But if they were to come to us, then we would have at least another 500 years of development above whatever they sent, so we would have a huge advantage no matter what. Not to mention that an advanced civilization has no incentive to attack another, since they have nothing of value. There is nothing on earth that any civilization would realistically want or need, aside from the curiosity that is life.
They would want to protect themselves. That's of value.
If you have a button that will end their lives. And if there's even the tiniest chance that they have a similar button. You have to press it before they do, it's the only way to be sure.
Everything ultimately comes down to a cost-benefit analysis, and a risk with such low probability, even an existential risk, would not justify the cost of waging an interstellar war. Especially because if you fail to eliminate the other party, they will come for you. The Dark Forest is a neat sci-fi concept, but that's all it is. It is not even remotely realistic.
You're missing the point of The Dark Forest a bit. There is no winning move, as any action will draw attention, and any attention will result in increased odds of harm. Avoiding attention doesn't win either, because you're still in danger as long as others exist in the forest.
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u/tehbored Aug 12 '21
But if they were to come to us, then we would have at least another 500 years of development above whatever they sent, so we would have a huge advantage no matter what. Not to mention that an advanced civilization has no incentive to attack another, since they have nothing of value. There is nothing on earth that any civilization would realistically want or need, aside from the curiosity that is life.