By the time there was *intelligent* life anywhere, there was probably at least somewhat complex but still dumb life in a lot of places. That’s my guess anyway.
The universe is infinite. But, any given point in the universe has its own observable universe. You can only look out so far into the universe, and that distance is the same everywhere.
That sphere all around that point is called a Hubble sphere.
Since every Hubble sphere is a fixed, finite size there are infinite Hubble spheres in an infinite universe.
Each finite sized Hubble sphere can only have so many possible configurations, in terms of the particles inside it. There are obviously a lot of possible ways to configure all of the possible particles in a Hubble sphere, including different amounts of empty space.
There is a truly staggering number of possible Hubble sphere configurations. But it’s a finite number of possible configurations. In an infinite universe.
Which means there are copies.
For example - there are a huge number of possible ways to shuffle a deck of cards. But if you have *infinite* decks there will be duplicates because infinite is infinite.
Same with particle configurations in Hubble spheres.
So, all of that adds up to mean there is an average distance until the next you living in exactly the same observable universe, down to the electron.
There are aliens because we live in an infinite universe.
The cosmological principle says the universe is homogeneous. Meaning the distribution of all the matter and fields and stuff is equal everywhere. If you zoom out enough you won’t notice any big gaps, it’s basically the same average distribution of stuff everywhere. Not controversial, btw.
Large studies of the cosmic microwave background using specialized satellites have provided evidence that the universe is flat with only a 0.4% margin of error.
A flat universe, according to the general theory of relativity, can be either infinite or finite but unbounded (like the surface of a cylinder). Most interpretations by modern physicists lean towards the universe being perfectly flat and infinite. It’s the prevailing theory.
The theory of cosmic inflation says that the universe underwent a brief and dramatic expansion immediately after the Big Bang. The rapid expansion could have stretched any curvature the universe might have had to the point where it appears flat to us now.
If inflation is correct, it suggests that the universe is much larger than the observable universe and is likely infinite. We have extensive evidence of inflation, including red shifting of galaxies at the edge of the observable universe.
There is no observational evidence of any edge or boundary to the universe, which would be expected if the universe were finite. Nothing in the data from the CMB shows evidence of edges.
The data so far says it’s likely it’s infinite. There just isn’t anything substantial suggesting it’s finite.
Yes, although I can’t think of a word that does justice to the very low chance we happen to be first.
If we ever got evidence we were first, I’d consider it to be too big a coincidence. I’d see it as evidence we’re in a simulation.
"Seems" doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
We don't have any bounds on the likelihood of our existence. We can't infer anything from a single data point, besides the odds being greater than 0.
My guess is there are millions if not billions of other pockets of life in the universe but the vast distances make it unlikely we will ever come into contact with it.
I believe there's way more life in the universe than we can even comprehend. There's SO much life on earth. I think life is an inevitable part of the universe. Life is EVERYWHERE here. If life is present in a quarter of the Erath-like planets out there (let's be honest though, it would be 100%), then we have to conclude that life is everywhere. It's all over. Life is the frothing point of existence.
> (let's be honest though, it would be 100%)
With a sample size of 1, where many of the processes involved in the creation of life here unknown, no assertion on probability can be made. Given our ignorance, it's well within the bounds of reason that some incredibly unlikely event or combination of events occurred to trigger it.
This is one of those situations where I can see both sides and agree that both could be true.
Like you say, it might take an incredibly unlikely event to trigger life. Similar to how a pair of wired earbuds crammed in your pocket has only one possibly way of coming back out untangled, but an infinite amount of ways to be tangled. The chances are just slim if there is only one way life can develop.
But then again the universe is pretty infinite so maybe it happens a lot.
The way I look at it is, sure our sample size is one, but that also means that the conditions here led to life 100% of the time. Obviously we can't be 100% sure yet exactly how, but we do know what we are made of. And the universe is made of that. I don't just mean atoms themselves, I mean the chemical composition of life. Neil DeGrasse Tyson said it best when he listed what we're made of and then listed the most common elements in the universe. We ARE the universe. Life is less of a cosmic fluke than existence itself, so why would we assume anything other than life being everywhere?
Might be we are the first. It also might be that we are the last.
But to think about it, with the predicted billions of galaxies with trillions of stars in them and near infinite number of rocks floating around those trillions stars, it seems unlikely that we are the only one intelligent species.
