LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS??

[Zen Badger]

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As to whether it would be what we consider "intelligent" life(and I have my doubts as to it arising on Earth). Different story, since the entire 3.5 billion year history of life on Earth has produced just one species out of all the millions that have existed that has created a technological civilization I would suspect it will be very rare.

That's why I qualified it with "humanlike" intelligence - because otherewise, we could consider other primates, like chimps, to be intelligent life forms - they are, after all, capable of emoting, language, society, and so forth. Dolphins and certain other animals are also individually capable of this (as opposed to creatures like ants and bees, which also have many of the above traits, but only when you consider the whole society and not each of them, individually.)

You also need to conisder that our kind of intelligence, while rare and required 4.5 billion years of time (starting from the formation of the planet capable of sustaining us) that if you consider that amount of time average, then the universe has had about three times that length of time necessary for intelligence to arrive - especially if you consider our the length of that time to be average and also considering the extinction events that could have allowed technological humanlike intelligence to develop sooner.

For example, if the cretacious event happened 10 million years later (55 million years ago instead of 65 million years ago) and thus allowing a kind of intelligent dinosaur to develop the ability to avert the distaster) or with conidtions that allow for fewer extinction events.

Many of these things, plus when you consider the enormous expanse of time since the big bang and the formation of the first second-generation and third-generation star systems (which would have the chemicals necessary) can point to life having been around for well over 10 of the 13.7 billion years of the universe's current lifespan.

That gives plenty of time between now and the degenerate age of the universe for intelligent life to arise as well as plenty of environments that could potentially be suitable for it.

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This is why I put the qualifier about technogical civilization in.

I'm reminded of Douglas Adams comment in HHGTTG about humans considering themselves to be more intelligent than Dolphins because Humans had invented War, the Dollar and New York while all the Dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. Dolphins on the other hand, considered themselves more intelligent than humans for exactly the same reasons.

[Ace Otana]

No-one has shown me any evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life and I see no logical reason why there has to be such a thing as extraterrestrial life, so on that basis I do not believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. This is basically the same reasoning which causes me to be an atheist. However, I would nevertheless concede that despite both numbers being incredibly small, there is probably slightly more likelihood of an eventual proof of ET than there is of an eventual proof of the existence of an all-knowing all-powerful creator. But that's not really saying very much and IMO whatever sum of money is being spent looking for ET, it is too much.

Over 500 million life capable planets in this galaxy alone and there are many billions of galaxies, and you say there isn't much likelihood? Arguing from ignorance anyone?

Pick up a book and learn something.

[Napoléon]

It frustrates me so much when someone clearly does not understand the absolutely vast size of the universe. To think we are the only living things in a petri dish this massive is in my opinion extremely ignorant.

[frankiej]

For people who do not know the size of the universe we should blast them off into space and let them drift for the rest of eternity...

[popeyespappy]

In Victor Stenger’s arguments against the fine tuned universe he makes the case that life is inevitable in any universe with stars.

No god required.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

any1 also think there is life on other planets? wud like to here peoples reasons for/against??

Based on what evidence?


Do I believe there is life (including bacteria) on other planets? Not yet,however I think it's highly likely.I would not be surprised if some form of microbe or fossilised life was found on Mars because water has been discovered there.

Sentient life? I guess a statistician might say that given what we know about the size of the universe and numbers of stars,there is a probability of one. I think the statistician is probably right. However,probability is not proof.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Personal request;would you mind terribly having a go at correct spelling rather than the illiteracy of text spelling? I ask only because I'm an intolerant old prick and easily peeved.

[HAYWARD]

I think we are enough proof you need to show that ET is VERY possible. Given the ridiculous size of the universe I just can't see us being the only ones here.

Given the ridiculously tiny chance of life as we know it ever having come about I see no reason whatsoever to suppose that life should necessarily have occurred elsewhere in this finite universe.

200 Billion galaxies. 100 billion stars per galaxy. Do some math. Yes it is finite... but incomprehensible to our brains to fathom the actual size and scope. And to say life has a tiny chance. 8 planets 1 star, one planet has life. That is 1/8 those are not tiny odds. When there are 120938021830921749873974219873921793872193721739721931 ^10 planets out there. Your being disingenuous.

1 out of our 8 planets 100% has life thats for sure, what about mars? looks like theres dried up river channels on the photos (could be lava flows) and if there was water once on mars theres a good chance there could have been microbial life, that would be 2 out of 8 and what about the moon europa? a lot of experts think there is a very good chance liquid water is under the surface, that would be 3 places in our tiny solarsystem!

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No-one has shown me any evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life and I see no logical reason why there has to be such a thing as extraterrestrial life, so on that basis I do not believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. This is basically the same reasoning which causes me to be an atheist. However, I would nevertheless concede that despite both numbers being incredibly small, there is probably slightly more likelihood of an eventual proof of ET than there is of an eventual proof of the existence of an all-knowing all-powerful creator. But that's not really saying very much and IMO whatever sum of money is being spent looking for ET, it is too much.

have you not watched any documentries on the subject? they are finding new planets every day and plenty in the habitial zone where water can be be on the planet as a liquid, if you dont belive in a god and also think we are the only planet with life on why do you think we are even here? if theres no creator, but life has evolved on this planet then surely it can evolve elsewhere.

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any1 also think there is life on other planets? wud like to here peoples reasons for/against??

Based on what evidence?


Do I believe there is life (including bacteria) on other planets? Not yet,however I think it's highly likely.I would not be surprised if some form of microbe or fossilised life was found on Mars because water has been discovered there.

Sentient life? I guess a statistician might say that given what we know about the size of the universe and numbers of stars,there is a probability of one. I think the statistician is probably right. However,probability is not proof.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Personal request;would you mind terribly having a go at correct spelling rather than the illiteracy of text spelling? I ask only because I'm an intolerant old prick and easily peeved.

well get used to it old prick lol spelling aint my stong point or even good point, but you understood my question right? so why have a go? not asif you didnt understand what i was saying?

[SleepingDemon]

There actually were a couple species of dinosaur near the end that were on their way, they had almost mammalian brain to body mass ratios so it isn't out of the realm of possibility intelligent pseudoreptilian species could have emerged were it not for the whole extinction thing.

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

Honestly, there are probably several nonn-human species on earth ready to reach technological (or at least philisophical or other mental) equivelence to humans.

Dolphins, chimps, gorillas, crows, octopii, and likely numerous others I'm forgetting. They're all noted for having language, society, and the ability to use and manipulate tools. (Although dolphins don't have the appendages to make good use of tools but humans are attempting to decipher their language to set up communication with them. Seriously. This is a thing that is happening.)

Gorillas and chimps have also been taught sign-language, so the capability is there and has been known for some time.
So what this means for intelligent life in the universe is that intelligent technological societies *might* be more common among life-dwelling planets than we realize even if those species aren't necessarily building massive cities and space programs and klingon birds of prey.

But good gods, if there aren't any green or three-breasted alien women, there's going to be hell to pay. (Luckily, genetic engineering can easily fix that. GET TO WORK, SCIENCE!)