I think that’s an important insight (though I’m not sure how universal it is). The Dark Forest effect may be happening at multiple levels. Not only can’t you find the people you expect in the forest, you can’t even find the reasons might be hidden or work on better search or attraction methods to find them. Or even hypothesize well enough to find evidence for hiding vs nonexistence.
I think that’s an important insight (though I’m not sure how universal it is). The Dark Forest effect may be happening at multiple levels. Not only can’t you find the people you expect in the forest, you can’t even find the reasons might be hidden or work on better search or attraction methods to find them. Or even hypothesize well enough to find evidence for hiding vs nonexistence.