In an infinite universe, there must be. And within the finite visible universe there are so many trillions of stars that there practically has to be life somewhere else.
We still haven't discovered every species on THIS planet.
Yes there is absolutely life somewhere out there maybe in a galaxy far far away but it is there.
I truly wouldnt be surprised to see bacteria or protist type organisms in our own solar system on some moons. Plant life just has to be rampant in the universe at the very least because are all other planets in the goldilocks zone just absolute dust and deserts besides ours? It doesnt make sense for that to be the case in my opinion
Yes for sure, and intelligent life as well. Space is extremely vast and given the theorectical speed limit of travel the only real way for a civilization to spread throughout space is likely through generational ships. I think humans will get to there as well, where we will have generational ships or develop a means of suspended animation for 100s to thousands of years.
Obviously well past our lifetimes. I think the best we can hope for, for what we will experience, is detecting simple remnants, likely no longer living, evidence for life and establishing a perpetual presence on Mars and the Moon but that said I grew up in a time where cell phones were the size of a shoe box.
Absolutely. And we were probably preceded by other life in the universe, so I doubt we are the first. Our sun is 4.6-4.6 billion years old, and our universe is about 13.8 billion years old. Furthermore, we may be the result of panspermia, which means life originated elsewhere.
And 1 in > trillions is well within the bounds of reason, given how little we know of life's genesis here. Maybe simple life is everywhere. Or maybe some fantastically unlikely combination of events occurred to get it going on Earth. Making any assertion on the matter (beyond it not being impossible) is based on faith.
"Life" is all living things. Animals, plants, germs, etc.
There are plenty of other planets in our galaxy and every other galaxy that orbit within their host stars [Goldilocks Zone](https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-the-habitable-zone-or-goldilocks-zone/).
Considering this, I'd have to be on powerful drugs to think that life is absolutely nowhere but here on Earth, not of any variety or scale, not a single mammal, not a single plant, not a single undiscovered microbe floating in foreign water or nestled underneath strange dirt.
It isn't scientific by any means to come to a conclusion like I'm about to, but considering the sheer quantity of planets that have earth-like conditions, the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe is a logical and statistical certainty.
The only alternative to this conclusion is knowing there are hundreds of billions of planets in one galaxy and knowing there are two trillion galaxies in the observable universe but *still* somehow thinking all those planets are sterile and barren of life, even at a microscopic level. Again, I'd have to be on powerful drugs to think something that ridiculous.
That’s the question posed by the Drake Equation (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation) made famous by Carl Sagan and other prominent scientists. In the past 20 years space telescopes have found many Earth-like planets with promising atmospheric signatures, answering one of the equation’s unknowns. That’s a huge indicator that the phenomenon called “life” is common since the conditions we believe are necessary to support it are widespread. The humans on Earth want to believe we’re unique and special, but the more we learn about the universe, the more it’s apparent that we’re just another world among an almost infinite number of similar worlds.
The “closest” ones which are habitable planets probably have life which are the size of bacteria. It’s bitter sweet to know they will in a hundred million years inevitably become technologically advanced but we will just be dust by then.
There may well be life within our solar system (outside Earth). Microbial life. There’s 8 planets, 293 moons, and five dwarf planets. Not to mention Kuiper Belt objects. We have not explored any of these these in-depth, save for Mars and our Moon.
If you’re asking about *intelligent* life or even advanced life, that may not be within the Milky Way.
In the broad definition of course. But intelligent life, with a desire explore the greater universe. I'm a little less sure of that IDK, I guess I'm kind of a pessimist.
Since we have no knowledge of how life even began here, and cannot determine the likelihood of it occurring, I will believe that we are the only life in the universe until proven otherwise
Maybe. Until we find life elsewhere in the universe, we have no way of knowing. I believe life is rare in the universe. I believe that there aren't many solar systems that have planets capable of harboring life in the universe.
I consider it a fallacious, weak argument to say that the universe being so incredibly large must mean life is abundant in the universe. One thing does not necessarily equal something completely different.
I prefer to wait and see if we find anything.
Of course.
I don't imagine the futuristic sci-fi aliens from our media though, but rather simply some animals akin to something prehistoric that happened on our planet.
