Do you believe in Aliens?

[Chefodeath]

Yes and no. If they have, I imagine they would have exterminated the blight that is the human race, or at least close.

You know, even saying that you think the aliens would care enough to destroy us speaks of a supreme kind of arrogance.

I'm reluctant to either ascent to or deny the possibility of aliens because we still don't have a good idea of how often biogenesis occurs in nature. Still, the universe is disgustingly huge, so I'm inclined to answer in the affirmative.

As for aliens visiting earth, I highly doubt it. The same thing which makes me say that aliens probably exist, the utter hugeness of space, is the same thing which makes the chance of contact utterly miniscule.

Edit: So apparently this is my 666th post. Um...Hail Satan?

 

[Saltyk]

Are there aliens? Almost certainly.

Have they visited Earth? I highly doubt it.

Although if they did they pretty much HAVE to know how to travel faster than light.

The odds of anyone visiting us is low even then, but without it the kind of ridiculous things you'd have to do to travel even a few light-years would mean you'd want to be VERY certain you'd want to go to your chosen destination.

Aside from which, any starship using conventional physics that we already understand on earth would have such a ludicrously high power output that it would be easy to spot even if it was only at the outer edges of the solar system.

Stealth in space is in fact very difficult. So if we've had visitors without it being obvious, they know something very significant about physics that we don't.

Well, we don't know much about physics. We're still trying to figure it out. We've found that once you get small enough, physics, as we understand it, just breaks down. We're probably just barely scratching the surface. Who's to say that intergalactic travel is impossible? Maybe we just need to make the proper discoveries and develop the right technology? Doubt that will happen in my life, but it would be cool.

In other news, I will gladly volunteer for cryogenic freezing until Star Trek or Star Wars. Whichever comes first.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

They get all of our transmissions, they probably think our galaxy is full of actual Ridley Scott Aliens and Predators and Giant Spiders and Godzilla and Ron Weasley

There is probably big sign outside the galaxy that says 'Quarantine Zone Do Not Enter.'

I wouldn't blame them.

 

[Snotnarok]

Of course there's alien life out there, whether or not it's advanced or not is another question, I wouldn't know to begin with that. There is life out there there's no doubt about that, to think there isn't life out there because of odds, well the odds are against your thought.

=Life is a rare occurrence, and needs special conditions it couldn't happen.

-Actually no life does not need special treatment, we've found life living on radioactive rods and next to volcanic vents spewing out methane at 300F. Life is VERY durable and hard to kill, it will evolve and find and live.

Even if life was rare, there's billions/trillions of stars in our galaxy alone with worlds floating around them, that's just our galaxy not counting the vast uncountable amount outside our own that are even bigger than our 120k lightyear long milkyway.

These are galaxies, there's a lot of them meaning even if there was a .01% chance of life to be on a planet found, there'd be a vast abundance of life.

Have they visited earth?
That's quite the journey to meet with a very insignificant race, I imagine if they're able to cross the galaxy the most they'd do is give a glance/look through the senors as they went by. Even then? Why bother we're not advanced enough to visit. If they DID visit it'd be to steal some water and move along.

I love pictures of space. It's just so awe inspiring.

Anyway, I'm certain there is other life in the universe. Somewhere. Now, what form that life takes is a whole other question. We've been looking for signs of life on Mars in the form of bacteria. I'd say there are planets out there with life, it just might be a single celled organism. Though, I do think there can be other intelligent life. I'm certain of it, actually.

Now, for the other question. I don't know. There's no way I can say that an alien life form has never been to Earth. Ever. At any point in time. There's no way I can be certain what level of technology they might have. We constantly use our own technology as a gauge, but if an alien lifeform could reach Earth, they obviously have technology far beyond anything we know. Who knows just what that means. So, I'm skeptical about them visiting earth or not. I will say that I don't think aliens have made contact.

