[godelski]

I'm not sure I like this line of reasoning because it implies that the ants aren't aware of us. Certainly they are in some cases. Ants are able to physically perceive us. So if aliens aren't using some means of passive remote sensing to study us then I don't see why we wouldn't also notice them (though they may have good reason to not use active means). Sure, the ants aren't aware of what why we're hanging out around them, but they are aware of us.

[purplecats]

i think you may be confusing the ideas "aware of" and "being studied".

[godelski]

The topic was really about how we may not know we're being studied by unknown aliens, just like ants. My response was about the ants not knowing the why but still aware of existence. So far we don't know about the existence of aliens, hence the part about how they'd have to be doing passive and remote studying.

[sliken]

https://xkcd.com/638/