I enjoyed this view… the great filter could indeed be ahead of us. Overcoming the next evolutionary hurdle my require skills we have yet to discover.

What if an answer to the lack of observed extra terrestrial life is because at some point life transcends into another form. A form we have yet to conceive. A form we do not see. Consider single cellular life, is that ‘aware’ of the multi cellar life that dominates it’s environment? Or is multi cellular life 'aware' of the complex live forms that share it’s physical space? Could it not be the case that life++ could be all around us but we lack the comprehension required to detect it?