ALIENS!

[libertyminded]

Are there other intelligent species out there?

Does it matter if there are?

There's been countless sightings of unexplainable lights in the sky and shady behavior by government officials in relation to such sightings.

As a species, we've long theorized about the prospects of discovering, or being discovered by another space faring species.

What are the implications of there being other intelligent life out there?

Should we, as a species, be planning for the day when we meet another form of intelligent life?

What are your thoughts on how we should handle such an encounter?

Personally I think that the odds are stacked in favor of the existance of other intelligent life.

Consider:

Our galaxy alone contains 50 billion stars with maybe several million of these solar systems containing planets like ours. There are also 100 billion galaxies in this universe that we've found so far, each of them with their own compliment of millions if not billions of worlds. All together that means 500 trillion stars. Be conservative and say that 1% of those stars have solar systems like ours. That's 5 trillion. Now say that 1% of those solar systems have planets that could sustain life. That's 50 billion. Go a step further and say that 1% of those planets have been around long enough in the right conditions to develop intellegent life. That leaves the posibillity of at least 500 million solar systems that could have intelligent organisms on them. And that's just what we can verify exists.

Once you start to wrap your head around these numbers (no one can really comprehend them but you can understand them in the abstract) you will see that life as a random occurrence is not only possible, it is inevitable and has no doubt been happening forever and will continue to happen forever.

What are your thoughts?

[mlingley]

I believe there has to be life out there somewhere. I do not think any have visited this planet. I believe that the government probably has secret technologies that could explain some real UFO sightings.. others are probably natural phenomenon

[antayla]

Christ, humans haven't even figured out how to talk to eachother, let alone aliens . Let's hope the aliens haven't gotten here yet, cause it's damned embarrassing...

[laserkid]

Yes I believe its possible Thank the Drake Equation for my reasons.

[NotScientific]

Life elsewhere exists and that's nearly for sure. I'll post my 4 part article about future of human beings here at Not Scientific Science column in a couple of weeks. Look out for it.

[shunyadragon]

So far there is not any hard evidence of extraterrestrial intelligent life traveling to our solar system. All the evidence presented so far is specualative and based on conspiracies and 'There is no other known explanation, therefore there must be aliens.' Until there is concrete evidence I will reserve judgement.

I believe there is life on other planets, and most likely intelligence life on many planets through out the history of the universe. The universe is so huge and the time so vaste that the intelligent life would most likely never reach us even if they were capable of space travel. If they were so advanced that they could travel vaste distances in a short tim, they would make us look like primative Stone Age people.

[Impenitent]

as long as they get green cards before they go to work...

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Impenitent,)
as long as they get green cards before they go to work...<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

If they show up they will probably giving us green cards.

[tman_ndsu08]

there is no reason for us to exist...to my best guess is that there are others like us...for no reason

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (tman_ndsu08,)
there is no reason for us to exist...to my best guess is that there are others like us...for no reason<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Weak attempt at a Zen statment.

Meaningless.

[mooseboy84]

yes there are aliens that exist. i also belive that there are aliens that have visted earth. there are sightings that have been caught on tape by nasa of "strange" things orbiting earth. numerous astronauts, cosmoauts, pilots and people have claimed too see things like space ships. im not talking about anal probes, just space ships.

if you take 99% of "alien" sightings as fakes or things that can be explained through conventional science. that is 1% of real unexplained things that science cannot account for. for those too dense to understand or think aliens dont exist; think of someone like bill gates whos net worth is $70 billon dollars. take away 99% of his worth and that is $70 million dollars.
now is there anyone on this website that would not want 1% of bill gates net worth?

i once saw some lecture where this woman said aliens didnt exist. what hubris most someone have to make such a statement? einstien proved that if you traveled at at the speed of light you could transcend time. in terms of human exsistence on earth for 100,000 years-- and modern man for the last 5,000 years or so -- is a nano second in cosmic time. most people dont realise when you look at the stars, its not the light shining from them live, its light that left them aloooonnnnngggggggg time ago. if humans exsist on earth, the probability is just too large in an expanding universe to say that in another galaxy that there arnt factors to allow another type of "human" or other living intelligent beings to be out there.

basiclly, aliens exist and there alot more evidence of there existence than there is for "god".