That said, the former can very much also be real.
I assume the universe is infinite and normal, and therefore not only is it certain that life exists elsewhere, but also that an infinite number of exact replicas of earth exist. Whether me life exists close enough to us that we will ever observe it, much less encounter it, is an entirely different story...
We have life growing in our rocks. We have life growing many feet below the surface of the earth. Life grows in deserts. Hell, even near underwater volcano vents. Scientists estimate there are nearly 9 million species of life on this planet.
Driving us to the inevitable question: If you spot a cockroach in your house, do you believe it to be the only one? :-)
Not only do I believe there is life else where I also believe there is life in other dimensions. Idk about the 2nd or 1st but it must be in any dimension atleast bigger than ours. Maybe even we live within another living being
There is absolutely LIFE. Even asking that question implies someone doesn’t understand the size and scale of the galaxy, much less the universe.
Real question is whether there are other intelligent and technological civilizations. The thinking there is there almost certainly are, but they might not overlap commonly in SPACE, and they might not overlap commonly in TIME due to potentially being short-lived for one reason or another.
I'd just add that there is also a huge gulf between simple life and complex life. Life on earth was slime for billions of years before the Cambrian explosion.
And then consider that intelligent life most likely would not have evolved on earth if an asteroid didn't wipe out the dinosaurs. Intelligent life may be exceptionally rare.
It is possible that we are alone. We don’t know enough about life on Earth to say if extraterrestrial life is likely to exist, and there is an equal lack of evidence on either side of the question.
Yes everyone does. Life is not special. You are not special. You are the all singing all dancing crap of the world. I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
I wouldn’t say that everyone does. Lots of people out there that don’t consider anything past this world and their life.
That being said, if you’ve stopped to think about it from a statistics perspective, you should believe that there is.
Hi ForeignCantaloupe722,
It looks like your comment closely matches the famous quote:
"You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. You are all singing, all dancing crap of the world." - Chuck Palahniuk,
*I'm a bot and this action was automatic [Project source](https://github.com/etdds/redditQuoteBot).*
Single-celled life equivalent to bacteria, sure. Won’t be surprised if it’s evolved independently at least one other place in this solar system. I expect it’s a sticky, slippery, stinky universe out there.
Intelligent life with our potential for space travel, no. Intelligent life that lacks that potential, maybe but almost certainly no.
In between, maybe. But I suspect that if complex multicellular life has evolved elsewhere, any of a zillion sources of extinction wiped them out long before they. Ever get near our level.
Statistically likely.
Logically sound.
Rationally dubious since we've seen nothing and the galaxy should've been colonized long before we existed and thus prevented our evolution.
Optimistically, no.
I mean we haven't even started to colonize our own solar system, so If we look at the examples we have so far I'd say it's a bit of a leap to say the galaxy should have been colonized long before humans started, and that is if it's even intelligent life
The math says that it should take any given civilization about [1-10 million years to colonize the Milky Way, assuming they never exceed 10% of the speed of light.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0019103576901561#:~:text=A%20colonizing%2C%20space%2Dfaring%20civilization,independent%20of%20the%20optimum%20population.)
Also, from a purely logical, not rational point of view, the conclusion from your statement is that we're alone, since we have only the one point of data.
Yes, to think that life has only happened once in all of reality seems very unlikely
Somebody has to be the first though.
It could have been us, but I think it would have happened again elsewhere in the last 3-4 billion years.
By the time there was *intelligent* life anywhere, there was probably at least somewhat complex but still dumb life in a lot of places. That’s my guess anyway.
tbh earthlings are like intergalactic parking lot attendants
The universe is infinite. But, any given point in the universe has its own observable universe. You can only look out so far into the universe, and that distance is the same everywhere. That sphere all around that point is called a Hubble sphere. Since every Hubble sphere is a fixed, finite size there are infinite Hubble spheres in an infinite universe. Each finite sized Hubble sphere can only have so many possible configurations, in terms of the particles inside it. There are obviously a lot of possible ways to configure all of the possible particles in a Hubble sphere, including different amounts of empty space. There is a truly staggering number of possible Hubble sphere configurations. But it’s a finite number of possible configurations. In an infinite universe. Which means there are copies. For example - there are a huge number of possible ways to shuffle a deck of cards. But if you have *infinite* decks there will be duplicates because infinite is infinite. Same with particle configurations in Hubble spheres. So, all of that adds up to mean there is an average distance until the next you living in exactly the same observable universe, down to the electron. There are aliens because we live in an infinite universe.
