有关黑暗森林理论的讨论 - 许多人不知道的最可怕的科学理论（一） [美国媒体]

What is the most horrifying scientific theory that many people do not know about?

有关黑暗森林理论的讨论——许多人不知道的最可怕的科学理论（一）



这是一篇有关Quora上“许多人不知道的最可怕的科学理论是什么？”问题的回答和评论的翻译。其主题是关于大刘的黑暗森林理论的讨论，内容比较有意思，篇幅也很长，将分多篇发布。

答案一：
Steve Brennan, Enjoys Science Fiction, Futurism, and Space Theories
The Dark Forest Theory. Before I explain it, I’ll give a little bit of background information to put it into perspective:

黑暗森林理论。在我解释它之前，我将提供一些背景信息，以使内容更加全面：

The Dark Forest is one of many theories that may explain the Fermi Paradox. If you aren’t aware, the Fermi Paradox is the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence and high probability for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations elsewhere in this vast, unending Universe.

黑暗森林理论是解释费米悖论的众多理论之一。如果你还不知道的话，费米悖论说的就是在这个浩瀚无垠的宇宙中，外星文明存在的高概率与缺乏证据之间的明显矛盾。

There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the known universe. The Milky Way Galaxy alone has at least 100 Billion stars; each star more or less like our own (which we call the Sun, or “Sol”). Each of these stars potentially has several planets in orbit around them.

在已知的宇宙中有数千亿个星系。仅银河系就有至少1000亿颗恒星；每颗恒星或多或少都与我们自己的恒星(我们称之为太阳)相似。每一颗恒星周围都可能有几颗行星。

Even if only the tiniest fraction of these planets held life, and only the tiniest fraction of life-bearing planets held intelligent life, we are still looking at thousands of extraterrestrial civilizations out there in just the Milky Way Galaxy alone. And that’s not even including the other hundreds of billions of galaxies!

即使这些行星中只有最微小的一部分拥有生命，只有最微小的一部分有生命的行星拥有智慧生命，我们仍然能够银河系中看到数以千计的外星文明。这还不包括其他数千亿个星系！

But we have absolutely ZERO evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations! Hence, the Fermi Paradox.

但是我们没有任何证据能够证明外星文明的存在！这就是费米悖论。



The universe could potentially be akin to a Dark Forest. Every civilization could potentially represent an armed soldier stalking through the trees. Each soldier must be silent and careful, because everywhere in the Dark Forest are stealthy, silent soldiers like himself. Each breath must be silent… each footstep must be silent. If he finds another life- he either risks his own life by trusting it, or he opens fire to eliminate them before they can eliminate him.

宇宙可能类似于一片黑暗的森林。每一种文明都有可能代表一名潜伏在树林中的武装士兵。每个士兵都必须保持沉默，小心翼翼，因为在黑暗的森林里，到处都是像他一样悄无声息的士兵。每一次呼吸都必须静悄悄地进行……每一步都必须保持安静。如果他找到了另一个人——他要么冒着生命危险去相信他，要么在他们能消灭他之前就开火消灭他们。

So why exactly is this theory so terrifying to us, right now? Because we have unwittingly broadcast our existence to the Universe for 100 years now! Ever since radio was invented! Every TV Broadcast, every Radio signal, every WiFi connection! Every potential civilization within 100 light years of us could be silently monitoring us, seeing what moves we make, and thinking about how incredibly stupid we are!

那么，为什么现在这个理论对我们而言如此可怕呢？因为在过去一百年里，我们已经不知不觉地向宇宙进行着广播！自从收音机被发明以来！每一次的电视广播，每一次的无线电信号，每一次的无线网络连接！距离我们100光年以内的每一个潜在文明都可能在默默地监视着我们，看着我们的一举一动，想着我们是多么的愚蠢！



Update: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the comments, both in support of and in rebuttal to the Dark Forest. I know it’s cliché to say this, but when I wrote this answer I didn’t think it would get so much attention. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read my answer and speculate on it! I encourage you to look up The Dark Forest on YouTube or read the Science Fiction trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” by Cixin Liu.

