The aliens are silent because they are dead

[anorlunda]

We know nothing about alien life because none has been confirmed. So speculating about their level of intelligence is kind of an inverse fermi paradox.

The mainstay of science fiction has always been that most speculations about aliens are really commentaries about ourselves in disguise. Such is the case here. I remember discussions about the Drake Equation in the 60s and 70s. Back then, almost all speculations about alien extinctions centered on nuclear war. Today's speculations have shifted their center point.

 

[jedishrfu]

I'd like to thank everyone for contributing to this thread and since the OP's original question has now been thoroughly answered, its a good time to close it before we devolve into more speculative areas.

Jedi