For those who don’t know, the Dark Forest conjecture comes from Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem series and suggests that the universe is like a dark forest. Every civilisation is a hunter, silently creeping through the woods, trying not to be seen. Why? Because if you reveal your location, you risk being destroyed by another civilisation that sees you as a potential threat. The safest option for advanced species might be to stay silent—and eliminate anyone who isn’t.

Yet here we are, blasting signals into space, sending probes with our coordinates engraved on them, and dreaming of first contact like it’s going to be some Star Trek utopia. What if we’re the loud, clueless campers in this cosmic forest, drawing attention to ourselves while the hunters watch from the shadows?

Sure, curiosity is part of human nature, but is it worth the risk? We don’t even know what we’re inviting. If we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that encounters between civilisations rarely end well for the less advanced party. And we might not even get the chance to negotiate—what if the aliens aren’t interested in talking?

I get it, space exploration is exciting, but maybe we should focus on keeping our planet alive and thriving instead of trying to poke the proverbial bear. Sometimes, the best move is to stay quiet and stay hidden.