Do you believe there is life in the universe besides ours here on earth?

[Procrustes Stretched]

I believe it is probable. Though I tend to neglect belief in favor of evidence based conclusions.

possible or probable?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

to assume we (human and non human) are the only life out there in this vast universe..... is arrogant and foolish.

of course that only applies when one is ignorant of time and space. the stars and planets we see are so far away. would life if it existed still exist? and are we speaking of intelligent life with a self awareness?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Or do you believe we are the only life in an endless sea of planets & stars?

I believe in possibilities and probabilities. It is highly possible, but not as probable as possible that life exists somewhere else. It is also possible and highly probable that most life 'out there' has spent it's load

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Yes but not like what we think.

And what of dimensions? We exist in 4 dimensions, but there may be an abundance of life in 5, or 6, or more, that we simply could not perceive.

dimensions in our universe or other universes?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

As a side note I've heard endless logical arguments for why life could exist elsewhere but not a single argument with merit as to why it can't.

The issue is, that if it does, we will never encounter it, operating under the rules of physics we are currently bound by. Too great of distances, too much radiation.

Intelligent life? If intelligent life existed that could travel here, they'd be so more far advanced than we are I'd have to wonder about most everything in the way of discussion of what kind of intelligence, what kind of travel, what the fuck...

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

It is estimated that there are approximately 8 billion likely habitable planets in our Milky Way Galaxy alone and there are billions more galaxies out there. To think that we must be or likely are the only planet with intelligent life on it is a pretty self-centered, egotistical view of the universe.
So, I definitely believe that there is intelligent life out there in the universe.

Intelligent life? Hmm... If we believe in randomness and chaos, maybe not so egotistical.

You assume people who doubt intelligent life exists are egotistical. Now that is narrow minded and ignorant

 

[rightwinger]

We likely started out as "slime" and our planet is young compared to the majority of the universe so why couldn't intelligent (term used loosely) have evolved elsewhere?

Too many geologic and climatic factors come into play to have a planet that cannot only create life but sustain it over millions of years

I don't like the odds

Considering the universe is hundreds of billions of years old sustaining life for a mere 1 million years doesn't seem too far fetched.

It takes just the right mixture to create and sustain life. Any asteroid or ecological disaster can wipe it out. Life is fragile....a rock floating in space is not

I believe there is other life out there......but an intelligent life form capable of modifying it's environment is a long shot

We are like winning the lottery in terms of life forms

 

[Uncensored2008]

dimensions in our universe or other universes?

If we were to speculate a 5 or greater dimension universe, it would be a superset of our own. Dr. Lisa Randal explained it that it would be like a line on a paper attempting to conceive of a tree. If X and Y are all that is in existence, then perceiving a Z axis would be impossible. But as we can see the line and perceive a two dimensional "world," so might 5,6,7 dimensional entities be able to perceive our 4 dimensional reality.

Or perhaps their are billions of over-lapping brane worlds? Perhaps the higher dimensions give no rise to perception, but instead serve as a medium for infinite universes? Stephen Hawkings was a proponent of this view, but it has lost popularity.

 

[Gracie]

Thure ith a wathe of thpace if we are the only oneth.

(Yeth, I aim to type like thith until my fayth ith no longer numb).

 

[G.T.]

Im pretty confident theres life out there based on probability alone.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

dimensions in our universe or other universes?

If we were to speculate a 5 or greater dimension universe, it would be a superset of our own. Dr. Lisa Randal explained it that it would be like a line on a paper attempting to conceive of a tree. If X and Y are all that is in existence, then perceiving a Z axis would be impossible. But as we can see the line and perceive a two dimensional "world," so might 5,6,7 dimensional entities be able to perceive our 4 dimensional reality.

Or perhaps their are billions of over-lapping brane worlds? Perhaps the higher dimensions give no rise to perception, but instead serve as a medium for infinite universes? Stephen Hawkings was a proponent of this view, but it has lost popularity.

String theory?