One thing that always surprises me that people seem to think alien life would have to be more advanced than us. I think that with the sheer number of stars and planets out there, there are probably aliens who have significantly more advanced technology. Others with technology on roughly the same level as our own. Others in what we might call Medieval times. And still others in much more primitive states of development.

Someone earlier pointed out that we have yet to detect any signals from other species. Considering the vast distances we're talking about, that's not surprising. Humanity has only really been transmitting information for less than 100 years. Do you think any other race has picked up our transmissions? Even if they did, do you think they would even realize it? Who says we haven't received transmissions without realizing it? We might not be looking in the right places. Maybe we could be watching alien soap operas if we tuned in to the right frequency!

Ah-hah I'm glad you brought up the transmissions part.

Now think more about that, we've been broadcasting in radiowaves for how long and now everything is going digital and we're abandoning them. Okay so if an alien species is more advanced than us, why in gods name would they be tuning in for radio waves?

 

[Something Amyss]

.

By saying we have no basis you are disregarding hundreds of years worth of research.

I'm really not. I'm just disregarding your lazy assumptions.

 

[jawakiller]

Sure I do. I believe in them. Rather good at jumping fences last I heard.

No, I just based that joke off the title. I get it. Why does it matter if aliens exist? That is a better question. Does it somehow make us less important if there is other life out there? What if this other form of life is way more complex then a human? Do you really want that knowledge?

Besides, they're so good at clipping hedges. XD

 

[Darkmantle]

Yes and maybe. The whole "going across the sky in chariots of fire" thing zeus had a habit of doing makes me feel like ancient Greece watched an alien ship fly overhead, maybe shooting "bolts of lighting".

There's no real basis for this, but it's an interesting thought.

 

[CounterReproductive]

Yes and Yes, Cause there is NO WAY my bunk mate and I could have used up that entire bog role in a single day.

IS that a sideways Red Dwarf Semi-quote ?

On topic , the universe is finite. That is the currently held scientific belief, but 'finite' does not do justice to the sheer immensity of the universe, it is to all intents and purposes infinite from humanity's point of view. There are countless galaxies within this universe, oh and i do mean countless because we cannot see them all to be able to count them. We can't even see the 'Oort Cloud' the hypothesized realm of comets that lies beyone Pluto, so nobody actually knows the number of planets out there, the only thing we DO know is there must be a finite number of worlds that can harbour life even if it is just 1 we have found so far, for the slower amongst you that would be Earth. Drake's Equation is a serious of nested assumptions based on the then current belief and is no longer to my mind appropriate. So stop it lol

Do I beleive in aliens ? I'd like to think that somewhere out there there is a race of beings who are intelligent. I'd even say the chances are reasonable.

Do I beleive they have visited Earth ? No, would love to be 'proved' wrong though

 

[Something Amyss]

Uh, what?

I think you're thinking in the wrong direction about this one.

Or, quite possibly, you're thinking in the wrong direction about this. Hint [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue-in-cheek] Since that's actually a repeat, I'll give you This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams]and This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy].

then you are implying that you are non-existent, and are imagining everything you are doing

Well, no to the second part. I merely said A deranged imagination, not mine. Though I do maintain, I am the product of such an imagination.

 

[Something Amyss]

Yes and maybe. The whole "going across the sky in chariots of fire" thing zeus had a habit of doing makes me feel like ancient Greece watched an alien ship fly overhead, maybe shooting "bolts of lighting".

There's no real basis for this, but it's an interesting thought.

Are you referring to the explanation for the sun?

Because I don't think we need much more than that.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Yes and No respectively for the reasons everyone has listed for me.

 

[Darkmantle]

Yes and maybe. The whole "going across the sky in chariots of fire" thing zeus had a habit of doing makes me feel like ancient Greece watched an alien ship fly overhead, maybe shooting "bolts of lighting".

There's no real basis for this, but it's an interesting thought.

Are you referring to the explanation for the sun?

Because I don't think we need much more than that.

