Are We Alone in the Universe?

Things and Stuff

The recent trend among scientists in certain fields, so far as I can tell from perusing their writings, is to be sanguine about the chances of there being intelligent life somewhere else in the universe. This trend is really quite remarkable given the typical attitude of scientists in other areas and the paucity of evidence for this life. The same scientific community which stubbornly refuses to acknowledge some very clear indications of life on Mars turned up by the Voyager experiments of the 1970’s is nevertheless cautiously optimistic about finding it elsewhere. Many well respected scientists like Seth Shostak have spent many hours scanning the heavens for some sign of radio contact from another civilization, and a couple have even recently announced that, given the very real possibility of intelligent life evolving elsewhere, perhaps we shouldn’t so quickly scoff at UFO reports.

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Things and Stuff
 
I would love to be wrong, but my vote goes to the Rare Earth hypothesis. We may, indeed, be unique and alone. Our human nature, optimism, and intuition may be tricking us when we look up at the Milky Way and conclude that there must be intelligent life elsewhere. But that doesn't stop me from writing about the Tsoor, the Helgrammites, and the Astronians in my Kosmosflot fiction.
:alien:

From the Wiki:

Rare Earth hypothesis

In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the emergence of complex multicellular life (metazoa) on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances. The term "Rare Earth" comes from Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (2000), a book by Peter Ward, a geologist and paleontologist, and Donald Brownlee, an astronomer and astrobiologist. Their book is the source for much of this entry.

The rare earth hypothesis is the contrary of the principle of mediocrity (also called the Copernican principle), advocated by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, among others. The principle of mediocrity concludes that the Earth is a typical rocky planet in a typical planetary system, located in an unexceptional region of a common barred-spiral galaxy. Hence it is probable that the universe teems with complex life. Ward and Brownlee argue to the contrary: planets, planetary systems, and galactic regions that are as friendly to complex life as are the Earth, the solar system, and our region of the Milky Way are probably very rare.

By concluding that complex life is uncommon, the Rare Earth hypothesis is a possible solution to the Fermi paradox: "If extraterrestrial aliens are common, why aren't they obvious?"
 
I would love to be wrong, but my vote goes to the Rare Earth hypothesis. We may, indeed, be unique and alone. Our human nature, optimism, and intuition may be tricking us when we look up at the Milky Way and conclude that there must be intelligent life elsewhere. But that doesn't stop me from writing about the Tsoor, the Helgrammites, and the Astronians in my Kosmosflot fiction.
The Rare Earth hypothesis seems to make the assumption of "complex life" as being comparable to humans; I think that is a big assumption. As we see on our own planet life seems to find a way of forming in some very unusual places so it is hardly a stretch of the imagination to allow for the idea of a life form that is different from primates to have evolved on a different planet that has different atmospheric conditions.
 
not trying to sound so blaze' about this but why is it so hard to just accept that there may be life out there. i covered this discussion in another post a few months ago.

just because they may not look like us, act like us or be us doesn't mean that they are intelligent. just because we don't get bombarded by radio signals from space or their form of media doesn't mean that something is not out there wondering like we are.

it is so sad that we as humans are so close minded about the possibilities out in the great expanse of the universe.
 
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