[KewlKidV]

I was looking at the GIF thread about planets and stars and couldn't help but wonder, is there life out there? (I'm not talking about illegal foreigners.)

I personally would think that it'd be impossible for us to be the only ones in the entire universe. It's huge!

(excuse the random topic, I've been on a TOK essay all day -_- )

[KjeAlb]

Even though, as far as i know, there are little to no evidence for it, I believe that there exists aliens :P
though somewhere far far away... I dont believe in the kind of little green men arriving at our planet now and then probing people :P just highly unlikely.
One thing you should also think about if you are interested in aliens are intelligent life... Even though bacteria and plants on other planets would count as living, it's not what we associate with aliens =) Scientists also believe that bacteria is the most likely form of alien we will find x)

[lindieeluieee]

Definitely, in a universe with infinite number of galaxies and solar systems, I don't think the Earth is unique enough to be the only planet able to sustain high intelligence creatures.

[Mr. Shiver]

I think this is one of those topics where I can't help but think "Who cares?" Why not focus on sustaining our own planet and planetary life before worrying about life on others?

This post has been edited by Mr. Shiver: Dec 19, 2008 - 19:15

[Paul]

Mr. Shiver, on Dec 19 2008, 09:14 PM, said:

I think this is one of those topics where I can't help but think "Who cares?" Why not focus on sustaining our own planet and planetary life before worrying about life on others?

Very true, seeing as us humans are quite effectively destroying our own planet. But still, I don't think that that's a reason enough not to entertain yourself with some peculiar questions, provided you don't take it too far. :blush:

Even though the probability of any long-lasting life evolving on a planet is very, very low, I still think that the odds are highly to the favour of some kind of extraterrestial life to be found there somewhere, given the number of planets and asteroids and what-nots... Not even counting all the stuff we can't perceive, eg. dark energy. :P

[geek342]

When I think of space, I think of how much we still do not know. If you consider that other galaxies are millions of light years away then that means that what we're seeing are the galaxies as they were millions of years ago. Who knows how they look now? There may be civilization in some of the planets on those galaxies by now. Conversly, think of what the "aliens" out there are seeing when they look at earth. They may be the only ones with the chance to witness the destruction of the dinosaurs since that could be the light from the earth that might be reaching them right now. It's pretty cool when you think of it, right? I thought about it when I first learnt that it takes about eight minutes for the sun's rays to reach us, which means that when we look at the sun we are seeing it as it was eight minutes ago.

I also think the universe is too vast to have us as the only life forms - intelligent or not.

[KiwiFruit]

We had these people over one time that were trying to convince me that the world was hollow and that aliens lived inside the earth , they had their own internal sun and the center of gravity was not in the middle of the earth but in the crust of the earth so that they would stand with their heads towards the internal sun. The poles are supposedly at the north and south poles when the ice caps are melted.
I couldn't help walk away from this conversation going "WOW", I thought the 911 conspiracy was weird but this tops it.

With an infinite number of solar systems and planets, there can be an infinite number of other living species, for one to think that we are the only ones in this huge galaxy (exemplified by Aboo's old planet video showing the small size of earth in relation to other suns) that is not a balanced or reasoned Point of view, I think many people think because we cant find life forms on other planets in our solar system then they cant exist.

This post has been edited by drewrow: Jan 03, 2009 - 19:18

[avrila]

KewlKidV, on Dec 8 2008, 10:59 PM, said:

I personally would think that it'd be impossible for us to be the only ones in the entire universe. It's huge!

Yes, the universe is huge. But I do not believe in the existence of aliens out there. If they do exist, we do not call it alien. But it may be kind of things that we rarely see. But for alien... I don't think so. It is only our imagination.

[Aether]

If the universe is as big as they claim it to be, then it will be very illogical to be the only planet with life. If this vulnerable planet stops existing, then the universe will be deserted. Dunno... maybe we are just one of a kind :proud: ...