I don;t know what you mean

I was just talking about how zeus was depicted in general lol

 

[Embz]

I defiantly believe that there is alien life somewhere in the universe, but have aliens visited earth.... I'm a bit sceptical of that lol

 

[thelittleman66]

It is mathematically impossible for aliens not to exist.
Whether they visited earth or not is a different question.

 

[imagremlin]

I'm with Stephen Hawkings on this one:

1) Given the size of the universe is pretty much certain that it supports life in multiple places

2) Add to that the age of the universe and how long we've been here and turns out its unlikely for them to exist right now and nearby.

3) Which is all for the better, considering that as far as we know, when an advanced civilization meets a more primitive one, things don't turn out good for the latter. Just ask the native americans.

 

[Bento Box]

I know I get overly pedantic about the word 'believe,' but what can I say, I think it's important.

No, I don't quite believe that aliens exist, because there's no reasonable evidence that they do. At the same time, there's plenty of evidence to suggest that they could. For one: we do. We know that life can form on planets, and we have at least some semblance of an understanding of how it could have happened for this planet.

Going with just carbon-y stuff and early-mid planetary conditions, if all it takes to cause organic (big, important fact: 'organic' means 'carbon-based,' and not necessarily life) life to begin was heat and a lucky blend of organic materials, then it is far from unreasonable to suspect that it could and has happened for other planets. We certainly do know that there are other planets out there, in what we suspect to be the 'habitable' zones around stars. It's really not a far leap.

This is to say nothing of the fact that, just because carbon-based life is the only life we know, doesn't mean that it's the only life that could exist. As far as we're concerned, there's neither reason to believe or disbelieve that some other kind of compounds could form complex life. The big question is, would we recognize it if we saw it?

Extra super fun challenge: at what point does a computer cross what must be a blurry line by now, and count as silicon-based life? Well, assuming that computers continue to become more and more intelligent, eventually matching and surpassing us, I'd say that the only obstacle to being 'life' in the traditional sense, would be the ability to propagate cellularly. An advanced enough machine might well be able to do that. Imagine it: our revolutionary history, played out in reverse, as the computer race begins with intelligence, and works backward from there, until it creates its own form of a living cell.

 

[Peteron]

Yes. It would be ignorant to think of our lives as miracles, to excuse the possibility of another lifeform somewhere else in the universe.

 

[Randomperson9999999]

i believe in them but I don't believe the human race will ever see or meet them

 

[cdstephens]

Statistically speaking, assuming that we aren't in a virtual reality world, then it is extremely probable that there exists or has existed life that does not originate from Earth.

However, assuming that a) it is possible to make a virtual reality matrix this large, b) a species would not die out before making a virtual reality matrix, and c) they would have reason to make one for historical reasons or for research, then there is a 99.999999999% chance that we are in a virtual reality world, in which case they may not bother to put aliens in. If they were just simulating us and did not wish to clutter up the memory by simulating other life forms, then it would be probable that aliens don't exist.

So really it all depends upon whether we exist in a top level universe, so to speak, or only exist in one of the bottom level universes that is simulated by virtual reality. Unfortunately, the only way to disprove the latter would be to prove that it is impossible to make a virtual reality system this large.

 

[Bento Box]

It is a simplification, but its true.

Not really. It's true under lazy assumptions we have no basis assuming.

As for the mathematics I am using, they are Adamsian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue-in-cheek] mathematics.

No.

No, no, no.

These are not lazy, baseless assumptions.

Look:

We understand, relatively well, the properties of stars.
We understand our place as a planet, as compared to our star.
We understand the conditions necessary for many, many different forms of life on our planet, to survive.
We understand well enough, roughly where our planet would have to be in terms of distance from our star, to maintain those conditions.
We have a rudimentary understanding of the conditions that likely existed when life on our planet formed.
We have a constantly-growing understanding of how and why planets form, and what they look like throughout the process of maturity.

Put all of that understanding together, and you have the recipe for a hypothesis, and at least some informed speculation on how life might form on other planets which we conclude likely fit into the model of life-sustaining celestial bodies.