Do you believe other intelligent life exists?

You'd both probably find the first newscientist article i linked to earlier (about the definition of 'alien') really interesting, it goes into just what you two are talking about with regard to science philosophy, and the boundary between the two.

 

There are other Earth-like planets out there. How can we assume that there is nothing beyond this planet?

 

the most earth-like planet we've found would be venus, really. The extrasolar planets we find have all been a lot larger, mostly because they're easier to see.

Eventually it would be exciting if we started finding little rocks around little yellow suns with a bit of fuzzy blur around them with a nice spectral signature, but that might still be a long way off =( i hope we get the tech for that soon and find a whole buttload of blue marbles!

 

I firmly believe that the biggest piece of proof that other intelligent life exists is that none of it has tried to contact us.

 

no, this was alluding to what i was arguing

yes i can, this was my example to how the imagination and possibilities are achieved, also alluded to the fact that you have to be opened minded.

i didnt argue about validity on a grounds equal to science at all, my argument was that i believed in life other than us and that science may never reach that point of discovery, thats my belief i did not argue that science was wrong and that my 'made up answer' was just as good, people will have their own idea, and with discoveries already happening, ive based my idea off that.

well obviously, im not arguing against that, my argument was that science may never reach a point where it can explain everything, and i'm alittle guilty for going on the attack cause i thought you said being gay was a choice

 

I just wish we had more intelligent life on Earth lol Starting with where I work....

 

That still does not make natural processes the same as human creations, no matter how much fantasy you apply to it.
Open-mindedness is fine as long as you can support it with logic.

well obviously, im not arguing against that, my argument was that science may never reach a point where it can explain everything, and i'm alittle guilty for going on the attack cause i thought you said being gay was a choice[/QUOTE]
Then it seems I misunderstood your position as well, my apologies.:icon_wink

 

I went with the first answer on the poll ("Yes! Absolutely! There is all kinds of life out there!"), but I want to add to it.

I think it is entirely possible that there is "intelligent" life beyond Earth. There is too much space in this reality for me to even be able to think that we're "alone".

 

I think, statistically, life elsewhere in the universe is a definite. 100 billions+ stars in our galaxy alone, billions of galaxies, most much bigger than ours, 14 billions years of universal evolution. When you're looking at numbers like that, you can't deny the existance of life elsewhere.
Do I believe we'll ever know of extra terrestrial life? Not really. The sheer size of the universe prevents any kind of contact between solar systems, even those close to each other. Who knows, maybe yesterday some civilisation 5 stars over sent out a message. But we wouldn't recieve that message for a million years. Tomorrow we might recieve some kind of message from a distant star, but the senders of the message will be long exinct, and without any previous contact between us, we wouldn't be able to make any sense of the message. We probably wouldn't even notice it.
I think it's a very jarring and depressing thought that there could be intelligent life somewhere, but that we'll never even know they exist.

 

Given the size of the universe, I think it is probable (but nowhere near certain) that life exists elsewhere; however, I think that we are extremely unlikely to find it or vice versa (due to, again, the size of the universe and our current technology), that it is unlikely to be sapient like we are (due to my religious views, though I've no idea if they are/n't representetive of most Christians). I wish the poll had "probably", "possibly", and "maybe" options.

 

i agree with the theory there is 99.9% chance other intelligent life exsists, but untill we master faster than light travel, we have 99.9% of never meeting them

 

There is a sharp line; it's language. Animals don't have language, they simply have communication.

And about other "intelligent" life forms--I can't know that. I don't believe and I don't really care, either... I guess my universe really is solipsistic. *shrugs* It would be cool, I guess, but I'm just not inclined to believing in it, even if there was scientific "proof." I mean, science is just another system of belief, the same as religion--you have to believe in science for it to be true. So, even if there was scientific "proof," I would be just as disinclined to believe.

 

Yes I do, because if the universe is infinit then there must also be an infinit number of planets supporting intelligent life. How could there be a finite number in an infinit place? That doesn't seem possible.

 

You're right, if the universe is infinite. We don't know whether it extends infinitely with the same content as what we can see, but the major theories don't make that assumption at all, and it seems unlikely to me that it does.

 

Oh ok thanks for letting me know, but whatever is out there I still think there is intelligent life.

 

I am still skeptical on whether intelligent life exists on this planet. :lol:

 

Not only is it ridiculous for us to assume we are alone it is mathematically impossible for us to be alone in the universe.

 

Statistically, I consider it highly probable that other life exists somewhere.
Considering the near-infinite diversity of life on this planet, and the data we already have on the probable amounts of earth-like planets in the galaxy, it's all but certain that there's at least some other places that have life.

And that's even assuming there aren't any vastly different kinds of life possible elsewhere.

Too bad that the distances are enormous and the current understanding of the laws of physics preclude meeting or communicating with them. Even assuming meaningful communication could happen in the first place. If they experience the universe in a vastly different way, we might only be able to compare raw science data, and never really form friendships or the likes.


In any case: I'd also like to offer one of my favourite books as suggested reading material here: "Star Maker" by Olaf Stapledon. It's a novel that reads like a textbook (in fact, the plot spans millions of years and mainly consists of descriptions of different planets), but I've never read a more inspiring thought experiment on what kinds of life there might be out there.