Poll: Where is everyone?
- Thread starter Sliver
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Why don't they make contact? Why would they? Why would they contact a civilization that is hell bent on destroying it's planet and fighting amongst themselves?I'd certainly stay well clear if I was looking down on that kind of mess.
Hey there, stop judging our planet!
Soldato
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pretty sure this was covered on an episode of "the universe"
Where they extrapolated the universe and came up with something like 1000 planets would match the exact conditions as on earth.
Thats for somethings thats practically a planet capable of exactly replicating life we have here.
The main definition is the crux though, define life. The broader the definition the more likely there is "life" elsewhere
Where they extrapolated the universe and came up with something like 1000 planets would match the exact conditions as on earth.
Thats for somethings thats practically a planet capable of exactly replicating life we have here.
The main definition is the crux though, define life. The broader the definition the more likely there is "life" elsewhere
Life would defined in this sense as a self replicating organism with a genetic code to pass on.
Soldato
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The other issue to contend with is how long civilisations last. In all the time since the big bang there may well have been civilisations within "close" proximity but long since died out/not coincident with the lifetime of our civilisation, hence go unobserved.
Soldato
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Which is a very low benchmark compared to a lot of peoples views.
There are probably millions and millions in that case.
The closest one thats debated that could have something that would match your defintion of life is Titan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Titan
Exactly right. Finding any other non-Earth life would be massive. Who ever could do it would be knee deep in Nobel Prizes
. It would also throw a spanner in the works for the worlds religions. They'd have to re-write Genesis to include E.T. 
Another thought with this is that if life were discovered on another planet, would it be announced? in some cultures it would create mass panic, religious groups would protest that it's God testing us, etc.
<paranoia>perhaps this has happened and the governments are covering it up, MiB style</paranoia>
<paranoia>perhaps this has happened and the governments are covering it up, MiB style</paranoia>
Oh man, I can imagine all the religious nuts going utterly mad over it. It'd be a nightmare.
Soldato
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10 voted for no alien life anywhere else in the UNIVERSE!!! Mad.
If the universe is infinite then there must be infinite intelligent civilisations, there will also be an identical copy of ourselves having this exact conversation on the same forum, actually an infinite amount of times as well.
Where's my loong lost twin!
On a more serious note, i think we need to distinguish between life and intelligent life, there's a huge difference between self replicating organisms and conscious apes that can create satellites and computers. It took 4 billion years for us to arrive at this point in time, where, we can come up with phrases like "i think, therefore i am" All the ingredients for us to flourish had to be just right as well, water, atmosphere, correct distance from the sun, a lot of people also don't realise how important the moon is to keeping us stable, it keeps the earth from moving off it's axis by quite a margin. And lets not forget the Chicxulub astroid, had that astroid not smashed into the earth 65 million years ago, we definitely wouldn't be here, pure chance. I think we might be more unique than we think, especially in our galaxy, we could be the only intelligent life in our galaxy, and let's be honest, our galaxy is the furthest we'll ever explore, it's like 100,000 light years across. I think our next closest galaxy is Andromeda, which is 2.2 million light years away. We'll never interact with another galaxy.
A good book to read is this, fascinating book.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vital-Question-Why-life-way/dp/1781250367
Were already talking about it though, Mars? Europa?
If the universe is infinite then there must be infinite intelligent civilisations, there will also be an identical copy of ourselves having this exact conversation on the same forum, actually an infinite amount of times as well.
Where's my loong lost twin!
On a more serious note, i think we need to distinguish between life and intelligent life, there's a huge difference between self replicating organisms and conscious apes that can create satellites and computers. It took 4 billion years for us to arrive at this point in time, where, we can come up with phrases like "i think, therefore i am" All the ingredients for us to flourish had to be just right as well, water, atmosphere, correct distance from the sun, a lot of people also don't realise how important the moon is to keeping us stable, it keeps the earth from moving off it's axis by quite a margin. And lets not forget the Chicxulub astroid, had that astroid not smashed into the earth 65 million years ago, we definitely wouldn't be here, pure chance. I think we might be more unique than we think, especially in our galaxy, we could be the only intelligent life in our galaxy, and let's be honest, our galaxy is the furthest we'll ever explore, it's like 100,000 light years across. I think our next closest galaxy is Andromeda, which is 2.2 million light years away. We'll never interact with another galaxy.
A good book to read is this, fascinating book.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vital-Question-Why-life-way/dp/1781250367
Were already talking about it though, Mars? Europa?
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Well yes and no as great apes like us are also self replicating organisms. This is why I gave that definition when asked earlier, it covers all life
But yes, clearly a bacteria would find it hard to build satellite or a computer.
Soldato
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Yup, almost certain life exists within the universe.
Almost certainly exists, its pretty insanse to think that life is only on our planet, the galaxy is mind boggaling big and the universe has 100s of billions of galaxies.
Have they visited us, no.
Will we find intelligent civilisation. Depends on what the probabilities of life are, but I doubt we will. The distances and age of the universe are both massive.
Have they visited us, no.
Will we find intelligent civilisation. Depends on what the probabilities of life are, but I doubt we will. The distances and age of the universe are both massive.
Intelligent life if in the next 50years is almost guaranteed to find us, not us find them.
If earth supports 1m-100m different species we can guarantee life is out there. Have they met us yet, quite simply we do not know.
100 UFO sightings a day with 80%+ explainable 20% no clue but UFOs don't exist... Ball lightning witnessed so rarely you are more likely be struck twenty times in one thunderstorm but they exist. Odd notions.
If earth supports 1m-100m different species we can guarantee life is out there. Have they met us yet, quite simply we do not know.
100 UFO sightings a day with 80%+ explainable 20% no clue but UFOs don't exist... Ball lightning witnessed so rarely you are more likely be struck twenty times in one thunderstorm but they exist. Odd notions.
The flat-earthers always make me chuckle. It's just so ignorant and arrogant to think this is the only planet with life on it in such an enormous universe. The fact that our closest neighbour star has a candidate planet just reinforces how silly that stance is.
Of course the distances are so huge the chances of discovering any other life, or it discovering us are miniscule. But one day, who knows. Once it took about a day to travel from London to Birmingham by stage coach and now by train it takes ..... oh wait
Even if there is life out there, we probably don't want to meet it. Stephen Hawking summed it up perfectly:
"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."
Of course the distances are so huge the chances of discovering any other life, or it discovering us are miniscule. But one day, who knows. Once it took about a day to travel from London to Birmingham by stage coach and now by train it takes ..... oh wait
Even if there is life out there, we probably don't want to meet it. Stephen Hawking summed it up perfectly:
"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."
Soldato
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Of course there is.
I would hate to think that in such beauty, complexity and bizarreness that is the Universe (there maybe more than one) that we Humans are the only intelligent species out there. Look at what we do to ourselves.
I wish we could have a peaceful competition unlike the Cold War where we strive to excel to other Worlds beyond our Solar System or why not work together as an entire race....
Bah, it'll never happen. We'll end up destroying ourselves, I'm glad I wont be here to see that day.
/end of depressive post
I would hate to think that in such beauty, complexity and bizarreness that is the Universe (there maybe more than one) that we Humans are the only intelligent species out there. Look at what we do to ourselves.
I wish we could have a peaceful competition unlike the Cold War where we strive to excel to other Worlds beyond our Solar System or why not work together as an entire race....
Bah, it'll never happen. We'll end up destroying ourselves, I'm glad I wont be here to see that day.
/end of depressive post