RE: Agnostic Atheism? Your opinions..
November 25, 2011 at 9:37 am
(This post was last modified: November 25, 2011 at 9:52 am by The Grand Nudger.)
The analogy of a lottery ticket isn't the best fit. Perhaps you could conclude that all lottery tickets were winners. However, all of those who bought losing tickets could help you rid yourself of the notion. If all we ever saw (all of us) were winning lottery tickets, and we didn't have an industry behind it that produced them, then, maybe I could go along. As it stands it's your case example presented as support for a conclusion, but you must ignore the examples of anyone else on the subject to maintain that conclusion. "Well, my tickets were winners so they must all be winners (keep your mouth shut losers!)".
The notion that there is alien life in the universe is plausible, but not demonstrated. It's plausible because of our current understanding of life and the cosmos. If it were just some thought exercise with nothing to tie it to the real world then the idea would be in trouble. However, alien life neither requests or requires faith. It does not perform miracles, and, aside from the "Mars Attacks" type of alien,is not a concept that has it's origins in legend, myth, fairy tale, or cultural embellishments.
We can actually assign some back of the envelope odds to the example you've just presented. Firstly, if a planet is plagued by 1000mph winds or an orbital rotation of an hour and a half (that's actually something we would be able to observe, but I'm gonna go with it anyway) it would not technically fall into the group of planets that could support life (as we know it). I understand what you're trying to say here, about the difficulty in knowing for sure what the situation on the ground at some rock light years away might be. However, lets go ahead and dustbin 99% of all of the rocks we currently feel are capable of supporting life (due to some unforeseen and currently unobserved planetary circumstances). The number of potential sites for life is still unimaginably large. Understand that most of these places are giants, like Jupiter, which makes them easy to detect. We haven't taken into account habitable moons, which are near impossible to detect, or earth sized planets, which are exceedingly difficult to detect at great distance. However, lets say that we get extremely permissive with those requirements. The statistical likelihood of finding something like an oak tree on such a planet is approaching 0%, palm tree like organisms would be marginally more plausible (wind speed and orbital speed/seasons). Moving at those speeds, and with those winds, we would expect whatever lived there to be exceptionally sturdy, or small enough so that neither of those two things mattered. The place could be covered in microbes, bacteria, etc. So the probability of a giraffe-like animal nears 0%, extremophiles (assuming the planet had life) nearing 100%. Or maybe the rock is barren, no worries, there are more. Many, many more.
The notion that there is alien life in the universe is plausible, but not demonstrated. It's plausible because of our current understanding of life and the cosmos. If it were just some thought exercise with nothing to tie it to the real world then the idea would be in trouble. However, alien life neither requests or requires faith. It does not perform miracles, and, aside from the "Mars Attacks" type of alien,is not a concept that has it's origins in legend, myth, fairy tale, or cultural embellishments.
(November 25, 2011 at 4:58 am)Anymouse Wrote: We can therefore assign no odds as to the likelihood of life on other planets. We cannot even be sure that another planet with what appears to have the proper characteristics has life; proper distance from sun, proper compounds as determined by spectral analysis, &c. mean nothing if, for example, the planet is plagued by 1,000 mph winds, or has an orbital rotation of an hour and a half.
We can actually assign some back of the envelope odds to the example you've just presented. Firstly, if a planet is plagued by 1000mph winds or an orbital rotation of an hour and a half (that's actually something we would be able to observe, but I'm gonna go with it anyway) it would not technically fall into the group of planets that could support life (as we know it). I understand what you're trying to say here, about the difficulty in knowing for sure what the situation on the ground at some rock light years away might be. However, lets go ahead and dustbin 99% of all of the rocks we currently feel are capable of supporting life (due to some unforeseen and currently unobserved planetary circumstances). The number of potential sites for life is still unimaginably large. Understand that most of these places are giants, like Jupiter, which makes them easy to detect. We haven't taken into account habitable moons, which are near impossible to detect, or earth sized planets, which are exceedingly difficult to detect at great distance. However, lets say that we get extremely permissive with those requirements. The statistical likelihood of finding something like an oak tree on such a planet is approaching 0%, palm tree like organisms would be marginally more plausible (wind speed and orbital speed/seasons). Moving at those speeds, and with those winds, we would expect whatever lived there to be exceptionally sturdy, or small enough so that neither of those two things mattered. The place could be covered in microbes, bacteria, etc. So the probability of a giraffe-like animal nears 0%, extremophiles (assuming the planet had life) nearing 100%. Or maybe the rock is barren, no worries, there are more. Many, many more.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
