Are We the Only Life in this vast Galaxy? (page 3)

nuthouse escapee

Interesting topic. I believe that there is other life out there. To think we are the be-all and end-all is rather arrogant IMHO. If a god created it all it does not seem to make sense for this to be the only planet with life on it. If it got here by a big bang or some other theory of choice, I still don't see how this would negate the possibility of some form of life out there. Just because we haven't discovered it YET, does not mean it doesn't exist. (commence booing and throwing tomatoes now lol) - Leslie -

still thinking

I don't see why there wouldn't be intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe. Why wouldn't there be? We evolved because we had conditions that made it possible. The universe is full of carbon based material so given the right envoronment it could evolve elsewhere too.

There is always the chance that other forms of life are possible, that are able to evolve under completely different conditions to ours.

I'm just not convinced the life out there would look like us. But, it is possible.

King Solomon

Well, if I DID believe in God and the Bible (and I don't), I'd also HAVE to believe that we were all there is in the Universe, since the Bible lists a cast of characters, and 'space aliens' aren't in the list of credits.

Remember, the threat from the heliocentric theory of Galileo was that it challenged the concept of mankind being center stage, the focus of Gods creation, with heaven right above so God could observe mankind and be intimately involved in every detail of our lives, giving us his undivided attention. The thought that we WEREN'T center stage offended the Church, as an affront to the collective ego. However, THAT'S the assumption under which the Bible was written, and introducing the idea alien life (other children God didnt tell us about?) is going off-script of the Bible.

The sheer great odds of life elsewhere challenges the narcissism of thinking we're the best this universe has to offer ("the end all, be all", as Leslie said).

Leslie said:

"If it got here by a big bang or some other theory of choice, I still don't see how this would negate the possibility of some form of life out there. Just because we haven't discovered it YET, does not mean it doesn't exist. (commence booing and throwing tomatoes now lol) - Leslie -"

No tomatoes thrown, as I agree: the time to worry about things like whether alien life forms exist is where there's a good reason to believe they actually DO exist, and not a moment before. Why worry about life that MAY be on a distant planet when there's no evidence to suggest it? And the minds of us humans have been so besottled by thoughts of alien invasion threats in sci-fi movies, some yahoo is going to shoot the darn things, triggering interplanetary war, anyway!

Thats also the reason why I don't believe in God(s), etc.

You don't worry about things which, even if the odds are great that they DO exist (eg life on other Planets, which is magnitudes more probable than an all-powerful being who always WAS, and without a maker), aren't worth considering until there IS evidence to suggest that they DO exist (and an old series of scrolls hardly qualifies, no more than a stack of 200 yr old postcards referring to the same God do).

DarioKehl

Answer to this thread's title: Improbable.

DarioKehl

Drake Equation. Nerd time!

$N = R^{\ast} \cdot f_p \cdot n_e \cdot f_{\ell} \cdot f_i \cdot f_c \cdot L$

DarioKehl

I love you, wikipedia!

where:

N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible;

and

R * = the average rate of star formation per year in our galaxy

f p = the fraction of those stars that have planets

n e = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f l = the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point

f i = the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life

f c = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space [ 5 ]

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EntirelyPossible

Life in the broad sense?

I really doubt it.

Come on, BTW, I am sure there are alien broads out there somewhere. What an alien broad might look like....

notjustyet

Kurtbethel,

You said

" At best, we can see about 6000 stars without a telescope, so billions of billions of them would never be visible to us. They were not created for us to enjoy. The Watchtower claim of there being no life elsewhere has no factual basis."

Playing Devils advocate here, why would billions and bilions of them never be visable to us?

Where is the evidence to show that we are not designed to be smart enough to create a telescope that would in turn enable us to see stars that we could not see with our naked eye?

I do not believe in a creator, and as I said "I'm playing Devils advocate here and think that is a valid question a creationist would throw your way regarding that thought you made above.

NJY

prologos

satanus: I got news for you, we are the center of the universe--- so is everyone else. we all (or our plasma) were in the big bang singularity and have moved outward through time and space ever since. so look in all direction from here, and the universe is more or less evenly far away in all directions, even the + 3dg k background noise. so, those beings from the 14 billion away cum old galacy recently seen, look at us and we are in their sight, as we were 14 billion years ago. Is there carbon-oxigen based life on all those begnin bodies? only if the creator started the flame of life there, because having the elements is no guarantie that life starts spontaneously at all. No space body we have investigated has shown life. Would our lesson from rebellion, as spun in the bible, need to be urgently communicated to that new emerging life, if out there? no hurry, only very few star are within 6000+1000 lightyears from here to send a message. Prayer and God's messages are instanteneous, as we read in the bible. But, there is no better teacher than experience( even the billions year old Son of God learned well on this earth,( was made perfect no less) so why not let the other creations also learn by themselfs?

All components of creation Here serves a purpose, surely all those balls rotating and revolving out there are not just spinning toy tops. blessing:

ps: thats why we like ballgames, soccer golf, base and baseless ball: Like father like daughter.

Paralipomenon

When you consider the timeline of human civilization contrasted against the age of some of the stellar bodies, we don't even register as a blip.

This is a facinating mind exercise.

An entire civilization could have formed, evolved, became space faring and eventually acheive higher a higher state of mind before our sun even formed.

I enjoy the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for its view on the universe. A place where everything has been discovered and mastered that the majority of life is bored. Humanity has been discovered but are merely classified as "Mostly Harmless", not worthy of any attention.

Given a long enough timeline, if a species attained true immortality and mastery over space, matter and time I can see them envying creatures that have the ability to die. Living forever never appealed to me, at some point it would eventually become a prison.

Are We the Only Life in this vast Galaxy?

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