You misconstrue the implication. "Consider the vastness of space"---and the implied extreme unlikelihood that another civilization would be in contact with us. The idea that life (and civilization) is "statistical," is an extract from the Darwinian evolutionary hypothesis. The Drake equation is pure speculation. There is no way to validate it. We have no idea if all the needed parameters are present, and it is only an assumption that they influence to the first power alone. Great for a head trip, but worthless as knowledge.