Extra-Terrestrial life

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

Plug in any reasonable numbers you like, and I guarantee you that the total number of civilizations in the universe will be greater than one (or even more, if you instead figure the number of planets with ANY life).

The Drake Equation is useful only for supporting whichever case you have to people that don't understand it.

The creationist nuts use similar arguments against abiogenesis. Of course, most of tome think they're using it against evolution, but they're talking about abiogenisis.

But seeing as how microorganisms live everywhere on earth, from inside the polar ice caps to inside volcanoes to inside thermal springs, I don't think we can yet conclusively rule out the possibility that we're alone even in our solar system. If nothing else, Mars and Titan are both "near misses" for the conditions necessary for life, which leads me to believe that it's not entirely uncommon for such worlds to exist.

Oh, I know that. Since it's almost certain that Europa has a global ocean of liquid water under all that ice, it's a really good bet that there's some kind of life there. But we haven't explored it yet, we've just looked at it. IMO Europa is the most interesting body in the Solar System, if you exclude Angelina Jolie.

 

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

I picked "unsure" becase I have seen no evidence for or against to be conclusive. However, I don't understand way everyone has virtually the same idea that life must exist. Why does it? I see no real compelling reason to think so.

Because everywhere we look, we see that things are pretty much the same. The galaxy we live in is a perfectly ordinary barred spiral galaxy. The sun we orbit is a perfectly ordinary type G dwarf that's only peculiar in it's aloneness. Most stars are in pairs, triples, or more, but even though the Sun as a spinster is out of the ordinary, it's not unique. We've found hundreds of planets like Jupiter, and bigger, and that's because we don't have the ability to find smaller ones, yet, so it's very reasonable to assume that planets of earth-like mass and composition will orbit stars like the sun. (Venus was similar to the earth, long ago)

So, with all those similarities, the odds are very much in favor of life and maybe intelligence happening on some other planet on some other star.

That's all.

 

[Bustabush]

Because everywhere we look, we see that things are pretty much the same. The galaxy we live in is a perfectly ordinary barred spiral galaxy. The sun we orbit is a perfectly ordinary type G dwarf that's only peculiar in it's aloneness. Most stars are in pairs, triples, or more, but even though the Sun as a spinster is out of the ordinary, it's not unique. We've found hundreds of planets like Jupiter, and bigger, and that's because we don't have the ability to find smaller ones, yet, so it's very reasonable to assume that planets of earth-like mass and composition will orbit stars like the sun. (Venus was similar to the earth, long ago)

So, with all those similarities, the odds are very much in favor of life and maybe intelligence happening on some other planet on some other star.

To this I reply...

So what. Why must I conculde one way or the other.

 

[Deegan]

Sure, I believe there is other life out there, but I doubt we will ever be able to travel as far as it would take to ever discover any. I just don't think we will ever know for certain, but the galaxy is just too large to believe otherwise.

 

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

To this I reply...

So what. Why must I conculde one way or the other.

You don't have to conclude anything.

You incorrectly stated there was no compelling evidence. I corrected you. You're still free to straddle the fence all you like. I don't see how it matters one way or t'other.