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Thinker said:From this information, I conclude that it is likely that there are
staggeringly-huge numbers of planets and that it would be extremely likely
for there to be life on a number of them.
Korimyr the Rat said:Yep. This sums up my thoughts on the matter as well.
I suppose a more interesting question would be, what implications does the existence of extra-terrestrial sentient life have for both our theology and for our systems of ethics?
alphieb said:I think it is possible that there is a low functioning form of life such as bacteria on other planets, but not sophisticated life.
alphieb said:...Its hard telling just how many universes are really out there.
Korimyr the Rat said:Yep. This sums up my thoughts on the matter as well.
I suppose a more interesting question would be, what implications does the existence of extra-terrestrial sentient life have for both our theology and for our systems of ethics?
Scarecrow Akhbar said:Here's a couple of questions about alien life forms.
1) Should taxpayer dollars be wasted looking for them? How does it improve the life of the guy cleaning my teeth for the government to be spending his money finding a life bearing planet orbiting Tau Ceti?
2) Since if any alien intelligences exist, they're either doing a bang-up job of hiding from us, or they're so far away we can't find them, why are we wasting money looking for them?
americanwoman said:You bring up a very good point. As much as I'd really like to know about other plantes I think we could spend that money on better things here on Earth and just wait for the intelligent ones to come find us.One night though I was out driving in the middle of nowhere and saw strange lights and something in the sky that just seemed to take off. I'm not saying I saw a UFO but I am open to think it might have been one.
I also believe they have contacted us here on earth long before and have had contacts with ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs and the Egyptians. I think maybe I watch the discovery channel too much but those programs are fascinating.
Thinker said:I don't "believe" anything about life on other planets.
From what I know of the relevant sciences, I understand that:
- the evidence indicates that life appeared on Earth almost as soon as it
formed, pretty much as soon as it had cooled enough for the necessary
chemicals to become stable;- we are starting to detect planets orbiting other stars, suggesting that
planets are common;- the Earth is a planet of an unremarkable star, of which we can detect
huge numbers in our galaxy;- we can detect countless numbers of galaxies.
From this information, I conclude that it is likely that there are
staggeringly-huge numbers of planets and that it would be extremely likely
for there to be life on a number of them.
No belief, just seems a lot more than likely.
Korimyr the Rat said:I suppose a more interesting question would be, what implications does the existence of extra-terrestrial sentient life have for both our theology and for our systems of ethics?
Thinker said:My system of morals would not be changed in any way by knowing that life existed elsewhere in the universe.
talloulou said:Why would you rule out sophisticated life? I can understand ruling it out maybe in our galaxy...but the entire universe? We know so little about the entire universe.
Thinker said:I would be interested in someone giving a definition of "universes". As my
dictionary defines universe as "all that is", it is hard to see how that could leave
anything else for another one.
It's rather like the nonsense of "more unique", or "a little bit pregnant".
alphieb said:I think if there was complex life in our universe, we would know that by now. I could be totally wrong. I will look into this.
alphieb said:I think if there was complex life in our universe, we would know that by now. I could be totally wrong. I will look into this.
Korimyr the Rat said:I don't know. Considering the size of the universe, really the only way we'll discover extraterrestrial sentience is if either of our species figures out how to break the light barrier.
Korimyr the Rat said:And when you compare the age of the universe to the span of human history-- or even the evolution of homo sapiens sapiens-- it'd be a hell of a coincidence to encounter a species even remotely close to our own developmental level.
americanwoman said:I think maybe I watch the discovery channel too much but those programs are fascinating.
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