更新：我非常喜欢阅读所有的评论，无论是支持还是反驳“黑暗森林”的。我知道这么说有点陈词滥调，但当我写下这个答案时，我没想到它会得到这么多关注。我感谢每一个花时间阅读我的答案并思考它的人！我推荐你们在油管上搜索黑暗森林，或者阅读刘慈欣的科幻小说三部曲《地球往事》。


C Stuart Hardwick
The problem with Dark Forest is, it’s predicated on faulty reasoning. We have not, in fact, been unwittingly broadcasting our existence to anyone. TV broadcasts and some radar have escaped into space, but would be impossible to pick out against the background din within a few lightyears.
The reality is, there is no paradox. We have reason to think life is ubiquitous—and intelligent life rare. Even if not, no civilization can broadcast its presence in any way we can detect without concerted, expensive effort. Ergo, even a dark forest might be full of happy, friendly neighbours.

黑暗森林的问题是，它是建立在错误的推理上的。事实上，我们并没有在无意中向任何人广播我们的存在。电视广播和一些雷达信号已经逃逸进入了太空，但在几光年之内，在嘈杂的背景声中是不可能将它们分辨出来的。
现实情况是，这里面没有什么矛盾之处。我们有理由认为生命是无所不在的，而智慧生命则是罕见的。即使不是这样，没有协调一致、代价高昂的努力，任何文明都无法以我们能够察觉的任何方式广播其存在。因此，即使是在黑暗的森林里，也可能到处都是快乐、友好的邻居。



Mike Johnson
The dark forest theory makes no sense. With our current technology we can detect the composition of extra solar planets. In 1000 years we should be able to see high resolution of the planetary surface. So its very likely that any advanced civilization knows the whereabouts of any other civilization.

黑暗森林理论毫无意义。以我们目前的技术，我们可以探测到太阳系外行星的组成。在1000年后，我们应该能够看到行星表面的高分辨率图像。所以任何先进文明都很可能知道其他文明的下落。

Viktor Potashevich
> In 1000 years we should be able to see high resolution of the planetary surface
You won’t see a high-res image of a planet 100 light years away even in a million years. That’s the whole point: no supernatural DARK FOREST is preventing us from picking up other civilizations, but plain old laws of physics.

“在1000年后，我们应该能够看到行星表面的高分辨率图像。”
在100万年后，你都不会看到100光年之外的行星的高分辨率图像。这就是整个问题的关键：没有任何超自然的黑暗森林阻止我们探测到其他文明，阻止我们这么做的只是普通的古老物理定律。



John McCormick
Unless we travel to that extrasolar planet within the 1000 years or send a robot to do the work, we will NEVER see a high-resolution photo of the planetary surface. You fail to understand how the inverse-square law works and the methods scientists use to detect planets now.

除非我们在1000年内前往那颗太阳系外的行星旅行，或者派机器人去做这项工作，否则我们将永远看不到这颗行星表面的高分辨率照片。你无法理解平方反比定律是如何发挥作用的，也无法理解科学家们现在用来探测行星的方法。

None of the methods give us a photo of a planet or anything like it. With only a few exceptions these are indirect measurements, and are invariably HUGE planets at least several times the size of Jupiter…and their stars are fairly close to us.

没有一种方法能给我们提供行星或任何类似东西的照片。除了少数例外，这些都是间接测量出来的，而且都是至少比木星大几倍的行星，它们的恒星离我们也相当近。

The problem with getting a photo is that light spreads as it travels from its source. By the time it reaches us, it’s billionths, trillionths, or less as strong as it would be within the same star system.

拍摄照片的问题在于，光线在从光源传播的过程中会扩散。当它到达我们这里的时候，它的强度只有在它的恒星系中的十亿分之一，万亿分之一，或者更小。



Roger Scott
How so? The only assumption I see here is basic physics: the intensity of energy spreading out uniformly in 3-d space diminishes as the square of the distance, so the energy required to deliver a signal of a given amplitude increases as the square of the distance over which you want to deliver it. And the level of cosmic background noise in any given spectrum isn’t under the control of _either_ the transmitter _or_ the receiver, so if we’re broadcasting a very weak signal it is the _universe_ that limits how far away it can be “heard”, not the potential recipient’s technology. Note that “heard” means “distinguished from the background noise”.

所以又如何呢？我在这里唯一看到的是基本的物理学：在三维空间中均匀传播的能量密度会按照距离的平方速度消减，所以如果你想要将它传递出去，所需要的能量将随着距离的平方而增加。在任何给定的频谱中，宇宙背景噪声的水平既不受发射机控制，也不受接收机的控制，因此，如果我们在广播一个非常微弱的信号，是宇宙限制了它能被“听到”的距离，而不是潜在接收者的技术。注意，“听到”的意思是“能够从背景噪音中被辨别出来”。

Ronald W. Garrison
Not really true. With a sufficiently large antenna or telescope mirror, you can get as directional as you want, and therefore can discriminate against noise as much as you want, and collect an arbitrarily large signal. However, there could be some limiting of how far this could be carried, because of the interstellar medium dispersing signals in frequency and time. At some wavelengths, interstellar debris could block some signals over long enough distances.

