[SagelyGuru]

Or it might be that advanced civilisations use more advanced means of communication. In such a vast universe, clearly superluminal communication speeds, should they be attainable, would be used. Maybe we just need to "tune in" properly.

[ricardolopes]

Or both. Yes, I don't believe higher civilisations use the same means of communication we use today, just as we don't use the same as we did some centuries ago.

[morsch]

That might be true if you only consider technologically facilitated means of communication, otherwise simple direct speech probably still makes up the largest part of it, just like it did some centuries ago.

Though, strangely enough, only when you count it from the performative side. That is I bet overall more words are spoken each day than written down (or otherwise technically transmitted). On the receiving end, ie. hearing/reading, due to the "broadcast" nature of newspaper, radio, TV and the internet, maybe more communication is technologically facilitated than not. That is more words are read or listened to than heard directly from another person. I wonder if and when that happened.

[rimantas]

Or maybe aliens are still in the stone age.

[tiatia]

This is possible but extremely unlikely, hence an unscientific assumption. You always assume the likely. That is is more likely that you are in the middle. You could argue that ONE of the steps to intelligent life is unlikely, incredible more unlikely as we assume. But the questions remains: Why are they not here? I am afraid we may not like the answer, whatever it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox

Related statistics: Doomsday argument German Tank Problem Capture Recapture

[rimantas]

The answer is obvious to me: the chances of life are very small. The universe is very big (that's some underestimation). So it is likely, that we are not alone in the universe, but we may be so far apart in terms of space and time that there will be no contact ever. Just take a look how far our signals have travelled since we began transmitting — they only covered a small part of our own galaxy.

[elorant]

Or in the same technological level that we are and they just didn't had the chance or the means to find us yet.

[teambob]

Or they can only communicate through carefully modulated gastric emissions. Then discovered fire.

https://youtu.be/Do-wDPoC6GM?t=2m3s

[analog31]

Guided waves would also be possible. I wonder what we'd think of alien civilizations, if we'd discovered fiber optics before radio.

[dogma1138]

You mean like we did? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photophone