Poll: You believe in life beyond Earth?
- Thread starter Wierdguy
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Fair enough, but there are times when it's most appropriate to simply say "We don't know." We really just don't have enough information to make any kind of reasonable guess.Nerdstar said:
although intelligent life on earth was a freak accident, the universe is supposedly infinite.
so there are bound to be more life somewhere. however it is unlikely we (as a species) will ever find it, humans as we know it, may well cease to exist by the time we are able of complex and distant space travel.
so there are bound to be more life somewhere. however it is unlikely we (as a species) will ever find it, humans as we know it, may well cease to exist by the time we are able of complex and distant space travel.
There's life out there. Earth is a pretty special case (IE, a huge rarity) but I wouldn't think it's Unique. The math backs it up. We'll never find them though because the distances we're talking about are so vast that even thinking about them requires you to do a little time warp. We'll probably never even get to a light year out in space. Our current engines would take like 600 years to get that far, and I don't think we're going to have ship engines that are so efficient they can even reach that speed limit.
So, we'll never find it. Even if they exist right now, imagine they're 2000 light years away by the time our light (or in my reasoning, our reality) reaches them, it could be thousands of years later. If they looked at us now, they'd see our egyptian culture coming to an end around the turn of millenium zero. If we looked at them, we'd see whatever they were doing 2000 years ago. There is NO way to communicate over those distances. Any message we send out at BEST would take 2000 years to get there.
But think of this - maybe aliens DID see our egyptian culture and made contact with us? maybe we just haven't got it yet. Like, in the year 2500 we get a message from aliens that basically says "Hey, we see those pyramids you're building, keep up the great work, they look awesome" because it was sent from 4000 light years away.
More food for thought, but it does certainly make the prospect of meeting and interacting with aliens a pretty slim chance, even on a galactic scale. But IS there life out there? Almost assuredly.
So, we'll never find it. Even if they exist right now, imagine they're 2000 light years away by the time our light (or in my reasoning, our reality) reaches them, it could be thousands of years later. If they looked at us now, they'd see our egyptian culture coming to an end around the turn of millenium zero. If we looked at them, we'd see whatever they were doing 2000 years ago. There is NO way to communicate over those distances. Any message we send out at BEST would take 2000 years to get there.
But think of this - maybe aliens DID see our egyptian culture and made contact with us? maybe we just haven't got it yet. Like, in the year 2500 we get a message from aliens that basically says "Hey, we see those pyramids you're building, keep up the great work, they look awesome" because it was sent from 4000 light years away.
More food for thought, but it does certainly make the prospect of meeting and interacting with aliens a pretty slim chance, even on a galactic scale. But IS there life out there? Almost assuredly.
Two words for all those with the "life requires water, oxygen, etc." argument: Silicon Lifeforms
Anyways, I would have voted the decade one, but I beleive it's going to take us more than a few decades to find "intelligent" life.
Anyways, I would have voted the decade one, but I beleive it's going to take us more than a few decades to find "intelligent" life.
well the universe is infinent and so theres the potental for an infinent amount of planets so even is there a 1 in 100000000000000000000000000000000000 chance of life apearing on a planet there being enless planets its almost a certainty there is life on other planets, hence why we are here =)
Assuming the universe is infinite. There is an infinite chance of their being another Winston Biggleswde typing exactly the same comment some where else. I'm not mathematician but I consider this evidence enough that their is life beyond earth.
There's no need to believe, there is life out there. And you're mental if you think otherwise. The sheer size of the universe and the hundreds of trillions of galaxies most of which are FAR bigger than ours.
And the assumption that that the planet needs to be earthlike is also incorrect. Life on Earth is proof enough, with life growing on radioactive rods and crabs living near volcanic methane vents miles under the water means you do not require ideal circumstances for life. We have even found a arsenic based life form...on EARTH. Not carbon based, arsenic, you know that poison that kills humans?
And the assumption that that the planet needs to be earthlike is also incorrect. Life on Earth is proof enough, with life growing on radioactive rods and crabs living near volcanic methane vents miles under the water means you do not require ideal circumstances for life. We have even found a arsenic based life form...on EARTH. Not carbon based, arsenic, you know that poison that kills humans?
I'm completely certain there is intelligent life elsewhere in our universe. I'd bet my house on it. You have to be willfully ignorant not to believe it.
Will we find them? No, at least not for many many years. The trouble is space travel is fucking difficult and I've heard that even at the speed of light, it can take hundreds of years to reach areas that are close to us.
So I think our only chance is them finding us. But, I still don't think that will happen.
Will we find them? No, at least not for many many years. The trouble is space travel is fucking difficult and I've heard that even at the speed of light, it can take hundreds of years to reach areas that are close to us.
So I think our only chance is them finding us. But, I still don't think that will happen.
Drake Equation.
Not only is life in the Galaxy an the universe a sheer matter of probability, it's actually fairly inevitable.
With the sheer number of stars in the universe all you need is a planet with fairly unremarkable qualities at the right distance in a stable orbit around the star.
The only reason we don't know about it is either because long distance travel in space is as much of a hurdle as we think it is, or because no one would actually want to deal with us.
Not only is life in the Galaxy an the universe a sheer matter of probability, it's actually fairly inevitable.
With the sheer number of stars in the universe all you need is a planet with fairly unremarkable qualities at the right distance in a stable orbit around the star.
The only reason we don't know about it is either because long distance travel in space is as much of a hurdle as we think it is, or because no one would actually want to deal with us.
I have to believe in life beyond our galaxy. If I didn't, I'd truly believe that the universe set its sights low and settled for very little when it allowed humanity to be spawned.
"Believe" is such a loaded word... it implies certainty. With this subject matter, I won't be certain unless I witness proof with my own eyes that such life does exist... and I could never be certain that it doesn't unless I was completely omniscient and omnipresent, able to explore the entire universe in a blink and determine what every atom's purpose is within it.
So, the poll is lacking an "I am unconvinced either way" option.
So, the poll is lacking an "I am unconvinced either way" option.
I only believe in things that have been proven to exist, so for the moment, no.
I do however, consider it plausible, even likely, that we will one day find intelligent life in the universe. Our planet is overpopulated and under resourced, and necessity is the mother of invention. So when we get to the stage where we have a choice between space travel or global rationing/one child policy someone somewhere will figure out a way to travel to different solar systems.
I do however, consider it plausible, even likely, that we will one day find intelligent life in the universe. Our planet is overpopulated and under resourced, and necessity is the mother of invention. So when we get to the stage where we have a choice between space travel or global rationing/one child policy someone somewhere will figure out a way to travel to different solar systems.
Do I believe that out of the thousands of galaxies within our universe that there are other forms of sentient life? Yes. Will we ever come into contanct with aforementioned life? No.