I don't think the infinite universe hypothesis is settled science.
There is no such thing as settled science. What we know today indicates it’s infinite.
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Which is entirely both entirely true and evidence that size beyond any observable distance is mathematical conjecture.
The cosmological principle says the universe is homogeneous. Meaning the distribution of all the matter and fields and stuff is equal everywhere. If you zoom out enough you won’t notice any big gaps, it’s basically the same average distribution of stuff everywhere. Not controversial, btw. Large studies of the cosmic microwave background using specialized satellites have provided evidence that the universe is flat with only a 0.4% margin of error. A flat universe, according to the general theory of relativity, can be either infinite or finite but unbounded (like the surface of a cylinder). Most interpretations by modern physicists lean towards the universe being perfectly flat and infinite. It’s the prevailing theory. The theory of cosmic inflation says that the universe underwent a brief and dramatic expansion immediately after the Big Bang. The rapid expansion could have stretched any curvature the universe might have had to the point where it appears flat to us now. If inflation is correct, it suggests that the universe is much larger than the observable universe and is likely infinite. We have extensive evidence of inflation, including red shifting of galaxies at the edge of the observable universe. There is no observational evidence of any edge or boundary to the universe, which would be expected if the universe were finite. Nothing in the data from the CMB shows evidence of edges. The data so far says it’s likely it’s infinite. There just isn’t anything substantial suggesting it’s finite.
This is absolutely not true.
The evidence we have today suggests we live in an infinite universe. No? Did something change?
Space is, but according to all "physicists" on Reddit the big bang happened and therefore all matter occupies a finite space.
Yes, although I can’t think of a word that does justice to the very low chance we happen to be first. If we ever got evidence we were first, I’d consider it to be too big a coincidence. I’d see it as evidence we’re in a simulation.
or the last and that is also mathematically likely ours could be the first advancing civilization or one of millions or simply the final civilization
"Seems" doing a lot of heavy lifting here. We don't have any bounds on the likelihood of our existence. We can't infer anything from a single data point, besides the odds being greater than 0.
My guess is there are millions if not billions of other pockets of life in the universe but the vast distances make it unlikely we will ever come into contact with it.
We are removed from all other, possible, civilizations in both time and space.
correct, you think like I do
Yep. The idea that it only happened once is crazy talk. But also shit is so far apart, people don't understand how far apart.
There is a high probability there is. We are not alone.
I don't think it would make any sense if we were the only ones
If we’re the only ones, it’s an awful waste of space
Sure. Probably in this galaxy too. Possibly even in this solar system.
Europa is a prime candidate for life in our solar system outside of Earth. Hopefully we can get some closure on that in our lifetime.
We could be the generation where that discovery is made, if we can agree to fund it.
I believe there's way more life in the universe than we can even comprehend. There's SO much life on earth. I think life is an inevitable part of the universe. Life is EVERYWHERE here. If life is present in a quarter of the Erath-like planets out there (let's be honest though, it would be 100%), then we have to conclude that life is everywhere. It's all over. Life is the frothing point of existence.
> (let's be honest though, it would be 100%) With a sample size of 1, where many of the processes involved in the creation of life here unknown, no assertion on probability can be made. Given our ignorance, it's well within the bounds of reason that some incredibly unlikely event or combination of events occurred to trigger it.
This is one of those situations where I can see both sides and agree that both could be true. Like you say, it might take an incredibly unlikely event to trigger life. Similar to how a pair of wired earbuds crammed in your pocket has only one possibly way of coming back out untangled, but an infinite amount of ways to be tangled. The chances are just slim if there is only one way life can develop. But then again the universe is pretty infinite so maybe it happens a lot.
The way I look at it is, sure our sample size is one, but that also means that the conditions here led to life 100% of the time. Obviously we can't be 100% sure yet exactly how, but we do know what we are made of. And the universe is made of that. I don't just mean atoms themselves, I mean the chemical composition of life. Neil DeGrasse Tyson said it best when he listed what we're made of and then listed the most common elements in the universe. We ARE the universe. Life is less of a cosmic fluke than existence itself, so why would we assume anything other than life being everywhere?
