Aliens - Are they out there? Have they visited us? And related questions

[Anomalocaris]

Killjoy!

[norbie]

I think it is mathematically probable that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. I think it mathematically improbable for that life to have visited earth.

If aliens exist I don't see why we have to assume that they are in some way more intelligent or culturally advanced than we are. I think every society will always have it's dead weight who don't contribute.

I personally believe that the alien races in the cosmos are too seperated by distance to ever meet each other. We're all orphaned in a stream of stars and define our own place in the universe.

[thesummerqueen]

What an image that is... "orphaned in a stream of stars"...it's like we're lone rocks projecting up from vast glittering river.

[theVOID]

I would go as far as to say that it is as certain as anything that is not logically necessary.

400,000,000,000 stars in the galaxy
100,000,000,000 known galaxies

That's 40,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars

If half have planets and planet-bearing stars have an estimated 3 stars average (not much data on that one)

That's 60,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Planets

Even if 1/10 are in the goldilocks zone.

That's 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the goldilocks zone.

If only 1% of those have the conditions necessary for life

That's 60,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets where abiogenesis can happen

They are pretty fucking conservative estimates compared to the likes of the drake equation too.

[LWP17]

[Anomalocaris]

[*]Have we been visited by beings from other planets? Most likely.

Based on what?

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

1. Is there intelligent life outside Earth?

I believe it's most likely but not necessarily so; still waiting for evidence.


2. Have we been visited by beings from other planets?
Unlikely,again, no evidence and why would anyone advanced enough bother with such a nasty,primitive and aggressive species such as ours?

3. Would aliens look like us or carry basic similarities?
I guess it's possible,but I have no idea of how likely. I would not expect so.

4. Is the money wasted on looking for life outside of Earth?
I don't think so,but could be self destructive. We have no way of knowing if other sentient species would be benign. They could be like the Borg for we all know.

5. Could or would aliens have a similar society to our own?

To which society do you refer? Why would they want anything similar to any human society?

6. Could or would aliens believe in a 'God' figure or have a religious society?

Possibly, but not necessarily. An intelligent and consistently rational species would not need religion.

There seems to be an underlying assumption that other sentient species would need to be like us in significant ways.An unfounded assumption. We're not even all that similar to most other species on our own planet.

[Violet]

[*]Have we been visited by beings from other planets? Most likely.

Based on what?

It would be very narcissistic indeed to assume that humans are the most technologically advanced race in this galaxy... and at least equally presumptive to think ourselves the first on the galactic scene.

[Anomalocaris]

I am not assuming we are the first. But it is a different kind of narcissism to assume we or our planet warrants any special attention, or that any who came before us would be motivated in such a way that they would visit us.

[Minimalist]

The very same human egotism which invents a special sky daddy just for man can easily insist that any other intelligent beings would just want to cross the infinities of space just to see US!