Exponential Solitude — why we'll never meet aliens
The Fermi paradox feels like a puzzle. Enrico Fermi asked: if the galaxy is old and vast, where is everybody? The real answer is lonelier.
Technological progress and interstellar distance conspire to keep civilizations apart. By the time we develop the tools to reach outward, the expanding universe has already made contact impossible. We are condemned to eternal solitude — no Star Trek, no E.T., no meeting intelligent peers.
The Neanderthals were our last chance at encountering another intelligent species. We mated with them, then we exterminated them. That's the closest we'll ever come.