I thought that we already conclusively ruled out alien life by observing that there aren't huge, galaxy-sized smoke signals, generated from their massive candles to heat their galaxy-sized cottages? I mean, if aliens were out there, then surely they'd have sent us a notarized letter in the mail by now, as would any civilized culture. I bet they use really fancy quill pens, too!
...seriously though, I can't fathom why people are so caught up on the Star-Trek-like predictions where hyper-advanced aliens are still essentially humanoid. It's at least as absurd as [protocells](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocell) assuming that all advanced life would be essentially protocelluar.