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (mooseboy84,)
yes there are aliens that exist. i also belive that there are aliens that have visted earth. there are sightings that have been caught on tape by nasa of "strange" things orbiting earth. numerous astronauts, cosmoauts, pilots and people have claimed too see things like space ships. im not talking about anal probes, just space ships.

if you take 99% of "alien" sightings as fakes or things that can be explained through conventional science. that is 1% of real unexplained things that science cannot account for. for those too dense to understand or think aliens dont exist; think of someone like bill gates whos net worth is $70 billon dollars. take away 99% of his worth and that is $70 million dollars.
now is there anyone on this website that would not want 1% of bill gates net worth?


basiclly, aliens exist and there alot more evidence of there existence than there is for "god".<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

There is not any hard evidence for either and I believe in God.

Please refer to a source that can present hard tangible physical evidence for extraterrestrial intelligent life capable of space travel. Videos and testimony do not count.

[tman_ndsu08]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (shunyadragon,)
</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (tman_ndsu08,)
there is no reason for us to exist...to my best guess is that there are others like us...for no reason<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Weak attempt at a Zen statment.

Meaningless.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

that's just like...your opinion, man....

my whole point was that whatever special happened so that we evolved the way we did is obviously not that special...

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (tman_ndsu08,)


that's just like...your opinion, man....

my whole point was that whatever special happened so that we evolved the way we did is obviously not that special...<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

That sounds better. How you word it makes a difference. Stating that evolution is nothing special and a part of the natural course of the universe ( and possibly many worlds like ours) is different than saying something does not have a purpose. Reason and purpose is another debate and an interesting one.

I agree.

[bmaestro]

First off, I think that its highly possible that in multiple places in the universe, inteligent life has, or does currently exist. However, we all fantisize about these incredibly advanced civilizations whith the capability of traveling anywhere in the universe on a beam of light. We can't do it, we have theory but no real method for acheiving such a feat. Why should we assume that theres some extraterrestrial civilization that can achieve this kind of thing?

Another point, if anyone has read carl sagan's book contact, or seen the movie, theres a really interesting notion brought up there. It seems like there's a possibility of consciousness traveling at the speed of light, where physical matter cannot because mass dilates and it takes an infinite amount of energy to make that last bit of acceleration.

If theres some truth to the whole traveling conciousness thing, I think that we have been visited, and are in contact with other beings, (read up on native american shamanism, i kidna think we've done the same at points). But as for hollywood, aliens showing up in physical spacecrafts after traveling for light-years, its so doubtful. We're again employing the anthropomorphic fallacy to say that some extraterrestrial culture would be as material-based as ours, and incredibly technologically advanced.

I know this sort of goes back to contrasting science with philosophy, but its an interesting notion. What do you think?

B

[mlingley]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (shunyadragon,)

There is not any hard evidence for either and I believe in God.

Please refer to a source that can present hard tangible physical evidence for extraterrestrial intelligent life capable of space travel. Videos and testimony do not count.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Maybe there is more evidence than we think..

"Clinton aide slams Pentagon's UFO secrecy"
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/10/22/u...ords/index.html

[NotScientific]

CNN has a pretty reputation of giving news that viewers find spicy. Don't let you get fooled by these media.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (mlingley,)
</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (shunyadragon,)

There is not any hard evidence for either and I believe in God.

Please refer to a source that can present hard tangible physical evidence for extraterrestrial intelligent life capable of space travel. Videos and testimony do not count.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Maybe there is more evidence than we think..

"Clinton aide slams Pentagon's UFO secrecy"
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/10/22/u...ords/index.html<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Maybe, maybe, maybe . . .

means absolutely nothing.

Take it to the bank.

[mlingley]

My only point is this: If a former Clinton aide is slamming the pentagon for secrecy that must mean they were denied access. Access to what? And it isn't like CNN just made the story up.. John Podesta really is involved in a campaign to release secret Government documents.

Has anyone in here ever seen a UFO?

[mooseboy84]

that thing that happened in that cnn link in arizona is real. i have a friend that lives in az and he said his family as well as everyone in his school and town talked about it and the government coverup afterwards.