I still find this notion that all alien civilizations will be meek little wall flowers pussy footing their way around the galaxy as completely unsupported by evidence. Most of the argument appears to be based on a not very good sci-fi novel. If our own history is any guide then civilizations will continue to run headlong into each other with little regard for consequences even when they know better, the motivations driving expansion and exploration are so strong that they overpower any cautions from the sideline. If life is common in the galaxy then it’s probably saturated every star system and all the space between by now and the reason we don’t see it is because we’re still having trouble figuring out how to spot the pebbles in our own neighborhood that might bump into us and wipe us out. Thinking we’d obviously see the aliens first if they were there is like expecting Montezuma to discover Spain.