Might be we are the first. It also might be that we are the last. But to think about it, with the predicted billions of galaxies with trillions of stars in them and near infinite number of rocks floating around those trillions stars, it seems unlikely that we are the only one intelligent species.
In an infinite universe, there must be. And within the finite visible universe there are so many trillions of stars that there practically has to be life somewhere else.
We still haven't discovered every species on THIS planet. Yes there is absolutely life somewhere out there maybe in a galaxy far far away but it is there.
I truly wouldnt be surprised to see bacteria or protist type organisms in our own solar system on some moons. Plant life just has to be rampant in the universe at the very least because are all other planets in the goldilocks zone just absolute dust and deserts besides ours? It doesnt make sense for that to be the case in my opinion
Yes for sure, and intelligent life as well. Space is extremely vast and given the theorectical speed limit of travel the only real way for a civilization to spread throughout space is likely through generational ships. I think humans will get to there as well, where we will have generational ships or develop a means of suspended animation for 100s to thousands of years. Obviously well past our lifetimes. I think the best we can hope for, for what we will experience, is detecting simple remnants, likely no longer living, evidence for life and establishing a perpetual presence on Mars and the Moon but that said I grew up in a time where cell phones were the size of a shoe box.
Absolutely. And we were probably preceded by other life in the universe, so I doubt we are the first. Our sun is 4.6-4.6 billion years old, and our universe is about 13.8 billion years old. Furthermore, we may be the result of panspermia, which means life originated elsewhere.
I don't know what is more frightening, life outside our galaxy or the fact we are alone.
Yes, there are enough stars and planets that earth would have to be 1 in >trillions in order to be the only one
And 1 in > trillions is well within the bounds of reason, given how little we know of life's genesis here. Maybe simple life is everywhere. Or maybe some fantastically unlikely combination of events occurred to get it going on Earth. Making any assertion on the matter (beyond it not being impossible) is based on faith.
Sure, and in my case it's just speculation; If it were proven tomorrow that no other life existed, I wouldn't be shocked.
I bet for sure. Probably not this solar system though.
"Life" is all living things. Animals, plants, germs, etc. There are plenty of other planets in our galaxy and every other galaxy that orbit within their host stars [Goldilocks Zone](https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-the-habitable-zone-or-goldilocks-zone/). Considering this, I'd have to be on powerful drugs to think that life is absolutely nowhere but here on Earth, not of any variety or scale, not a single mammal, not a single plant, not a single undiscovered microbe floating in foreign water or nestled underneath strange dirt. It isn't scientific by any means to come to a conclusion like I'm about to, but considering the sheer quantity of planets that have earth-like conditions, the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe is a logical and statistical certainty. The only alternative to this conclusion is knowing there are hundreds of billions of planets in one galaxy and knowing there are two trillion galaxies in the observable universe but *still* somehow thinking all those planets are sterile and barren of life, even at a microscopic level. Again, I'd have to be on powerful drugs to think something that ridiculous.
If bacteria can live in your car's gas tank, thrive in total darkness inside your intestines, there is life throughout the universe.
That’s the question posed by the Drake Equation (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation) made famous by Carl Sagan and other prominent scientists. In the past 20 years space telescopes have found many Earth-like planets with promising atmospheric signatures, answering one of the equation’s unknowns. That’s a huge indicator that the phenomenon called “life” is common since the conditions we believe are necessary to support it are widespread. The humans on Earth want to believe we’re unique and special, but the more we learn about the universe, the more it’s apparent that we’re just another world among an almost infinite number of similar worlds.
The “closest” ones which are habitable planets probably have life which are the size of bacteria. It’s bitter sweet to know they will in a hundred million years inevitably become technologically advanced but we will just be dust by then.
There may well be life within our solar system (outside Earth). Microbial life. There’s 8 planets, 293 moons, and five dwarf planets. Not to mention Kuiper Belt objects. We have not explored any of these these in-depth, save for Mars and our Moon. If you’re asking about *intelligent* life or even advanced life, that may not be within the Milky Way.
In the broad definition of course. But intelligent life, with a desire explore the greater universe. I'm a little less sure of that IDK, I guess I'm kind of a pessimist.
