Are We Alone?

[lenguy]

That one profound question that has been plaguing mankind since the beginning of conscious thought. Are we really? truly? alone? A Think most of you would probably say no. I mean, how could we? Out of some 100 billion galaxies with oddly some 100 billion stars for each galaxy. Odds are, its impossible. I mean even in our own galaxy, I find it hard to believe earth is the only life sustaining planet out there.

But I'm not just talking about any life. No, not just single celled organisms such as bacteria and amino acids. Or even plants or complex life such as a deer or something. What I'm referring to is intelligent life, such as ourselves. While I speculate most of you will still answer with a defining yes, I do agree. But lets look at the conditions in which life needs to not only sustain itself but flourish and survive for extend periods of time.

Well for starters, life needs a planet,with an atmosphere. It needs a star for light and heat. But even the distance from the star needs to be factored in. Earth is in whats called the habitable zone(or the goldy locks zone to some) Its just at the right distance from the sun were liquid water can form. To close and it would just boil away, to far it would just freeze over. But what else? Surely most if not all organisms wouldn't be able to last very long with out an abundance of H2O(water) Water is key. It is how we got our start and I'm sure life can't exist without water, for the most part anyway. Your planet would also require a sustainable atmosphere for life to breathe and diversify. Without this then the harshness of space would bombard the planet relentlessly. X-rays, gamma-rays,ultra violet rays. A huge dose of those can't be good for ones DNA. I could go on for hours. But I think I made a point. There are so many factors that contribute to whether life on a planet is even possible.

Mainly what I want to know is. Are we alone? I think not, Space it just so huge its almost idiotic to think we are. Could we really just be a fluke in terms of universal evolution? Are we really that special? one of a kind? Again, I can't see it. So many galaxies, so many stars, so many possibilities.

One last thing to add. If we do make contact with extra terrestrial life, How do you communicate? Lets imagine for a moment an alien civilization is discovered on the other side of the milky way. Is it possible to make any sort of relevant conversation? Consider this. I takes a single light beam twenty five thousand years to cross one side of the galaxy to to other( I think it was 25,000. I might be longer) Our radio waves would take even longer.

So if we truly find out we are not alone. Does it really matter? Assuming we don't have the technology to communicate with them on a reasonable time scale? Who knows they could be light years head of us in terms of technology. What if they come knocking at our front door? Do they come baring knowledge? Or War?

Its always as mommy said. You shouldn't talk to strangers.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

I think we're pretty far away from seeing any kind of life, and even farther away from seeing any kind of intelligent life, and if we DO find intelligent life, I think we're even farther away from the kind of technology we would need in order to communicate with them, but the ultimate answer to your question is no. I sincerely do not believe that we're alone. I believe there could be evidence for life in this galaxy, regardless of how minuscule.

If our galaxy could sustain this kind of life, and we're not even really close to seeing what's going on in other star systems, I think intelligent life could be closer than we think.

 

[OWEN-ing It All]

I truly believe we are NOT ALONE. Other solar systems are out there we just can't reach them. It could be just micro-organisms billions of light years away, but that would still be life.

Intelligent life? Yes, I believe we have equals or superiors. If they are superior, I do not think they would be hostile. Why the need? They would view us as inferior or as students.

I for one am I believer the Ancient Alien theory. I do not believe that humans could have built some of the neolithic structures that are spread across the world. The pyramids, temples, megaliths, etc etc.

Imagine how many people it would take to lift a 100 ton stone 20 feet or more in the air. And after you do that, figure how they could all get their hands on it to accomplish the feat......it's not possible. Most predate the wheel.....and to cut and quarry stones from miles away, with pullies and rope? You have to be kidding me.

Now how about a 200 ton stone slab?

In 1492, the wide belief was the Earth was flat.........but thousands of years ago, each civilization built the most impressive structures in history? With basic tools and no machinery? Even if they were armed with the entire catalog of Architectural Digest they couldn't have made such achievements come to fruition. Human ingenuity my ass.

I don't pretend to know how or even speculate as to how it was actually accomplished. But, one thing I do know is......they could not have done it with the resources they had or alone without some sort of instruction or knowledge handed down. Whether they built them with help or were built for them is anyones guess.