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Too many geologic and climatic factors come into play to have a planet that cannot only create life but sustain it over millions of years

I don't like the odds

Considering the universe is hundreds of billions of years old sustaining life for a mere 1 million years doesn't seem too far fetched.

It takes just the right mixture to create and sustain life. Any asteroid or ecological disaster can wipe it out. Life is fragile....a rock floating in space is not

I believe there is other life out there......but an intelligent life form capable of modifying it's environment is a long shot

We are like winning the lottery in terms of life forms

It is also theorized that rocks from space can bring life not just destroy it. Some believe that is how life here began. There are lifeforms on earth that can reanimate after being frozen, both bacterial and multicelled life.

 

[Pop23]

Or do you believe we are the only life in an endless sea of planets & stars?

I'd say the odds favor it, they also favor that I'll be long dead before we find out for sure!

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

dimensions in our universe or other universes?

If we were to speculate a 5 or greater dimension universe, it would be a superset of our own. Dr. Lisa Randal explained it that it would be like a line on a paper attempting to conceive of a tree. If X and Y are all that is in existence, then perceiving a Z axis would be impossible. But as we can see the line and perceive a two dimensional "world," so might 5,6,7 dimensional entities be able to perceive our 4 dimensional reality.

Or perhaps their are billions of over-lapping brane worlds? Perhaps the higher dimensions give no rise to perception, but instead serve as a medium for infinite universes? Stephen Hawkings was a proponent of this view, but it has lost popularity.

and then again, maybe not. that is the point. Stephen Hawking has been wrong before and he will be wrong again.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Yes.

So far, nothing discovered in the universe is unique. And where life can exist, as here on Earth, it does exist and in millions of varities.

Now that we're discovering planets orbiting stars is the rule and not the exception, it's sensible to conclude it's only a matter of time before extraterrestial life is confirmed. My money's on within our own solar system. Probably just microscopic stuff, but still. If Earth was 'seeded' by impacting meteors, other planets probably got hit by the same stuff and evolved life however simple.

 

[Mr Natural]

Pretty sad to think we're the only intelligent life in the entire universe considering what kind of assholes we are.

 

[norwegen]

Maybe a planet or two with some slime on it

Intelligent life? I doubt it

We likely started out as "slime" and our planet is young compared to the majority of the universe so why couldn't intelligent (term used loosely) have evolved elsewhere?

Too many geologic and climatic factors come into play to have a planet that cannot only create life but sustain it over millions of years

I don't like the odds

All the factors necessary in creating habitable zones are numerous. Maybe too numerous even for astrophysicists to comprehend. A couple of obvious requirements are elliptical solar systems whose planetary orbits are more or less circular, and a distance from a single star that is not too far or too close. These two factors alone narrow the possibilities to less than five percent of galaxies. And then, as you say, the number of planetary factors are astronomical, oxygen being one, internal systems being another, such as digestion. Organisms that fuel themselves with silicates just won't evolve to complexity.

 

[norwegen]

We likely started out as "slime" and our planet is young compared to the majority of the universe so why couldn't intelligent (term used loosely) have evolved elsewhere?

Too many geologic and climatic factors come into play to have a planet that cannot only create life but sustain it over millions of years

I don't like the odds

Considering the universe is hundreds of billions of years old sustaining life for a mere 1 million years doesn't seem too far fetched.

I believe the universe is not more than 14 billion years old. And during most of that time, life couldn't even begin to form. Stars needed to start exploding first.

 

[Swagger]

Yes. But in spite of popular assumption, there's every chance that they're nowhere near as 'evolved' as we are.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Too many geologic and climatic factors come into play to have a planet that cannot only create life but sustain it over millions of years

I don't like the odds

Considering the universe is hundreds of billions of years old sustaining life for a mere 1 million years doesn't seem too far fetched.

I believe the universe is not more than 14 billion years old. And during most of that time, life couldn't even begin to form. Stars needed to start exploding first.

You are correct. Dunno where I got that big ass number from.