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.

 

[Shasarak]

Are we alone?

If the Fermi paradox is correct then we must be alone. Otherwise given the age and size of the Universe it should be teeming with life.

Although to be honest the Alien Zoo idea is hilarious.

 

[Imaculata]

All ‘aliens’ are 100% human fabrications.

When we talk about aliens, we are talking about "life outside our planet".

I would not call that fabrication. I would call it speculation.

We never met any alien, there is zero evidence of any alien, and our discussing them results 100% from our active human imaginations.

Just because we speculate about the existence of life on other worlds, does not mean that they are complete fabrications, or equal to creatures on our own planet that are clearly made up.

You do not need to have witnessed a life form, to speculate about its existence elsewhere. For example, can you say with 100% certainty that there is no microbial life on any other planet than our own?

People in our century speculate that aliens might be possible, based on our contemporary worldview mythology.

No, we speculate on the existence of alien life based on our understanding of biology, evolution, and the universe, not mythology.

 

[Umbran]

The other apes have been around as long as we have − and all of them failed to make the ‘jump’.

You seem to be missing the point - you can't go from having the brain of a sea cucumber to doing calculus in one fell swoop. The rate of production of technological species will be dependent on the rate of production of *nearly* technological species.

The human proves to be unique.

At the moment. But do remember that to start with, Modern Humans had other tool-using competition. The Neanderthal or the Denisovans could well have been the ones who made it, instead of us. It is quite possible that Earth produces several hominid species that fit the bill, but only one survived intact to the present day.

Oh, and here's one for you - the signs of civilization on the surface of a tectonically active planet should last about 3 million years, after which, they will have either been eroded or buried away. If there were species of dinosaurs that made it up to stone-age tech, we likely would never know. Speculative, but a point worth making - our window for recognizing when there has been intelligence is large on human terms, but limited in geological ones.

 

[Yaarel]

You seem to be missing the point - you can't go from having the brain of a sea cucumber to doing calculus in one fell swoop. The rate of production of technological species will be dependent on the rate of production of *nearly* technological species.



At the moment. But do remember that to start with, Modern Humans had other tool-using competition. The Neanderthal or the Denisovans could well have been the ones who made it, instead of us. It is quite possible that Earth produces several hominid species that fit the bill, but only one survived intact to the present day.

Oh, and here's one for you - the signs of civilization on the surface of a tectonically active planet should last about 3 million years, after which, they will have either been eroded or buried away. If there were species of dinosaurs that made it up to stone-age tech, we likely would never know. Speculative, but a point worth making - our window for recognizing when there has been intelligence is large on human terms, but limited in geological ones.

Chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans all descend from the same ancestor.

Only humans became accidentally intelligent.

The evidence is overwhelming. To become an intelligent species is extremely improbable.

 

[Shasarak]

The human proves to be unique.

Are we including Neanderthals and Denisovans as different species to (modern) humans? I mean are we just looking at survivor bias?

 

[Yaarel]

When we talk about aliens, we are talking about "life outside our planet".

I would not call that fabrication. I would call it speculation.



Just because we speculate about the existence of life on other worlds, does not mean that they are complete fabrications, or equal to creatures on our own planet that are clearly made up.

You do not need to have witnessed a life form, to speculate about its existence elsewhere. For example, can you say with 100% certainty that there is no microbial life on any other planet than our own?



No, we speculate on the existence of alien life based on our understanding of biology, evolution, and the universe, not mythology.

Our *understanding* of biology, evolution, and the universe − is our mythology − the paradigms by which we organize, interpret, and experience our universe.

If tomorrow there is a paradigm shift, it can easily be, a consensus emerges saying aliens are strictly impossible.

 

[Yaarel]

Are we including Neanderthals and Denisovans as different species to (modern) humans? I mean are we just looking at survivor bias?

All of these species descend from Australopithecus. Whether taxonomy should classify Australopithecus as human is currently a hot topic. But whatever the future consensus, any intelligent species in this particular branch of species happens to also be part of our own ‘human’ family.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If technological communication is possible at all, then it would have already happened.

Non necessarily. The means required to transmit information that can bridge the gap in space and time may not be able to be received y our current technology. Imagine, if you will, beaming the celebrations from New Year’s Eve 2018 to one of the Paleolithic societies in Earth’s more isolated regions.

Absent their own version of The Professor making a digital receiver & flat screen tv from coconuts, they simply won’t be able to get the message.

 

[Yaarel]

Non necessarily. The means required to transmit information that can bridge the gap in space and time may not be able to be received y our current technology. Imagine, if you will, beaming the celebrations from New Year’s Eve 2018 to one of the Paleolithic societies in Earth’s more isolated regions.

Absent their own version of The Professor making a digital receiver & flat screen tv from coconuts, they simply won’t be able to get the message.

I am saying this hypothetical alien species must be extremely technologically advanced − even if only a thousand years older than us. This technology probably includes updating their own brain to become superhumanly intelligent, since otherwise their own technology would outmode them and replace them as the intelligent species.

If possible at all, this hypothetical alien species would already have the capability to detect us and know how to communicate with us.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I am saying this hypothetical alien species must be extremely technologically advanced − even if only a thousand years older than us. This technology probably includes updating their own brain to become superhumanly intelligent, since otherwise their own technology would outmode them and replace them as the intelligent species.

If possible at all, this hypothetical alien species would already have the capability to detect us and know how to communicate with us.

The problem remains: the methods by which they can communicate with us may not be capable of bridging the gap; the technology that can bridge the gap may not yet be perceiveable by us.

Further, you’re assuming they recognize us as being intelligent enough* worth talking to. When was the last time someone discussed Proust with a parrot?





* or safe enough. If they perceive us as a threat, they may take the Greg Bear approach, and simply be quiet in the bandwidths we monitor.