 

[Ultra Awesome]

I've always believed that life on other planet does in fact exist. There is just no plausible reason to think why there shouldn't. Just because we don't know what else is out there does not mean that we should shut our minds into thinking that we are the only living creatures in the entire universe or universes (if that be the case). Simply put, this shit-hole we are a part of, is far too big for us to prove otherwise.

With that said, I also believe that inteligent life on other planets do exists. If, we, the people of the Earth were able to evolve from a primative state into what we are today, could not other living species do the same? And what if they had a longer time to evolve than we have had---would they not be further adanced in technology, as well as in the understanding of the mind? Perhaps there is a planet out there with the ability to read other living creature's mind like it's shown in the movies. Sure, it's hard to think that such a thing is possible, but ask yourself, is it really? If we have no idea what life on other planets is like, then we should not close our minds into believeing that such a power is beyond comprehension. Because what if it is true. What if creatures of other planets are far beyond our intelligence? Such a thing is possible.

With that said, I cannot say for certain whether we live close to any intelligent life on other planets simply because we just don't know. There is no factual evidence to prove this theory right or wrong. Our knowledge on the subject is far too limited. For all we know, there is life on Mars that we haven't discovered yet. On the other hand, there probably isn't (and never was) any life on Mars that can be seen as intelligent. Maybe the closest planet with intelligent life on it is a million light years away; maybe it's a thousand light years away; maybe it's a 100; hell, maybe it's 15---whatever the case may be, we just don't motherfucking know to prove or disprove our theories.

Fact is, all we can do now is make "what if" assumptions. Our technology is not as far as advanced as many may think. It probably won't be until another 200-300 years before we can even be able to travel farther than Pluto. But again, nothing is for certain, and all we have to go by is our "what ifs", which really isn't much.

One thing's for sure, though. Life on some other part of the universe DOES exist. It's asinine to think otherwise. The Universe is just too big a place to say no.

 

[Davi323]

It would be statistically impossible for us to be alone. Given the known parameters a planet must have to sustain life, composition, distance from the right type of star, etc, there MUST be other life somewhere else. With an infinite universe that is infinitely expanding, the concept that there exists no place in the entire universe that was capable of sustaining life other than Earth is entirely unfathomable to me. There simply has to be other planets within the set of parameters that make them capable of life, and if they are capable of life, they will have it. Life would find a way to exist. We probably will never be able to prove it, probably never find them, and they will probably never find us...too far away for us to ever notice each other...but they are there. They have to be.

Actually, they don't. If God exists, who for the purposes of this discussion is only being defined as a supreme being that exists beyond the rules of the universe, someone capable of outright defying the nature of all of creation, then it is possible we are alone. If we are alone, God must exist. There can be no other explanation. If we stand alone, one planet in infinity, we, by our very existence, defy the natural order of the universe. If we are alone, then clearly the natural order is death...or more accurately, the absence of life. This must be true, or all those other planets with similar circumstances to Earth would also have developed life. But if they are barren, if the universe is barren but for our tiny, insignificant speck, then we must have been put here intentionally. We could only have been given life where there is none by someone who exists outside of the universe. That means God. Basically, if we are alone, we are a statistical impossibility, given an infinite but barren universe. If we are a statistical impossibility, then we must have been placed here. We couldn't have been placed here by ourselves, it must have been God.

Now, life on other planets does not preclude the possibility of God, its entirely possible that God exists AND life on other planets exists. The two are certainly not mutually exclusive. I am just saying that if we are alone, the sole representives of life in the infinite expanses, we couldn't have gotten here by ourselves, because the lack of life elsewhere would indicate the universe is by nature, devoid of life...yet here we are.

 

[Minnesota Connection]

I believe not only are there E.T's around this planet, I believe they have been here before.

There are hieroglyphics in Egypt that look very similar to a modern day space suit. There are pyramids in Central America, Africa and Asia. All pointing at the stars, or where they would have been during the construction of the pyramid. (Been thousands of years, the stars have moved slightly due to stellar drift....)

Not to mention there is an island in Japan with a population of about 1,000. These people follow a completely different religion then that of the Japanese or anyone on this earth. Why?

Because they claim thousands of years ago, a great space ship dropped them off and they are descendants of those people. Evidence?

There is an extra chromosome in their bodies on that island that no one else on this earth has.

The Nazca plains have a landing strip that can only be seen threw the air during a time when flight had yet to be invented.

