The Fermi Paradox is a thought-provoking concept that highlights the apparent contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial civilizations existing in our vast Universe and the lack of evidence or direct contact with such civilizations. But do contemporary extraterrestrial civilizations exist alongside ours? The key word here is ‘contemporary.’
Two main reasons – Distance and Time
Distance factor
In my humble opinion, there are two major obstacles preventing us from encountering beings from another civilization.
Let me explain. The Universe is incredibly vast. So vast that the likelihood of direct contact with another civilization during our era is practically nil. Even if non-physical communication were possible, the distances would be so immense that physical contact within a short timeframe would be highly unlikely. As illustrated in the popular Netflix series ‘The Three-Body Problem,’ radio communication occur, but the aliens would only reach Earth 400 years later. This would be the distance factor.
Time factor
Now, regarding time: Consider the following facts. The Universe is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old. Our Solar System is about 4.6 billion years old, life on Earth has existed for approximately 3.8 billion years, and humans have been around for just a few hundred thousand years.
In this very long period of time, I believe there were countless civilizations that emerged and vanished in this vast Universe, much like we will soon disappear. Here, "soon” must be understood in cosmic terms. None of these civilizations lasted long. They all met their own demise in one way or another. Remember that around 65 million years ago, dinosaurs were the dominant species on Earth. Imagine what would have happened to humans if the dinosaurs hadn’t disappeared. I believe that Earth is a living entity and will expel us if we pose a real threat to its existence. Although it is more probable that we will cause our own annihilation before that.
While most of us consider the human race the center of this planet and even the Universe, a temporal perspective reveals our insignificance in the grand cosmic dance. I think that over billions of years, other civilizations may have existed, but contemporaneous with ours? Highly unlikely.
In conclusion
Therefore, my answer for the Fermi Paradox is as follows: the chances of two contemporary civilizations existing across such vast time span is very unlikely. Especially when their lifetimes are so short compared to the cosmic dance.
Taking these two factors into account, the probability of encountering an extraterrestrial civilization seems to be extremely low.