A few assumptions here are debatable
I love it
Is so-called Evolution a fact throughout the universe?
I see evolution as a change. Everything changes. Planets, stars, asteroids, galaxies and the Universe itself. In living things (of which we can only reference life on Earth), evolution is variations in the lifeform's genetic code. Bacteria, plants & animals evolve over time as their genetic code changes. Life itself is an evolutionary change of the planet as well as the Sun.
Why would different atmospheric or physical conditions necessarily affect the nature of life, and specifically intelligent life?
The way I see it, the atmosphere and other natural conditions like radiation levels, temperature and gravity dictate how, when and where life evolves. It's been proven that life does not need oxygen to exist, no sunlight either. Archeology can date a time on Earth when there was no oxygen and life existed. The oxygen was the by-product of that life and it saturated the planet. It not only killed most of the life on Earth it caused Iron to rust.
We define life by a set of specific parameters based on what we have learned about our planet. Just because we have not witnessed other factors that lead to life doesn't mean they don't exist.
We know of multiple forms of water. H2O is only one form of water and the form that we need to survive. There could be a planet or moon somewhere that has more
heavy water than what we are accustomed to. Life that forms based on heavy water will have different qualities than life on Earth.
Our Star burns at a specific temperature. It has a specific amount of gravity and emits a specific range of radiation.
A Star that is larger than the Sun might have more gravity and thus not emit the same radiation. It might not shluff off key elements needed for our type of life. The temperature might be higher causing different types of emissions. It's density may have a different pull on its celestial neighborhood. This would change the atmospheric weather conditions for its planets and moons. Bigger storms or a lack of storms might elevate atmospheric generated electricity or decrease it significantly. The
composition of the Sun is also an evolutionary factor for life on Earth. A
blue giant star will have different effects on any life in its reach.
Our
Moon dictates life on our planet as well. We have deduced that our moon is the result of a collision with our planet. It is unique to Earth. It's size, orbital speed and distance dictates our evolutionary path. Try to imagine life that exists with no seasons. The planet instead has zones of habitat. Migration habits would change, fertility might be based on something besides cycles, weather patterns might be predictable and zone specific. Now, with those changes in mind, what affect would they have in the development of intelligence.
For humans and higher forms of life on Earth, intelligence seems to be the ability of an organism to gather, store and utilize experiences. Human are set apart from others because we can imagine, predict and plan. We can act on predictions and construct apparatus to achieve a goal. Our imagination allows us to go beyond simple tool usage to allow us to modify behaviors and tools to result in more efficient systems. A beaver uses a rock to open a clam for food. We don't see the beaver farming its food or making a better opener. It is intelligent enough to know that it can use the rock and does, but it is not superiority intelligent to go any farther.
Given the size and density of the Universe it can be assumed that there are a multitude of beaver type life out there. With beavers showing up on this one planet where humans also exist it is then feasible to think that human level life is also abundant. As humans we are ever expanding our designs as we gain more knowledge. This leads me to believe that there is also an abundance of higher-level intelligence in the Universe.
Our planet and Star are about 4.5 Billion years old. Life formed here about 3 Billion years ago. Our Sun has an expected lifetime of about 10 Billion years. It is an average star. There are stars that will live much longer, Have lived much longer.
The Solar System wobbles as it goes around the galaxy. It dips in and out of the Milkyway's orbital plane. The Milkyway moves in space as well.
We are near the point in the Galactic map that the Solar System was about 250 Million years ago.
We are right near the point where there was an extinction event. Give or take a few million years and miles. Is there something in that region of the galaxy that is harmful to life on our planet? Fifteen Galactic Years ago our planet was at a different part of the galaxy. Is there some quality in that spot that is conducive to the creation of life? Is there a cloud of elements that the planet passed thru that coated our surface with life? Could there be other regions in other galaxies with similar qualities?
We take aspirin for headaches. Does aspirin affect amoebas the same way? Are there elemental clouds in the Universe that only affect certain forms of life? Clouds of some chemical combination that changes the ability of an organism's intelligence level? What if there is a species that has found that element for their physiology and have exploited it. Not only is time a factor in intelligence, physiology is as well.
these same
dumb beings kill each other in the name of God
Our reasons for our opinions on human intelligence are quite different. You base your opinion on concepts having to do with morality and belief where I base mine on discovery and utilization. Your opinion is valid from a human perspective. It is a perspective that an alien may not recognize. Looking at our science and technology level, my opinion sees that we are very low on understanding the true nature of things. We have advance a long way in a short time by our standards but an alien that can master stellar or galactic travel may see us as infants in intellectual prowess.
Life is just life. We humans wrap all kinds of glory around it but an alien may not even consider life at all. Try to imagine a society that has no value of life. It is almost impossible for us to fathom. If life were not in the thought process then neither would death be a consideration. With no death, no need for a God. Try to imagine a society with no God, ever. Not the absence of God, No God ever. Our religion is meant to do one thing. It is a way for some humans to control other humans. An alien culture that has no God will be very different than what we understand. Flip the coin and you may have an alien culture that takes religion to different extremes. Plus, there are 360 degrees of the edge of the coin that can result is even stranger iterations of culture. Variations are endless.
So if the mythical Borg I like writing about pops-up one day and wants to assimilate Man they might find it easy
First I must inform you that the Borg are not Mythical, They are Fictional. They were created by a human for a human TV show to act as antagonists. As far as I am concerned their concept is as limited as their depiction. But you enjoy them and that is your prerogative.
- Could Borg exist? I guess they could given the vast expanse and unknown nature of the Universe.
- Would they be able to 'assimilate' Earth? Probably.
- Could we stop them? Hell, we can't even stop a rock.
On superiority scales are the Borg highly advanced? Not in my opinion. Superior to humans but not to what is possible. IMO, The Borg are not much more intellectually, scientifically or morally advanced than we are. They are not even superior to many aliens in the Star Trek Universe. Even the ones that are supposedly far advanced are a far cry from what might actually exist. The Q, The Caretakers and The Cytherians are even limited when considering the potential intelligence that may be out there. I see all superior intellect in fiction as just concepts that are limited by our own imagination. Imagination that is founded by our limited knowledge of nature. The Universe is so vast and Chaos is so rampant that combinations of factors could and possibly already have created beings far beyond our comprehension. Not only mentally but physically.
I once sponsored a topic asking people to describe what alien life would be. Sadly there was not much participation. The more I read science fiction the more extreme my ideas become. As I read science facts I find that many of my ideas of aliens change. As time progresses, fiction will unleash concepts of aliens that are more and more strange. My issue is not with different concepts but with limited concepts. To me, the best science fiction depicts something that is unique and unrecognizable. It creates a new path for my imagination to explore.