So, no. We are not alone. We have been visited.. Who knows if they'll come back, or if all those stories about green little men are true, they are watching us as we speak.

 

[Arkham Noir]

Well for starters, life needs a planet,with an atmosphere. It needs a star for light and heat. But even the distance from the star needs to be factored in. Earth is in whats called the habitable zone(or the goldy locks zone to some) Its just at the right distance from the sun were liquid water can form. To close and it would just boil away, to far it would just freeze over. But what else? Surely most if not all organisms wouldn't be able to last very long with out an abundance of H2O(water) Water is key. It is how we got our start and I'm sure life can't exist without water, for the most part anyway. Your planet would also require a sustainable atmosphere for life to breathe and diversify. Without this then the harshness of space would bombard the planet relentlessly. X-rays, gamma-rays,ultra violet rays. A huge dose of those can't be good for ones DNA. I could go on for hours. But I think I made a point. There are so many factors that contribute to whether life on a planet is even possible.

This is something I have always taken issue with. I don't mean what you said, but just the idea that people seem to think that for anything to live, it would have to be like us. Using oxygen to breath, needing water, etc...

People don't know everything, yet seem to be obssesed with the idea that, if we don't know it exists, than it doesn't. I'm not a scientist, but I think it is safe to assume that there is more than one way for something to live opposed to the way organisms surivive on earth. There could be billions of natural elements in the universe that we have never come across,ther's probable still some on earth, and to actually think we are alone is just plain silly.

As Mozz said, we really have nothing in terms of technology when it comes to exploring this universe. Manking itself has barely left earth. Machines have seen other planets, but our solar system is nothing compared to the sheer volume of space that is out there. There could be life very close to us but we just can't find it.

Honestly, I'd be more surprised if there wasn't other life than if there was.

 

[lenguy]

This is something I have always taken issue with. I don't mean what you said, but just the idea that people seem to think that for anything to live, it would have to be like us. Using oxygen to breath, needing water, etc...

People do tend to think there is more than one way to evolve. That there is also many ways to evolve to the point of higher intelligence. We know of one way to get there, which is the way we evolved. If say we do encounter extra terrestrial life and they look like us( Two eye, a nose, two ears a mouth ect..) then its only safe to assume they evolved on earth. Because every creature you see as at least two eyes a nose two ears and a mouth..with a few exceptions of course.

As for not needing oxygen I agress many life forms can indeed survive without needing oxygen. On earth of course we need it because thats just how the planet and the organism's on Earth evolved. E.T could survive entirely on methane and oxygen could be toxic to him for all we know. But water is key. That's how life gets in start is in pools of boiling chemically active water. How would life start any other way? The universe has an abundance amount of water. Its actually everywhere is you know what your looking for. Every element we see and know of comes from the death of a star( super nova) Once the stars uses up all of it nuclear fusion and begins fusion heavier elements such as Iron. It actually takes more enegry need to fuse these elements than it can generate. Thus unable to keep up gravity takes over and crushes the star and it explodes violently into a super nova where all the heavier elements are formed( such as gold plutonium, uranium and californium). I think its safe to assume the same process applies everywhere in the universe. However even heavier elements( elements that we might not know of) could be created from the death of super massive stars. Its certainly possible.

 

[lenguy]

I believe not only are there E.T's around this planet, I believe they have been here before.

There are hieroglyphics in Egypt that look very similar to a modern day space suit. There are pyramids in Central America, Africa and Asia. All pointing at the stars, or where they would have been during the construction of the pyramid. (Been thousands of years, the stars have moved slightly due to stellar drift....)

Not to mention there is an island in Japan with a population of about 1,000. These people follow a completely different religion then that of the Japanese or anyone on this earth. Why?

Because they claim thousands of years ago, a great space ship dropped them off and they are descendants of those people. Evidence?

There is an extra chromosome in their bodies on that island that no one else on this earth has.

The Nazca plains have a landing strip that can only be seen threw the air during a time when flight had yet to be invented.

So, no. We are not alone. We have been visited.. Who knows if they'll come back, or if all those stories about green little men are true, they are watching us as we speak.

I'm not going to rule it out because I'm a bit curious over the idea that we have been visited in the past. I mean its not completely out of the question. But I think there are possibly more down to earth with these theories. If in fact aliens did visit us thousands of years ago and help us create such breath taking monuments such as the great pyramids and nazca lines and such. Why did none of the cultures leave any evidence of their arrival? Surely something as significant of that would be important enough to be recorded in some form right? Yet there is little to no evidence of this.

