I think people have vastly underestimated this possibility. The universe is random and full of quirks and happenstances, evolution on earth was a fluke. If anything exists out there I don’t think it’s highly probable it is anything like we or popular fiction have imagined it.
shareIf we use actual math it is very unlikely that there is anyone/thing out there. If we use highly imaginative math, there is a microscopic chance. And NO I don't give a flying Fk what some tour guide of a famous planetarium says.
shareSandberg, Drexler, & Ord (2018):
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1806.02404.pdf
show that carefully parametrizing uncertainties in the (prob. of intelligent/advanced civilized life) Drake Equation's parameters yields the following best estimates:
53 to 99.6 percent chance we are the only civilization in the Milky Way, and
39 to 85 percent chance we are the only civilization in the observable universe.
Dee-pressing!
The thing is, as far as the galaxy And the universe is concerned, we're so far out in the sticks we might as well be a single rowboat smack in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Not only are we near the end of one of the Milky Way's many arms, we're actually sitting in a HUGE void in space.
I can't even imagine what the galactic center must be like...
Cruz- I've read that we are so incredibly FAR from other planets, who would bother to visit or even know we are here?
Your "out in the sticks" comment reminded me of an episode of Bewitched. Samantha's bumbling Aunt Clara zapped up a flying saucer in the Stephens' backyard. The two beings were from a canine planet (well, actors dressed in dog costumes) named Yip and Yap.
Of course Samantha invited them in for breakfast. They were looking at a map of the galaxy and found Earth on their map.
One of the visitors said, "Boy! You guys are sure out in the boondocks!!"
A very silly episode of course, but it had a nugget of truth. We ARE out in the boonies of the Milky Way. What intelligent life wants to make that trip? lol
Like ancient earth mariners, it wouldn't surprise me to be visited by alien explorers and colonists.
Judging by the available evidence, we most likely have. Many times.
According to Egyptian lore, all their animal headed deities were physical beings who walked among them.
There's a primitive African tribe that's been worshipping a star for hundreds of years that modern scientists couldn't even see till the twentieth century.
I can go on and on.
My first thought was to post something like, of course we've been visited by extraterrestrials. Who do you think built the Pyramids? But I was afraid you'd think I was a nut!
When I was about thirteen I read "Chariots of the Gods" BY Erich von Daniken. His whole theory of Earth having been visited by intelligent life from other planets really intrigued me. I read that book over and over. There was even a TV special.
Earth is off the beaten path, but maybe there were spacefaring races who stopped to take a look and decided to stay for a while.
Human ingenuity will never surprise me. I believe it's entirely possible that man built everything we have trouble understanding. Look at what modern man has accomplished.
It's also possible that we had some help.
Yes, I found "Chariots of the Gods" to be a fascinating and intriguing premise, but years later a lot of von Daniken's claims were in dispute. Huge edifices he claimed could only have been built with alien helped were manmade after all.
Of course I don't know that it explains everything...
An open mind is probably best. It won't surprise me if tomorrow headlines around the world announce greetings from an alien race.
shareWe're just an alien ant farm.
sharehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl9ZMfj6aE&feature=emb_logo
shareI’m still waiting to find out if Annie was Ok?
shareAnything is possible, but is it probable? To me it's totally inconceivable that there isn't life out there - trillions of galaxies, each with billions of stars.
shareThe dolphin’s original planet was depleted of its natural waters so they took refuge in the seas of earth. The question isn’t if extraterrestrial life forms exist but how they arrived to earth and how many more species know of our existence.
shareLol
shareThe octopus DNA started outside our planet.
Ever notice how truly alien they are?
I think most things in the ocean are alien. Especially the creatures that live in the depths that are not humanly possible to reach. Also any insects that go through metamorphosis seem pretty alien to me.
shareYes.
shareAbsolutely no one knows at all. No one can claim any % chance of this or that. There is no basis to make any claims one way or the other on the issue. "There must be" and "there certainly isn't" are both utterly baseless. In the realm of what we don't know, anything is possible so guesswork goes unchecked and theories can go unchallenged forever. There is no "likelihood."
We don't know. Maybe yes. Maybe no. Immediate data suggests no.
what data suggests no?
The data we have about the size of the universe and number of stars in it suggests yes
Our "immediate data" is what we can perceive with our limited scope. What we can see shows zero signs of intelligent life. Thinking "there HAS to be because the universe it so big" is a fallacy. There either is or there isn't. There is no certainty because there is no evidence. None. Claiming certainty is fantasy or sophistry.
I hope there is but neither hope nor statistical posturing add any weight to the scale.
Well said.
share