What about if Aliens dont exist , and we are it ? LiptonCambell: What would the consequencies be for human kind !! if in the apperent endlessness of the universe, it turns out that Earth is the only place that supports and has evolved life .. what would that mean from the perspective of the big bang theory how does the theory itself explain that life only exists in one area of itself , that in all of its wonders its only here in our solar system that life occurs ? and then how serious an endevour would that then make the Human enterprise ? CoIin: I doubt that very much, Lipton. We've been shown time and time again that we're NOT that special, anthropocentric proclivities notwithstanding. LiptonCambell: Yea, but this is a thought experiment. How do you think humanity would do if they found out that space, all of space, is up for grabs.... LiptonCambell: Lol but that'd only require surrounding the orbit with ads! (would that generate power, kinda like a dysons sphere?) StuckInTheSixties: The premise of this thread is predicated on somehow being able to know, with certainty, that we are alone. That knowledge would require that we could somehow examine the entire universe. If we couldn't examine the entire universe, we couldn't be sure that someone else didn't exist in what part of the universe we didn't examine. It's sort of the cosmological analog of atheism. And like atheism, I ain't buyin' it for lack of proof. CoIin: Fair point. Unless of course we discovered some general law which precludes the possibility of life on other planets which would obviate the need to examine each particular case. This seems unlikely though. I don't think it would make much difference anyway. We're already working on the assumption that we're alone, despite some serious and not-so-serious (see UFO nuts and alien abductees) conjecture about other lifeforms, which until now remains nothing more than conjecture. Innocent until proven guilty. StuckInTheSixties: Perhaps this issue needs to be further ... cough cough ... probed ... preferably at night in some illiterate redneck Alabama farmer's field. * cue the "Deliverance" banjo theme * lavendar_star: The creation of earth was so unique that all the factors came into play that made this planet so special that life only was created here, which may give credence to religious folk or by the same token to science folk. Either way is Earth that special and unique possibly. I think they spotted a planet similar to Earth somewhere else in our solar system, and nothing was spotted in regards to aliens. Furthermore, we only can see our known universe and that there's a possibility of other universes therefore, the possibility of other life forms. I hate to say but I think for the average person probably makes no difference to humankind endeavour we will always keep search or believing. I think there's always need for humankind for there to be more than us out there in space etc but at the same time some of us act as if we are the only species on this planet so how would the great universe be any different. StuckInTheSixties: lavendar says: "I think they spotted a planet similar to Earth somewhere else in our solar system" Um ... no. There's no planet "similar" to Earth in this solar system, other than all four of the inner planets being "rocky" as opposed to "gaseous." lavendar_star: ok, well I said think and that what they said on the news lol, Im not a woman of science but they said they saw a planet twice the size and similar to earth, BBC, sky news, but I'll check again StuckInTheSixties: It's a recently found "exoplanet," one far greater in size than earth. It's interesting news because it appears to be in what they call the "Goldilocks" zone, IE, not too hot, not too cold. But it's much to distant for us to discern much more about it than that. Here's what we're talking about: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205140525.htm lavendar_star: thanks. interesting, Yes it would be impossible to get there any time in our lifetime or in next hundred years but who knows we are a determined race. So if this planet within this solar system which is similar to ours, would the life there be similar to the life on this planet if there is any life there at all? the mind ponders One Bar: The premise of this thread is a thought experiment; thus we are allowed to pretend that we somehow know, with certainty, that aliens don't exist. Even though I suspect that aliens do exist I can't deny that, potential disappointment aside, being unique in the universe would open up fascinating conceptions. When considered in a proper scientific manner any feelings of personal disappointment due to being 'alone in the universe' are eclipsed by these conceptions. Simply accept the universe for what it is and not for what we want it to be. Ammonia is pretty I once bought a lady flowers philosophers don't know owt can I have a go too maam Ms_Mafdet_The Great: "Don’t define your world in black and white, because there is so much hiding amongst the greys." Blackshoes: We have never been alone ..However : You may not agree with whom we share the Universe with or this dimension PuppYofDoom: itd mean we are the first then? itd be our job to spread life throughout the universe and help life adapt and evolve outside of the earth.. unless we all become space republicans then. something like deadspace would happen and humanity is damned. (Post deleted by LiptonCambell ) Blackshoes: (Enrico Fermi, a prominent nuclear physicist of the last century, asked the question, "Where are they? Shouldn't their presence be obvious?" *Given at least 10 billion years for the existence of the Milky Way galaxy, one would think that intelligence would have developed before now - if life were common in the universe. Even at slow interstellar speeds, humans with advanced rocketry skills might be able to explore the galaxy in a few tens of million years. Some have suggested that aliens would choose not to reveal themselves to us. However, Frank Drake estimated that at least 10,000 advanced civilizations exist in the Milky Way. Carl Sagan raised the estimate to 1,000,000. Would all those civilizations stay at home or choose to conceal themselves from us? It seems highly unlikely. It would seem more likely that they do not exist.( http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/ufo.html *That's one theory ? (Edited by Blackshoes) LiptonCambell: Oh, since I now have the ability to remove comments that make no sense, Im gunna do that. Any argument that something was "too precise" to have done by humans is an argument that hasn't been properly researched. For example, the latest edition of "skeptic" explains HOW humans do precision work, rather than aliens. You're simply unwilling to do the research These methods are thousands of years old, and have been discovered independently by multiple cultures. Refusing to acknowledge basic history to make your position seem stronger is no longer going to be tolerated- keep that garbage on the garbage threads. (Edited by LiptonCambell) | Science Chat Room 2 People Chatting Similar Conversations |