I like this explanation. I don’t think we can do a lot better than this one at this point.
I think a fun next step is “forget what’s real, I want to write a story with humans interacting with aliens that’s consistent with what we see now.” What do you have to invent to make it work? Nothing really works for me. But stuff like the dark forest is good. I can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy it.
“I once ran the Indy 500. I must confess I’m impressed how I did it I wonder how close that I came.”