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Originally posted by Xtrozero
Hmm I thought I kind of explain all this, but I would say the odds for us being unique is almost off the scale.
You my friend are under the assumption that since we do not know of other life then we must assume it is not there.
Originally posted by guavas
The universe is timeless - it doesn't matter how - whether God put it here or it Big Bangs itself hundreds of trillions of times over. The universe has all of time, all of space and all of matter to work with. And that's all it needs to render a great deal of extraterrestrial life arguments academic. If it doesn't exist - it has - or it will - or obviously, it currently does.
[edit on 31-10-2007 by guavas]
Originally posted by Nohup
On the other hand, if it's discovered someday that life easily happens (somehow) if you mix a few of the right chemicals for a few years in the right electromagnetic environment, then it will be easier to say that the odds of other living things existing out there are pretty high. Unfortunately, the only way that may be discovered is if somebody manages to create life in a sterile laboratory here on Earth, or if we happen to find it on some other planet. Which makes the whole argument about whether or not life exists elsewhere moot, since it will have been found.
There might be other life out there. Or not. But it would be wrong to just assume there is.
Originally posted by guavas
We're not talking about billions of years here. We're talking about billions upon trillions upon quadrillions of millenia multiplied by factors of itself. Time is so vast, it's conventional meaning and implications are rendered meaningless.
Given enough time, as the universe clearly has, I argue that it is a forgone conclusion all probabilities, fantastic or otherwise, have happened or eventually *will* happen.
"It is well established and becoming more and more clear that the basic organic molecules which seem to have led to the origin of life on Earth -- as best we can reconstruct it -- do seem to be widely distributed in the galaxy. Carbon behaves as if it wants to get together to form complex molecules. There's no question that this stuff is widely available in our galaxy and presumably in the rest of the universe. If all life needs to get going, are these starting materials and a watery place, it's probably common." David Grinspoon, principal scientist in the department of space studies at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo.
www.spacedaily.com...
Originally posted by arkhanum
Given the size of the universe, not to mention all the different stars, planets, etc which astronomers have both SEEN and NOT SEEN, anyone who honestly believes that there is no other intelligent life out there somewhere is either a total idiot or they are deluding themselves out of ignorance and fear.
Originally posted by xEphon
Thats an ironic statement.
First of all, probabilities have a direct correlation to facts.
Probabilities are not "merely" possibilities, as some have been using as an argument for justification against this debate.
It's a false representation of the meaning of a probability. Using that logic a probability of 1:1 would have the same meaning as a probability of 100:1 or 1,000,000:1. If your argument is that they are all "merely" possibilites than the concept of what is probable is meaningless.
Give me 1,000,000,000:1 odds that if I play the lottery tonight I will win and I promise to split half with you - WHEN I win. I'll take my chances and marginalize the IF part of that.
My problem with witnesses is that what they say that they saw may not be the truth; they may have a wrong interpretation of what they saw, they may have seen just an incomplete (and because of that incomprehensible) part of the whole scene, and they may even lie.
Originally posted by Develin
We have witness accounts like the Brown’s who have told the world about their own abduction experience. They describe medical procedures done to them that are now at this time starting to be used. How about the detailed map of the solar system that is now mapping out to be correct. I don’t think they were capable to see into the future or they would have claimed that. This is only one of many accounts.
Scientists announced today (06 Nov 2007) the discovery of a fifth planet in a distant star system that now looks like a "cousin" to our own. The newest member of Cancri 55's family lies within the star's habitable zone, the region around the star within which water can exist in its liquid state.
Another possibility is that a moon in orbit around 55 Cancri's newly confirmed planet could harbor liquid water, and perhaps life, the researchers say. "To go from the first detections of planets around sun-like stars to finding a full-fledged solar system with a planet in a habitable zone in just 12 years is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to the years of hard work put in by these investigators," Briley said.
www.space.com...
Originally posted by ArMaP
Possibilities are possibilities, facts are facts, and the fact is that we haven't found (as far as we know) any clear and unequivocal proof of life outside Earth.
Originally posted by mikesingh
oh boy!! You're sure to get hauled over the coals for this by the skeptics here !! Hope the more intelligent among them get the point! Cheers!