the universe that taking the time to consider humanity would be like visiting Niagara Falls and stopping to admire the restroom faucets. Could it be that we're just not that intriguing? We could be the Kansas of the universe, a solar system nobody wants to travel through.
While i doubt that we're a spectacle of the universe, I think that neighbouring life forms might be interested in contacting us, just for the sake of connection. Sure they could be so far advanced to the point where we're as insignificant as insects, but they could also be more simple, compared to whom we're more like dogs or monkeys. A simpler life form would be much more likely to take interest in us, I think. The main hurdle, to me, seems to be the undertaking of interstellar travel. The idea that faster-than-light travel isn't possible serves as a pretty good explanation for why we haven't been contacted. But even if a civilization could easily and quickly travel to stars, the chances that they'd pick ours any time soon would be pretty low, even if you multiply it by the number of civilizations that could have interstellar capabilities. In all the time we've had, we haven't even named all the stars in our galaxy. I can't even imagine how big of a task that surveying the entire 300 billion stars of the Milky Way would be, even if you could zip to them in a second.
I think that neighbouring life forms might be interested
Maybe neighboring lifeforms are devoid of "interests." Perhaps they are beyond that. Maybe once they advanced to a specific point they no longer are outward looking, but rather only look inward.
I suppose that is a depressing possibility. Certainly if there was an intergalactic civilization they wouldn't learn anything from us. It could also be a gesture of kindness, not wanting to disrupt our own existence and development, knowing that if they did visit we wouldn't really be able to handle the biological, cultural, and technological consequences.
Why is that depressing? I would find that an exciting reason. It would mean that there are things in the universe far more interesting and worthwhile than us. To me, this is more exciting than humanity being the apex of it all.
True. I suppose I'm actually more neutral about it. Regardless, it seems obvious that if any civilization was A) intergalactic and B) not bent on destroying other life, they would be wasting their time with us. They could probably learn everything they wanted to know about us within making their presence known to us anyway. It's an intriguing possibility. The more I think about the possibilities the more confusing it gets. I suppose that is why it is truly a question without an answer at the moment.
They could probably learn everything they wanted to know about us within making their presence known
exactly. I can only speculate that their interest in us would be to observe a primitive species in their natural habitat. But then this, and any other speculation, is the most extreme version of ethnocentrism ever. We have no idea what their interests, biology, or motivations are. It truly is a question without an answer. -Fun to think about though.