I hadn't really thought of that, even though it's something I knew! Though, if we do exist contemporaneously with other intelligent species, it would make me wonder if we are in some kind of optimal time for intelligent species to exist and why this would be so. In such a big place, it's no wonder it's easy to be self-absorbed.I think it is probable that other galaxies have intelligent species but we can't see them because we are only able to see old galaxies. We see light from galaxies as they were billions of years ago. Those galaxies could be teaming with intelligent life right now but we can't detect them right now.
I believe this to be the case, although there is no empirical way to test it yet. This is likely to be so because of the way the universe has evolved. The universe is now filled with medium-sized (long lasting) stars surrounded by a rich abundance of chemicals (for planets and organisms). This wasn't the case in the early universe and it may not have been the case until 7-8 billion years after the Big Bang. If this is true, we should expect to see "intelligence explosions" or as I have termed it "civilization pulses" within each (or most) island universes (e.g., galaxies) over the next few billion years.it would make me wonder if we are in some kind of optimal time for intelligent species to exist and why this would be so.