As you say we have only been lofting stuff into space for 57 years, and sending out radio waves etc. for a few decades longer than that&#x2F; There are still some uncontacted tribes on the earth despite our relatively rapid global population growth...I&#x27;m not sure why you think more advanced alien civilizations would be in a rush to get in contact the (cosmic) minute they noticed earth&#x27;s lights coming on. After 500 or 1000 years, yeah.<p>It&#x27;s also possible that more advanced civilizations are paying attention but are waiting for us to get over our kill-it-with-fire stage in response to large-scale visitation :)