并非如此。如果有了足够大的天线或望远镜的反射镜，你就可以探测到任意方向的东西，因此可以尽可能地辨别噪音，并收集任意多的信号。然而，由于星际介质在频率和时间上分散了信号，这可能会限制它的传播距离。在某些波长上，星际碎片可以在足够长的距离内阻挡住某些信号。



John McCormick
That is not really true either. Propagation in free space is subject to the laws of quantum physics. We can’t even collimate a laser from Earth’s surface to a spot on the Moon smaller than a football field. Across the solar system it would be huge. Between stars it would be so attenuated that it would be invisible against the background radiation of the cosmos.
And that’s with a laser which has the tightest beam we can make. Large antennas and telescopes are far, far worse when it comes to sending out a tight signal.

这也不是真的。自由空间中的传播受量子物理定律的制约。我们甚至不能将地球表面的激光瞄准到月球上比足球场还小的地方上去。在整个太阳系，它将是强烈的。但是在恒星之间它会衰减到在宇宙背景辐射下看不见的程度。
这还是用我们能制造出的光束最密集的激光。大型天线和望远镜发出的信号则要差得多。

Mike Johnson
Most likely others quickly lose interest in traveling through space. I mean can you imagine how awesome video games will be in 1000 years? Also, genetic and cyber enhancements will make you immortal… why blast myself through space in a can for thousands of years to some inhospitable place when i am living in Valhalla?

很可能其他文明很快就会对太空旅行失去兴趣。你能想象1000年后的电子游戏会有多棒吗？还有，基因和网络的增强会让你长生不老……当我住在瓦尔哈拉的时候，为什么要跑到太空中，前往某个不适宜居住的地方呢？



Mike Johnson
Well it would be alot easier to seed the cosmos with sperm/egg/robot teachers than sending full grown humans….i guess

用精子、卵子和机器人老师在宇宙中播种要比用成年人类去播种要容易得多……我猜是这样的

Tom Hammer
we cannot assume other beings would automatically want to explore just because we do.

我们不能仅仅因为我们想探索，就假设其他生物会自动地想探索。

Paul Edward Montador
As Sir Edmund Hilary said about climbing Everest “I did it because it was there” Kind of the same theory Robert Williscroft has I suspect!!

正如埃德蒙?希拉里爵士在谈到攀登珠穆朗玛峰时所说的，“我之所以攀登珠穆朗玛峰，是因为它就在那里”，我怀疑这与罗伯特?威利斯克罗夫特的理论差不多！



Rob Raese
You can forget about extra dimensions only if what is unknown to us is precisely like what is known to us. Dimensions … who knows what strange laws they might follow?

只有当我们所不知道的和我们所知道的完全一样时，你才能忘记额外维度。谁知道他们会遵循什么奇怪的法则呢？

Ralph Clark
You don't understand what the word “dimension* means. I do. It means a direction orthogonal to all others. There is an entire field of mathematics devoted to the subject. I can talk about it with some degree of comfort because it's been discussed at length by string theorists.
Just because you don't understand what “fourth dimension” means doesn't entail that nobody does. They understand it quite well. And there isn't a fourth macroscopic fourth dimension in this universe. End of.

你不明白“维度”是什么意思。我明白。它意味着一个正交于其它所有方向的方向。有一整个数学领域专门研究这个问题。我可以带着某种程度的欣慰来谈论它，是因为它经常被弦理论家所讨论。
仅仅因为你不理解“四维”的意思并不意味着没有人不会理解。他们理解得很好。在这个宇宙中没有第四种宏观的维度。就是这样。



James Grimm
The world is already experimenting with quantum communications. Very early stages yes, but if there is an advanced civilization out there, there is a good chance they already figured out how to do that and stopped the use of radio communications that we still use.

这个世界已经在进行量子通信的实验。在早期阶段，是这样的，但是如果有先进的文明存在，很有可能他们已经知道如何做到这一点，并且停止使用我们现在仍在使用的无线电通讯。

Roger Phelps
Quantum communications do not evade the speed of light limit. You may have heard that measuring some property of one of a pair of entangled particles instantly fixes that property for the other member of the pair. That is true but since the properties are indeterminate until the first measurement is made, the only information that the second measurement gives is the value of the property given by the first measurement. This is not a basis for faster than light communications.

