Do you believe we are alone in the universe?

The universe is far, far, far too big and ancient a place to reasonably rule out life elsewhere. Even if the galaxy is currently lacking intelligent life other than our own (and I'm not convinced it is - our expectations of what intelligent life should be doing with itself is, obviously, prejudiced toward our own ideals), I don't think it was nor will be. I'm also much more optimistic about FTL.

 

[Zardnaar]

They may very well have, and more than once. It was a much rougher world back then. There would be no trace left of a sentient dinosaur race after all this time, even if there were some that made it to some tech use.

Fossils maybe, without digits though even if they were sentient their tool use would be limited to things like parrots using sticks to get grubs and things like that. I did read a fiction book about one of the last smaller species of Dinosaurs was going down that path, which was the intro and then boom no more Dinosaurs.

We may have evolved because of that asteroid though (or anything else that got/contributed to the Dinosaurs). Just wonder if any of our p[ets might evolve sentience due to things like diets, genetic tampering and/or selective breeding to speed evolution along.

Is there any somewhat viable theories when life could have evolved assuming we are not the 1st. COuld the conditions on Earth be replicated somewhere else a billion or more years somewhere else?

 

[Ryujin]

Just wonder if any of our pets might evolve sentience due to things like diets, genetic tampering and/or selective breeding to speed evolution along.

You just stated the plot of the original "Planet of the Apes" movies (1968-1973).

 

[Zardnaar]

You just stated the plot of the original "Planet of the Apes" movies (1968-1973).

I'm thinking more like cats and dogs. Sentient cat with nukes. Meow.

 

[Maxperson]

That’s not true. Bacteria as a species, heck most plants as a species are far far more successful than any vertebrate.

Except yes it is. I didn't claim most had intelligence. I pointed out how many did. Just because intelligence is an adaption for survival, doesn't mean that every type of life will evolve it.

 

[Maxperson]

If that were true there would be plenty more intelligent species on Earth. The truth is, intelligence is definitely not needed for survival. There are species on this planet which predate us and will likely outlast us. When it comes to evolutionary survivability, we are not the top of the pyramid.

If it wasn't true, we wouldn't have intelligence. Traits are selected for survival and intelligence aids in that. It also doesn't have to be the absolute best survival trait in order to be a survival trait. Intelligence also doesn't have to work in order to be a superior trait. Underdogs win all the time. The species you suggest will survive us do not have a chance at diverting an asteroid that will destroy them, or even detecting it in the first place. We do, because intelligence. We may not succeed, but we have that chance to survive because of our brains.

Intelligence being a survival trait is all over the place.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...st/201003/how-did-general-intelligence-evolve

http://meti.org/may-2016-workshop/a...lligent-not-sentient-what-evolution-cognition

 

[Umbran]

If it wasn't true, we wouldn't have intelligence.

Gentlemen, if I may.

First, make darned sure that you are talking about the same thing when you say, "intelligence".

Second, *ALL* "survival traits" are context dependent. Gills are a survival trait if you live under water. Not so much for a terrestrial species. This means that sometimes, being smart will be good for a species, and sometimes it won't be.

Specifically, big brains are *expensive*. They require huge amounts of time to develop (compare how long it takes a newborn horse to walk, as compared to a human), during which time the young is mostly helpless, and the adults are tied up in care. In addition, really intelligent brains are energy-intensive. A human brain takes up about 2% of our mass, but burns about 20% of our body's energy. If you don't need and use the smarts, reducing brain size can save you a lot of energy. A dumb species may win over a smart one just on the basis of energy efficiency.

Third, let us note that evolution is neither directed, no comprehensive. Development of any given trait is largely a matter of random accidents lining up over millions of years. But, even over those millions of years, nature is not guaranteed to try everything. Development of intelligence, therefore, is by no means *assured*, even if it would be a useful adaptive trait.

 

[Roland Bradford]

Our universe is immense, so it is quite possible

 

[Ryujin]

I'm thinking more like cats and dogs. Sentient cat with nukes. Meow.

I don't think that they'd make it out of the basic explosives stage of development. They couldn't resist knocking them off the workbench.

 

[Hussar]

Except yes it is. I didn't claim most had intelligence. I pointed out how many did. Just because intelligence is an adaption for survival, doesn't mean that every type of life will evolve it.

Thing is, in comparison, intelligence is definitely in the minority of species. Plants, anything single celled, and most insect species combined vastly outnumber the number of intelligent species. Sure, intelligence is one survival trait, but, hardly the most successful from the point of view of a species. From a numbers game, the number of intelligent species, and even if we just posit the intelligence of a dog, is a tiny, tiny fraction of the species on the planet currently and we live in a virtual desert of biodiversity compared to previous eras.

 

[Maxperson]

Thing is, in comparison, intelligence is definitely in the minority of species. Plants, anything single celled, and most insect species combined vastly outnumber the number of intelligent species. Sure, intelligence is one survival trait, but, hardly the most successful from the point of view of a species. From a numbers game, the number of intelligent species, and even if we just posit the intelligence of a dog, is a tiny, tiny fraction of the species on the planet currently and we live in a virtual desert of biodiversity compared to previous eras.

That doesn't matter, though. Intelligence IS a survival trait just as I claimed it was. Nature does select for it, even if not in most species. The same can be said for the ability to camouflage like a chameleon or octopus. It's a great, handy dandy survival trait that is only in a few species. Being in a few species doesn't mean that it isn't an elite ability. For intelligence at least, it's also very hard to reach, which limits how many species have such a great survival trait.