[ImMario]

of course the universe is too big. well this kid i know swears he got abducted by aliens but refuses to talk about it. hes a freakin weirdo now

[v.leighx]

I ' m definitely not going to rule out the possibility of other life out there , because our universe is huge and it ' s physically impossible to search every nook and cranny for any trace of life .

[Eternalx]

I Agree. The universe is big my friend. If there were no aliens i don't know where the rumors arise from.

[Sherry]

The notion of the Universe is to big to comprehend maybe if i was an astronaut or astronomer or something i would be able to decide whether there was aliens. Scientifically (from what i know) i really don't think that aliens exist but there is always that small possibility that should not be ruled out

[greaterthaninfinity]

I personally believe that there are but really - why does that even remotely matter when we'll never get to meet them? They are beyond our grasp; we cannot escape the limitations of time, can we?

[HJ:)]

You never know :D
Aliens??? well there could be. But not the way we think they are.

[Eternalx]

HJ:), on Feb 21 2009, 04:09 PM, said:

You never know :D
Aliens??? well there could be. But not the way we think they are.

That's not entirely correct, this universe is very big and there's always a chance that there are aliens that look like how we described them.

[GNRS]

lindieeluieee, on Dec 19 2008, 07:27 PM, said:

Definitely, in a universe with infinite number of galaxies and solar systems, I don't think the Earth is unique enough to be the only planet able to sustain high intelligence creatures.

drewrow, on Jan 3 2009, 08:18 PM, said:

[...]
With an infinite number of solar systems and planets, there can be an infinite number of other living species, for one to think that we are the only ones in this huge galaxy (exemplified by Aboo's old planet video showing the small size of earth in relation to other suns) that is not a balanced or reasoned Point of view, I think many people think because we cant find life forms on other planets in our solar system then they cant exist.

Well, there aren't infinite galaxies, or solar systems, or planets. The universe is an enormous place, but there is a specific number of stars, planets or whatever. You could think that the Earth isn't a special place, but it is. If we look at planets around us, we can see that we have a wide variety of elements, in comparison to other planets (life is easier on Earth). So, people who thinks that we are alone in universe don't have a very wrong opinion about this.

But I don't think that we are alone. Actually, nowadays there are sudies that can explain a extraterrestrial beginning of life on Earth, through collisions of meteorites with organic matherial on them. If it's true, why would the Earth must be the only one?

Mr. Shiver, on Dec 19 2008, 08:14 PM, said:

I think this is one of those topics where I can't help but think "Who cares?" Why not focus on sustaining our own planet and planetary life before worrying about life on others?

I have to say: How can we look at ourselves if we don't know anything about the others?; I mean, if we don't know what are these objects moving in the sky, we aren't allowed to explain what we are. (For example, if we don't have a general knowledge about art, we can't value a Picasso)

PS: Sorry for my English, I'm not good at it.

This post has been edited by GNRS: Feb 22, 2009 - 02:21

[HJ:)]

Eternal., on Feb 21 2009, 08:43 AM, said:

That's not entirely correct, this universe is very big and there's always a chance that there are aliens that look like how we described them.

well none of us humans actually proved that aliens exists.
so how do we know how they look like? The way we 'imagined' the way they looked might well not be as we imagined it,

[Irene]

Eternal., on Feb 21 2009, 02:43 AM, said:

That's not entirely correct, this universe is very big and there's always a chance that there are aliens that look like how we described them.

The probability of life spontaneously generating, although possible, is close to nil. Multiply that by the way pop culture describes them and... yeah no, it's probably more probable for me to earn some big jackpot lottery ten times.

With that said, given the number of solar systems and galaxies, I think there's life somewhere. We probably just won't find it.

[Melanie]

Well, I don't think aliens exist to be honest. I mean how can you believe in something that no one has proof of explaining? I think that alien stories were told long ago to scare little kids and they turned into people thinking that little green people exist. Aliens, im no opinion, are like the cupacarba(sp?) and the boogie man, creatures that came from pure imagination.