Counterintuitive Facts (93): If the Universe Is Full of Civilizations, Why Are They All Hiding Like Ghosts?

I. This was proposed by Liu Cixin in "The Three Body Problem," but it's not sci fi. It's based on extremely solid game theory and logical reasoning. Two axioms: 1. Survival is civilization's first need. 2. Civilizations continuously grow and expand, but total matter in the universe remains constant.

II. What do these two axioms mean? Zero sum game. More resources you take, fewer I have. At cosmic scale, all civilizations are potential competitors.

III. Now suppose you are a civilization in the universe. You discover another civilization's signal. What should you do?

IV. You can't confirm if they're benevolent or malicious. They say "we're friendly." But they might be lying. You have no way to verify their intentions. This is called Chain of Suspicion. Trust can never truly be established.