Do you believe in life on other planets? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Hayes]

http://www.space.com/news/cosmic_life_020129-1.html
One interesting point made in this article is: would we recognize life if we saw it?
Does life necasarily have to evolve life the same way it did here on earth? And if it doesnt would we recognize it?
All the more reason to develop ways to get off of this planet and out there to see for ourselves. Althought the robots NASA sends out are amazing technologicly I dont believe there will be any substitute for actual human interaction.

 

[Max Leung]

nice articles!

They're gonna build another array of telescopes? That's cool!

 

[Max Leung]

Call me THREAD KILLER! Mooohahahaha!
Anyhow:
Europa's conditions could nurture life
Ok, so this isn't entirely new.

 

[Dave Morton]

I believe. What makes us so special?
Max, you are not the thread killer

 

[Todd H]

Sure I believe. I mean come on!! Who else could be giving anal probes to backwoods rednecks??

 

[Max Leung]

You'd think the porn industry would have evidence of anal probes by now. Uh, I mean from aliens. :b
I hope you guys read some of the discussion (try reading from page 4 or so)...good stuff here.
Hopefully we can keep this thread alive and force it to be archived.

 

[Shawn C]

How can we possibly understand what is happening on other planets when it wasn't that long ago that some people thought that electricity was witchcraft and the work of the 'devil'?

We need to get our own acts together before passing judgement on what is going on in the rest of the universe.

We have so little understanding about what happens on this planet! Think about it, we really don't have a firm grasp on what is going on here.

Like someone else said..People were convinced that life could not be sustained at the bottom of our oceans. Wrongo. Under tremendous pressure, heat, cold and totally devoid of any kind of light, there is life!

We, as a species, are very arrogant if we think we have things figured out here.

Also, who's the say that we are even the model of intelligent life in the universe? We could be pond scum compared to what is happening on other planets. Sure, humans are the most intelligent species on EARTH, but how would we compare to life on other planets?

 

[Max Leung]

Whoa Shawn..are you saying that, because we know so little, that we shouldn't bother to look?
Saying that we should concentrate on our problems first before trying to figure things out is quite a contradiction. How can you solve a problem through ignorance? Doesn't make sense to me! "We don't have time to figure out agriculture. Let's slash and burn!".
Who would have guessed that the invention of the microscope would lead to the eradication of smallpox? We wouldn't have even known about smallpox (or other diseases) if it weren't for that very inexpensive invention.
"Why should we waste money looking at tiny things with the microscope. We have more important things to worry about!" :rolleyes
BTW, if the telescope was never invented then we would not have the microscope either.
Consider this: The cost of a space probe is a mere pittance against the cost of a single stealth fighter. The amount of wealth that Britney Spears takes in could launch a weather satellites that can track tornadoes and hurricanes. The Hubble space telescope has done more for the advancement of science than a B1 bomber gathering dust in an aircraft hanger.
Sciencific research is CHEAP when compared against almost everything else.

 

[Shawn C]

Oh no, that's not what I meant at all! What I meant was since we don't have a 100% understanding of how life works on our own planet, how can we make assumptions about what is happening on other planets.

Of course we should look and always learn more. I just don't think we should assume that every other planet that can support life needs to be exactly like our own.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

humans are the most intelligent species on EARTH

There are many who would argue this statement. We may be the most dominant presence here, but that doesn't equate to intelligence.

I don't think we need to worry about discovering life on other planets. We need to worry about it discovering us. However, I think putting funding into this kind of space research is a far better use of tax dollars than building weapons.

 

[James D S]

There are many who would argue this statement. We may be the most dominant presence here, but that doesn't equate to intelligence.

Now you have me curious. Who or what would your candidate be for most intelligent?

Inquiring minds want to know. (That is, if that's allowed anymore.)

 

[Max Leung]

Oh sorry Shawn, your message gave me mixed signals. But, at least I didn't direct my response at your specifically.
Most people believe that intelligence is the overseer of emotion, but as far as we've been able to determine, only the opposite is true: Emotion is the guide of reason.
I think that is a factor when we consider the intelligence of a species. The emotions would be shaped by evolution, and raw reason would just be another tool that can aid the survival of a species. I'm inclined to believe that, the more information a species has to process, and the longer the term of information gathering, the more likely we'll see the development of reason over intuition.