量子通信无法规避光速的限制。您可能听说过，测量一对纠缠粒子中的一个的某些属性可以立即确定另一个的属性。这是正确的，但是由于这种属性在第一次度量之前是不确定的，所以第二次度量给出的惟一信息是第一次度量给出的属性的值。这不是比光通信更快的基础。

Roger Phelps
No. All that person A finds out is the results of person B’s measurements. By definition person B’s measurements are completely random and contain absolutely no information. Some very bright minds have examined this question and have come to the conclusion that this is not a basis for FTL communication.

不。A只知道B的测量结果。根据定义，B的测量完全是随机的，不包含任何信息。一些非常聪明的人研究过这个问题，并得出结论，这不是超光速通信的基础。



Roger Scott
If it were possible to violate these laws you’d expect, in the vast expanse of even just the visible universe, to see plenty of evidence of that happening.

如果有可能违背这些定律，你就可以期待在广阔的甚至是可见的宇宙中看到大量的证据。

Claus Appel
Then you are saying that we can never even speculate about them, since literally anything might be possible.

那么你是说我们甚至不能去推测它们，因为实际上任何事情都是可能发生的。

Stephen Fretz
We can speculate, sure. But some of our assumptions might be wrong. OTOH, if the laws of physics aren’t consistent across the universe, that also leads to testable hypotheses.

我们当然可以进行推测。但我们的一些假设可能是错误的。另一方面，如果整个宇宙的物理定律不一致，那也会引出可验证的假设。



Hariz Rizki
Except laws of physics that we know is not really working the same way on quantum level. Who knows what you can and can’t once you can go to higher dimension, what we have known is just theorem and simulation model.

除了我们知道的物理定律在量子层面上并不适用。一旦你能进入更高的维度，谁知道你能做什么不能做什么，我们所知道的只是定理和模拟模型。

Vijayan Odukkathil
Yes; “God work in mysterious ways”.
We, the mortals, will try to explore the mysteries of the universe using known and yet to be known laws of physics.

是的；“上帝在以神秘的方式工作”。
我们，人类，将使用已知的和尚未知道的物理定律尝试探索宇宙的奥秘。

Lawrence Hannaford
Theoretically speaking, they might not need to ..
for example, every solid planet would have different characteristics from our Earth (such as a differing levels of gravity/temperature based on the distances from the planet to the sun, or the atmospheric composition)
so their physical laws could be completely different to ours, with completely different limitations, right ?

从理论上讲，他们可能不需要这么做……
例如，每一个固态行星将拥有和我们的地球不同的特征(如不同水平的重力、温度，从行星到恒星的距离，或大气成分)
所以他们的物理定律可能与我们的完全不同，以及完全不同的局限性，对吧？

Luca Arrigo
Physical laws are still the same. What change is evolution and adaptation to their home planet properties. In fact us humans can’t land on a planet where the gravity is much higher than our Earth, our body not evolved for that. Is the same problem astronauts face while they stay in orbit for long periods of time.

物理定律还是一样的。变化的是进化和适应它们的母星属性。事实上，我们人类不可能降落在一个重力比地球高得多的星球上，我们的身体不是为此而进化出来的。宇航员在轨道上停留很长一段时间也会面临同样的问题。



Roger Phelps
Of course it is, but it makes the signal more detectable for everyone, not just advanced civilisations.

当然可能，但它让每个文明都能更容易地探测到这个信号，而不仅仅是发达文明。

John McCormick
Regardless of our ability to receive radio transmissions, there is a limit to the distance that any such signal can travel and still be distinguished from the background radiation of the Universe. One site suggested that it’s a bit like trying to detect a pebble dropped in the water on the other side of an ocean. It’s literally impossible given any theoretical technology.
Imagine looking for a lit candle placed 100 miles away on an intensely bright, sunny day. Or imagine dumping a gallon of dyed water in the ocean. There is literally no possibility that either one could be detected by any methods we can conceive, now or in the future.
Neither is it likely that any other civilization could do any better at any level of technology.

不管我们接收无线电信号的能力如何，任何这样的信号传播的距离都是有限的，并且仍然可以与宇宙的背景辐射区分开。这有点像试图探测到掉在大洋另一边的水里的卵石。这在任何理论技术下都是不可能的。
想象一下，在一个阳光灿烂的日子里，你正在寻找100英里外一支点燃的蜡烛。或者想象一下把一加仑染色的水倒进海里。无论现在还是将来，用我们能想到的任何方法都不可能检测到其中任何一种情况。
其他任何文明在任何技术水平上都不可能做得更好。

Solly Martheze
True. I think the anthropomorphic tendency apply here. We humans have the belief that if extra-terrestrial life exists, it will be like ours.

