Intelligent life on other planets?

[logician]

Since we have found no evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere, we can assume at least that is must be a rare occurence, as over billions of years intelligent signals or aliens themselves should have been encountered, and evidence left behind.

 

[gnostic]

Since we have found no evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere, we can assume at least that is must be a rare occurence, as over billions of years intelligent signals or aliens themselves should have been encountered, and evidence left behind.

I think you are forgetting that many of those stars and galaxies people see from their telescopes took millions or billions of years to reach earth. Even light takes a long time to travel over astronomical distance. If there are other life like our in other parts of the universe and in precisely the stage of technological development, then their signals would probably not reach us for centuries or even milleniums.

So by the time their signal reach us, we would be long dead, and our bones would have turned into fossils...if they didn't turn into dust. Or human kind may be extinct by the time we receive a reply from them.

:sorry1: I just can't help myself.

 

[logician]

"So by the time their signal reach us, we would be long dead, and our bones would have turned into fossils...if they didn't turn into dust. Or human kind may be extinct by the time we receive a reply from them.
"

The premise here is that over billions of years, if intelligent life capable of space travel is common, then some evidence of it would inevitably be picked up by someone looking for it, (such as with radio telescopes), or alien visits of the past would have left behind some traces. Since no evidence of such has been found, we can assume at least the intelligent life has not been COMMON in our galaxy over the life of our galaxy.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

See Fermi's Paradox

 

[logician]

I have other reasons for thinking intelligent life might not be common. It is certainly probable that simple life forms are quite common in our galaxy, however, the conditions necessary for intelligent beings to evolve may be quite uncommon. Since we exist, we may assume intelligent life to be common, however, we may have hit the "evolutionary lottery" so to speak, and happened to evolve on a planet hat had the conditions necessary for intelligent life to evolve. Of course, intelligent beings may not be good at long term survival, which would select against their being many intellgient races co-existing.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Since we exist, we may assume intelligent life to be common, ...

We may, of course, assume any number of things, but I suspect that it amounts to little more than the arrogant presumption that we are inevitable.

 

[lamplighter]

Maybe there's an intergalatic UN that has policies in place that make our solar system a galatic perserve, with a big "Do Not Feed The Animals" sign in front of the park. Also the reason we don't pick up signals of other civilations is simply due to incompatable technologies, you certainly don't use your a FM radio to hunt down a Wi-Fi connection do you?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Also the reason we don't pick up signals of other civilations is simply due to incompatable technologies, you certainly don't use your a FM radio to hunt down a Wi-Fi connection do you?

Permit me a guess: you're not an engineer.

 

[lamplighter]

Well WiFi is limited to the same spectrum as cordless phones and microwaves, though you could rig a computer's WiFi card to pick up FM. I'ld severly doubt you could rig your stereo without substantial modification for picking up and transmiting WiFi signals.

 

[Ryan2065]

The premise here is that over billions of years, if intelligent life capable of space travel is common, then some evidence of it would inevitably be picked up by someone looking for it, (such as with radio telescopes), or alien visits of the past would have left behind some traces. Since no evidence of such has been found, we can assume at least the intelligent life has not been COMMON in our galaxy over the life of our galaxy.

If you were to go back in time 600 years and take 20 men, put them on a huge island and then tell them to go seek out other humans (note the men are together) they would start looking for humans the way they expect to find them. In an hour fly a plane overhead, then go and ask them if they saw any humans... I bet they would say no.

In the same regard how do we even know we would be able to see a ship flying around through space? Who is to say they even fly around rather than port from planet to planet? And who is to say they really want to make contact with us?

Since we exist, we may assume intelligent life to be common

It would be a bad assumption... Make an assumption on probablility based on 1 case? I could flip a coin and see it land heads... Now using this one case, from your logic, I can assume heads is going to show more than tails... It is a wrong assumption, but it is an assumption.

 

[cardero]

There are two things we must consider as well.
1) That any intelligent life could have been on earth tens of thousands of years before humankind.
2) That with their sophisticated technology they may have discovered ways to travel faster than any theories that we have proposed about space travel.

Both of these examples would require a humble attitude of our sciences and position in this universe.

 

[Willamena]

Does the bible, quran or any other religion make them mention of Intelligent life on other planets? Why would God make the universe which is filled with billions of galaxies, each galaxy containing at least hundreds of billions of stars. Perhaps there are intelligent life on other planets pondering the same philosophical questions as we?

I doubt it mentions them, since the cosmology was different back then: planets were not chunks of rock orbiting stars; stars were not the centres of solar systems; and gods did not make planets and stars --they were them.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

There are two things we must consider as well.
1) That any intelligent life could have been on earth tens of thousands of years before humankind.
2) That with their sophisticated technology they may have discovered ways to travel faster than any theories that we have proposed about space travel.

Both of these examples would require a humble attitude of our sciences and position in this universe.

Since you are making it up as you go along why not just say God was here first then?

 

[HopefulNikki]

Since you are making it up as you go along why not just say God was here first then?

Considering possibilities is not "making it up as you go along." The existance of life beyond Earth does not threaten a belief in God at all.

 

[darkpenguin]

it can't be hard to find intelligent life on other planets given that we are 'intelligent' enough to let people in third world countries die and start wars, surely life should be better than this? think john lennon had it right, we just need to all get round to his way of thinking!

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Considering possibilities is not "making it up as you go along."

Where do you get the possibilities from then if you aren't making them up? For example why do these ET's have to have technology to get arond?

The existance of life beyond Earth does not threaten a belief in God at all.

Of course there is life beyond earth. God after all lives in heaven.

 

[HopefulNikki]

Where do you get the possibilities from then if you aren't making them up?

You get them from your mind, by observing the things around you...if that consitutes "making stuff up" to you, virtually every thought we've ever had constitutes "making stuff up," does it not? Yet I would consider much of that creativity, ingenuity, etc...you make it sound like a negative.

For example why do these ET's have to have technology to get arond?

Who said they did? Are you making that up?

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Who said they did? Are you making that up?

Nope, #post 131.

 

[HopefulNikki]

Nope, #post 131.

Yes, that's one possibility...they may have advanced technology, they may not. There's no reason to assume that they do, however.

 

[logician]

"The existance of life beyond Earth does not threaten a belief in God at all"


Nor would it confirm it.

God concepts, after all, are man-made.