The Fermi Paradox–the discrepancy between the lack of evidence of the existence of intelligent life on other planets and the high likelihood that such life exists–has piqued our imaginations for many years. However, a paper recently proposed an answer to the question of why aliens haven’t found us yet and it’s a bit of a burn. They don’t want to because we’re not intelligent enough for them to care.

Perhaps, we’re not advanced enough in our technology to interest any aliens. They are too busy searching for signs of technology instead of life and they simply overlook us.

The paper by astrophysicist Amri Wandel, is pending peer review. In it, Wandel theorizes that life is fairly common in our galaxy. Alien explorers have many more options to contact, and we’re just not all that interesting to them.

“If biotic planets are so abundant that habitability and life alone do not provide a sufficient motivation for alien interstellar exploration, planets with technosignatures may attract alien civilizations to send probes.”

Technosignatures include radio broadcasts and are difficult to detect. We send radio broadcasts detectable in space only less than 100 years ago. Wandel says only civilizations no more than 50 light-years away would notice our signals and reply.

According to Universe Today, even if our radio waves reached 15,000 stars, this is just a drop in the ocean of the hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way.

Wandel further explains,

“The probability that a civilization is located close enough to Earth, to detect our radiosphere and send a space probe that would reach the Solar System at present is found to be very small, unless civilizations are extremely abundant”

Wandel also believes there would need to be 100 million or more intelligent civilizations in the galaxy for signals from Earth to eventually reach one of those civilizations.

So, although we’re sending out the message that we’re worth a look, we’re not quite hitting the mark and we look like a billion other lifeless planets.

Yet, there is a glimmer of hope.

Wandel writers,

“As it expands, the probability that Earth’s radiosphere will engulf an alien civilization increases with time.”

Wandel also speculates, anywhere between hundreds to thousands of years away, we’ll reach the “Contact Era,” when alien contact becomes more likely.

So, there’s always that!