没错。我认为同形同性倾向也适用于此。我们人类相信，如果外星生命存在，它就会像我们一样。



Eric Andrew
Brains are merely concentrations of nerve cells (ganglia) that cluster closest to the sensory organs for efficiency. An evolutionary trend known as cephalization. It is not necessary for intelligence. A brain is like a server room. A group of computers close to each other for faster processing and easier maintenance. But the same number of computers connected through other means from different rooms achieves the same effect, albeit less efficient.
Moreover, eating meat made larger brains possible for us humans. But it did not cause us to have larger brains. It was simply the food with the highest nutritional value that were the easiest to digest for our stomachs. Alien life in an alien ecosystem would not necessarily have the same conditions or method of nutritional intake as early humans. As we’ve advanced in technology, we’ve found other ways of getting the same nutrition: agriculture.
Speaking of which, the establishment of farming civilizations, paradoxically, also usually coincides with the first instances of large-scale warfare in ancient human societies, which contradicts the assumption that violence was a prerequisite to eating better.
Simply put: violence had nothing to do with food acquisition. Whether it’s because of the invention of social hierarchies or because of innate xenophobia at the “other” or because of the clashes between settled farmers and nomadic hunter-gatherers/pastoralists, is still up in the air. But one thing is for sure: just because you ate meat doesn’t necessarily mean you had a war-like culture.



Eric Andrew
Because crossing the vast distances of space just to eat other lifeforms is a ridiculous premise.
Not only because it assumes that they still need to eat like we do, but also because the amount of energy they may gain from us (or our planet) pales in comparison to the amount of energy and materials they expend traveling the distance to get to our planet in the first place.
Think. Give me a single resource that they might want from us or our planet. Anything.
Water? Iron? Gold? Diamonds? Our brains?
Every single resource we have on Earth now exists elsewhere in the universe in abundance. Even organic molecules. All ripe for the taking for a species with faster-than-light travel. All without a need to attack or subdue another civilization. Especially if we assume any species that have achieved interstellar travel are also advanced enough to literally harvest stars (cf. Dyson spheres) giving them virtually unlimited energy for billions of years.
Unless we have something rare that we are not aware of, we are a loss-loss scenario for any invading force intent on energy or resources.
So no. Aliens in the “Dark Forest” scenario wouldn’t invade us for energy or other resources. Why would they? They can get that easily from literally anywhere else in the universe.
They’d invade for paranoia, fear, or simply a directive of their programming (as in the Von Neumann hypothesis).
It would be less like a hunter stalking prey to feed his family. It would be more like you squishing an ant because it’s annoying or because you want your kitchen spotless.

因为穿越遥远的太空只是为了吃其他的生命形式是一个荒谬的前提。
不仅因为它假定他们仍然需要像我们一样吃东西，还因为相比于他们可能从我们(或地球)这里获得的能量相比，他们旅行到地球所消耗的能量和材料。
想想看吧。给我一个他们想要从我们或我们的星球得到的资源。不管是什么东西。
水？铁？黄金？钻石？还是我们的大脑？

我们在地球上拥有的每一种资源现在都大量存在于宇宙的其他地方。即使是有机分子也是如此。对于一种比光速还快的物种来说，一切都已经成熟了。它都不需要攻击或征服另一种文明。特别是如果我们假设任何已经实现星际旅行的物种也足够先进，能够真正地收获恒星(参考戴森球)，为它们提供数十亿年几乎无限的能量。
除非我们有一些我们不知道的稀罕的东西，否则对于任何意图获取能源或资源的入侵势力来说，我们都是一个只能导致双输的地方。



Eric Andrew
It’s not conjecture. Our knowledge is limited, but it’s not that limited. We know how these resources are formed. We’ve had more or less a century of data from probes to spectroscopy telling us where they can be found off-planet.

这不是猜想。我们的知识是有限的，但并不是那么有限。我们知道这些资源是如何形成的。我们拥有大约一个世纪的数据，从探测器到光谱学，它告诉我们在哪里可以找到它们。

While we can not know which resources are valuable to them, we can say confidently that every element we have in our planet exist elsewhere in vast amounts and can be harvested more easily.

