My theory is that there are/were lots of intelligent races. So why have we not found it—or had it found us? The answer is both where and when they are with respect to us. I agree with Arthur C. Clarke: every intelligent race either: a) becomes God-like (shaking off its physical form), b) destroys itself violently, c) peaks, becomes stagnant, and eventually degenerates back into the muck. I think the window where an intelligent race might be able and interested in communicating with another is very short: anywhere from 1K to 100K years. Given this, plus the distances involved, its very unlikely that one will actually find another.
BTW—I think humans will either take the b) or c) route.
“BTW—I think humans will either take the b) or c) route.”
Tend to agree. It’ll be a close call whether the Humanists force c) or us or whether the Muslims get to b) first.