What does the phrase “you can’t prove a negative” actually mean?
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The classic example is [Russell’s Teapot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot):
Lets say I claim there is a teapot orbiting the sun somewhere between the Earth and Mars. Proving the negative of my claim would be to prove that there is no teapot. There is no way to scour every square inch of space between the Earth and Mars to make sure there is no teapot there. It’s impossible to prove that negative.
Even if technology somehow advances to the point we *could* scoured space so thoroughly to conclusively prove there is no teapot, it should be apparent just how little effort it takes to make a claim vs how much effort is involved in disproving it.
Russel’s Teapot was used to illustrate why the burden of proof should be on the person making a claim, not on those who don’t believe them. Remember this when someone says something like “Oh yeah? Well prove that there *isn’t* aliens!”
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