虽然我们不知道哪些资源对它们来说是有价值的，但我们可以自信地说，我们地球上的每一种元素都存在于其他地方，数量巨大，而且更容易获取。

And here’s the thing, even our still relatively primitive civilization can already routinely manufacture molecules and transform one element to another. How much more for an interstellar civilization? So really, what else could they possibly want from us?

事情就是这样的，即使是我们这个相对原始的文明也已经能够常规地制造分子，并将一种元素转化成另一种元素。对于一个星际文明来说还需要多少呢？那么，他们还能从我们这里得到什么呢？

So again, unless we hold a truly exotic resource we may be unaware of (which is extremely unlikely and would not explain why they would invade all the other planets), an alien civilization invading us for resources to sustain them is just about the most farfetched scenario there is.

所以，除非我们拥有一种我们可能不知道的真正的外来资源(这是极不可能的，也无法解释为什么他们会入侵其他所有的行星)，一个外星文明要入侵我们以获取资源来维持他们的存在，这几乎是最牵强的情况。



The most likely and the most problematic hypothetical “superpredators” need to be able to silence planets on a galactic scale. They need to do it without worrying about the resource and energy cost. And they need to be able to do it quickly to explain the current silence of the universe. In short: they would need to be at least a Type 2 civilization. Against these, we literally stand no chance. I’ll give you two:

最可能也是最成问题的假想“超级捕食者”需要能够在银河尺度上压制行星。他们需要这样做而又不用担心资源和能源成本。他们需要能够快速地解释目前宇宙的寂静状况。简而言之：它们至少需要是二类文明。面对这些文明，我们根本没有机会。我给你们两个例子：

Von Neumann machines. Self-replicating AI. Not necessarily the classic metal robots in countless Sci-Fi films, mind you, they will most likely be organic. They would not be interested in resources or survival, just merely carrying out its programing. Already a strong possibility as given that civilizations will sooner or later build AI. It only takes one civilization to make a mistake (possibly initially make one as a weapon) and create a grey goo apocalypse that then spreads like cancer to the universe. They’d have the ability to detect intelligence and the ability to silence them quickly before they can be heard.

冯·诺依曼机器。一种能够自我复制的人工智能。虽然它不是无数科幻电影中的经典金属机器人，但请注意，它们很可能是有机的。他们不会对资源或生存感兴趣，而仅仅是执行其程序。鉴于人类文明迟早会制造人工智能，这种可能性已经很大。只需要一个文明犯下一个错误(可能最初会把一个错误当成一种武器)，然后制造出一个灰色粘稠的世界末日，然后像癌症一样扩散到全宇宙。他们有能力探测情报，并能在其他文明被听到之前迅速让他们闭嘴。

Gods. Not our fanciful human fairytales, but actual gods. They would most likely also be immortal AI like Von Neumann machines, but they’d be sentient and not bound to programming. They’d be the pinnacles of civilizations that have gone beyond the technological singularity, and for some ideological reason or another has decided that lifeforms like us can not be allowed to spread. Like Von Neumann, machines, they would not want anything from us. They just want us gone. And they too would have the ability to silence planets as soon as they detect them.

神。不是我们幻想中的人类童话，而是真实的神。它们也极有可能像冯?诺伊曼机器那样成为不朽的人工智能，但它们是有知觉的，不受程序的束缚。它们将是超越技术奇点的文明的顶峰，出于某种意识形态的原因，它们决定不允许像我们这样的生命形式得到传播。就像冯·诺依曼机器一样，他们不想从我们这里得到任何东西。他们只是想让我们消失。它们也有能力在探测到行星时就使其安静下来。



Notice how sci-fi like Star Wars or Star Trek need to invent exotic resources so they can give a reason for why an interstellar civilization would have any motivation at all to invade a pre-FTL species.

请注意，像《星球大战》或《星际迷航》这样的科幻小说需要设置一种外来资源，这样才能解释为什么星际文明会有动机入侵前超光速时代的物种。

And don’t forget the main scenario we are still trying to explain here: the Fermi paradox. We’re not only talking about their ability and desire to invade us. But their ability and desire to invade the billions of other civilizations that we should be hearing right now but aren’t.

别忘了我们还在试图解释的主要问题：费米悖论。我们不只是在谈论他们入侵我们的能力和愿望。而是他们入侵数数十亿其他文明的能力和愿望，我们现在本应该能听到它们的声音，但没有。

A resource-hungry Type 1 civilization invading planets for resources a la the Colonial Era simply is not powerful enough to explain the great silence.

一个渴求资源的一型文明，就像殖民时代一样，入侵行星以获取资源，但它的力量还不足以解释这种范围广大的静默。