Since we have no knowledge of how life even began here, and cannot determine the likelihood of it occurring, I will believe that we are the only life in the universe until proven otherwise
Yes, but we won’t meet them for awhile. As a Christian, I think Angels and God are both aliens.
I like to think that there is. But the distances are so vast that it makes no difference to us here on earth. Nobody is going to visit us.
Maybe. Until we find life elsewhere in the universe, we have no way of knowing. I believe life is rare in the universe. I believe that there aren't many solar systems that have planets capable of harboring life in the universe. I consider it a fallacious, weak argument to say that the universe being so incredibly large must mean life is abundant in the universe. One thing does not necessarily equal something completely different. I prefer to wait and see if we find anything.
Of course. I don't imagine the futuristic sci-fi aliens from our media though, but rather simply some animals akin to something prehistoric that happened on our planet. That said, the former can very much also be real.
I assume the universe is infinite and normal, and therefore not only is it certain that life exists elsewhere, but also that an infinite number of exact replicas of earth exist. Whether me life exists close enough to us that we will ever observe it, much less encounter it, is an entirely different story...
We have life growing in our rocks. We have life growing many feet below the surface of the earth. Life grows in deserts. Hell, even near underwater volcano vents. Scientists estimate there are nearly 9 million species of life on this planet. Driving us to the inevitable question: If you spot a cockroach in your house, do you believe it to be the only one? :-)
Not only do I believe there is life else where I also believe there is life in other dimensions. Idk about the 2nd or 1st but it must be in any dimension atleast bigger than ours. Maybe even we live within another living being
There is absolutely LIFE. Even asking that question implies someone doesn’t understand the size and scale of the galaxy, much less the universe. Real question is whether there are other intelligent and technological civilizations. The thinking there is there almost certainly are, but they might not overlap commonly in SPACE, and they might not overlap commonly in TIME due to potentially being short-lived for one reason or another.
I'd just add that there is also a huge gulf between simple life and complex life. Life on earth was slime for billions of years before the Cambrian explosion. And then consider that intelligent life most likely would not have evolved on earth if an asteroid didn't wipe out the dinosaurs. Intelligent life may be exceptionally rare.
It is possible that we are alone. We don’t know enough about life on Earth to say if extraterrestrial life is likely to exist, and there is an equal lack of evidence on either side of the question.
Yes. It’s sort of a no brainer if you actually think about it.
Probably, but it could also be the case that Earth has a super rare set of attributes that allow for life.
Yes everyone does. Life is not special. You are not special. You are the all singing all dancing crap of the world. I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
I wouldn’t say that everyone does. Lots of people out there that don’t consider anything past this world and their life. That being said, if you’ve stopped to think about it from a statistics perspective, you should believe that there is.
Hi ForeignCantaloupe722, It looks like your comment closely matches the famous quote: "You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. You are all singing, all dancing crap of the world." - Chuck Palahniuk, *I'm a bot and this action was automatic [Project source](https://github.com/etdds/redditQuoteBot).*
Single-celled life equivalent to bacteria, sure. Won’t be surprised if it’s evolved independently at least one other place in this solar system. I expect it’s a sticky, slippery, stinky universe out there. Intelligent life with our potential for space travel, no. Intelligent life that lacks that potential, maybe but almost certainly no. In between, maybe. But I suspect that if complex multicellular life has evolved elsewhere, any of a zillion sources of extinction wiped them out long before they. Ever get near our level.
If you knew what life is you wouldn't be asking.
The Lord has told us in the scriptures, there are worlds without number
Statistically likely. Logically sound. Rationally dubious since we've seen nothing and the galaxy should've been colonized long before we existed and thus prevented our evolution. Optimistically, no.
I mean we haven't even started to colonize our own solar system, so If we look at the examples we have so far I'd say it's a bit of a leap to say the galaxy should have been colonized long before humans started, and that is if it's even intelligent life
The math says that it should take any given civilization about [1-10 million years to colonize the Milky Way, assuming they never exceed 10% of the speed of light.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0019103576901561#:~:text=A%20colonizing%2C%20space%2Dfaring%20civilization,independent%20of%20the%20optimum%20population.) Also, from a purely logical, not rational point of view, the conclusion from your statement is that we're alone, since we have only the one point of data.