- Joined
- Sep 24, 2011
- Messages
- 38,298
- Reaction score
- 44,306
- Location
- Atlanta
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
We have a whole lot of questions, assumptions, and hypothesis as to why we have or have not been visited by some alien life from some other location in the universe but not a lot of evidence one way or another nor much evidence such life exists.
At least the OP article points out the discussion being had accounts for a range of thinking on the subject but all speculative.
You could take the observations to date and conclude evolutionary paths on other planets, depending on a plethora of factors, could take any number of directions. Including some having no path whatsoever in the origin of life, up through the jump from the simplest forms of life to more complex, up to alternate hypothesis on how life might originate in other conditions.
Some complex, or intelligent life, may also have their own evolutionary paths not necessarily confined to what humans tend to be restricted by. Be it intellectual, physical, ideological, and so forth. We cannot even confirm that other evolutionary paths are driven by the same instinctive competition and reproduction influences, nor survival of the fittest conditions, nor global disaster evolutionary path changing events. We do not even know if our sense of curiosity and quest for additional knowledge would always have the same strength evolutionary path to evolutionary path.
It creates a conundrum of a discussion usually narrowed down based on what we assume from our own understandings (said another way from within our own confines.) The best evidence of this being the more we evolve the more we question what could be where as 500 years ago ('ish) the presumption was usually within the confines of systems of belief as to what could exist away from our planet. Now science has plenty of discussion the matter but no one really knows. Even in recent times the more we evolve our understandings and own theories rooted in mathematics, physics, biology, astronomy, what have you that also results in presumption of technological advancement of other life. We may be close to what is there, we may be wildly off the mark.
But the question of why hasn't life visited earth yet results in both too many assumptions and too many unprovable answers notwithstanding the immediate reaction and counter questions like 'how can we be certain we knew?' or 'how can we be certain other life is more advanced than we are?'
For all we know we have been visited hundreds of thousands of years ago before anyone here was intelligent to consider that implication or even knew it happened. For all we know there is no one close enough and advanced enough to make it past their own limitations and visit us in a manner that is plausible. They are not bad conclusions to make even though we may want to think there is something out there with enough technology and advancement to do all we think is possible, well beyond what we can accomplish to date.
Or, we could go the more humorous answer, but not necessarily worthy of exclusion, in saying something did visit... took one look at us... our world, what we do to our world, and what we do to each other and concluded... "**** this, moving on."
At least the OP article points out the discussion being had accounts for a range of thinking on the subject but all speculative.
You could take the observations to date and conclude evolutionary paths on other planets, depending on a plethora of factors, could take any number of directions. Including some having no path whatsoever in the origin of life, up through the jump from the simplest forms of life to more complex, up to alternate hypothesis on how life might originate in other conditions.
Some complex, or intelligent life, may also have their own evolutionary paths not necessarily confined to what humans tend to be restricted by. Be it intellectual, physical, ideological, and so forth. We cannot even confirm that other evolutionary paths are driven by the same instinctive competition and reproduction influences, nor survival of the fittest conditions, nor global disaster evolutionary path changing events. We do not even know if our sense of curiosity and quest for additional knowledge would always have the same strength evolutionary path to evolutionary path.
It creates a conundrum of a discussion usually narrowed down based on what we assume from our own understandings (said another way from within our own confines.) The best evidence of this being the more we evolve the more we question what could be where as 500 years ago ('ish) the presumption was usually within the confines of systems of belief as to what could exist away from our planet. Now science has plenty of discussion the matter but no one really knows. Even in recent times the more we evolve our understandings and own theories rooted in mathematics, physics, biology, astronomy, what have you that also results in presumption of technological advancement of other life. We may be close to what is there, we may be wildly off the mark.
But the question of why hasn't life visited earth yet results in both too many assumptions and too many unprovable answers notwithstanding the immediate reaction and counter questions like 'how can we be certain we knew?' or 'how can we be certain other life is more advanced than we are?'
For all we know we have been visited hundreds of thousands of years ago before anyone here was intelligent to consider that implication or even knew it happened. For all we know there is no one close enough and advanced enough to make it past their own limitations and visit us in a manner that is plausible. They are not bad conclusions to make even though we may want to think there is something out there with enough technology and advancement to do all we think is possible, well beyond what we can accomplish to date.
Or, we could go the more humorous answer, but not necessarily worthy of exclusion, in saying something did visit... took one look at us... our world, what we do to our world, and what we do to each other and concluded... "**** this, moving on."