I think people go with these ideas because it gives them aid in trying to help explain the unexplainable. People have form all kinds of theories. Why not extra terrestrials? Like I said, I'm not going to rule it out, anything is possible. I just think there are more reasonable explanations. It is a mystery though. I often wonder how ancient man could have had the needs or tools to even get such things done. Ancient man is no fool, He found a way somehow.He was very skilled with mathmatical equations, most ancient cultures were. This would kind of explain why the pyramids are pointing at the stars. I believe that the ancient Egyptians were keen on the idea of the after life existing in the stars.But ultimately weather it was E.T who assisted us or if we did it under our own man power, we just don't know.

 

[Minnesota Connection]

I'm not going to rule it out because I'm a bit curious over the idea that we have been visited in the past. I mean its not completely out of the question. But I think there are possibly more down to earth with these theories. If in fact aliens did visit us thousands of years ago and help us create such breath taking monuments such as the great pyramids and nazca lines and such. Why did none of the cultures leave any evidence of their arrival? Surely something as significant of that would be important enough to be recorded in some form right? Yet there is little to no evidence of this.

They did. In form of their monuments, hieroglyphics and many religions. What would survive five thousand years? Almost nothing.

The pictures and writings clearly describe fireballs in the sky with men in suits.
It is very interesting indeed.

 

[lenguy]

They did. In form of their monuments, hieroglyphics and many religions. What would survive five thousand years? Almost nothing.

The pictures and writings clearly describe fireballs in the sky with men in suits.
It is very interesting indeed.

They pyramids aren't 5 thousand years old though. A few thousand maybe but not 5 thousand. Some people believe that Stonehenge is possible to date back as far as 6500 years ago.

I'd like to see a link that I can see these pictures for myself.

 

[Sparky]

For how many other planets there are out there, it's hard to believe there isn't any other life form outside of earth. There might even be some kind of alien as smart as us, But I don't believe that there is an Alien race out there that would be capable of coming here and taking over, or even want to for that matter.

 

[Minnesota Connection]

They pyramids aren't 5 thousand years old though. A few thousand maybe but not 5 thousand. Some people believe that Stonehenge is possible to date back as far as 6500 years ago.

I'd like to see a link that I can see these pictures for myself.

Actually yes they are. They are actually older than five thousand years considering the first pyramids were being built around 4,000 B.C.

The first pyramid was built in 2630 BC. Making those pyramids about 4600 years old.

Stonehenge was built around 2500 to 3100 BC. Making stonehenge between 4500 years old to 5000 years old.

I could not find the website I wanted, so I searched and found this one. It has a few of the pictures,

http://www.netscientia.com/egypt.html

http://netscientia.com/god_spell.html

 

[lenguy]

Actually yes they are. They are actually older than five thousand years considering the first pyramids were being built around 4,000 B.C.

The first pyramid was built in 2630 BC. Making those pyramids about 4600 years old.

Okay you got me. I was mistaken, I didn't calculate that quite right. They are pretty old. But the hieroglyphs seem pretty speculative to me. If such an even did happen then I would think it would have made a much bigger impact of their culture and we would see more evidence than just a few scribbles on the wall. For all I know it could just be graffiti made by the lower class, I don't know. While I do find it fascinating that many cultures depict a lot of the same types of drawings I just have such a hard time believing that we were visited so many years ago and we have no hard evidence besides little paintings.

In all likely hood it could of happened but I remain very skeptical of this because there really is no hard evidence of this ever happening. If such events did occur then well, we would have to rewrite the history books. I want to believe that it could of happened because I'm just as intrigued as you. But the lack of hard evidence really isn't convincing me of anything.

I appreciate your thoughts on this though. It is interesting to say the least.

 

[ABMorales787]

I highly doubt it. We know about 10% of the universe and that alone is big as fuck. Hard to believe we are all alone as one lone tiny blip on some huge ass radar. Thing is though, I don't really care if there is life elsewhere or not. I'm here and to me that's what counts. There may be signs of other life coming to our planet, but they haven't done it in our day and age. And concluding that outer life is more hostile than us is also pretty ridiculous too. I fail to see why people are some engulfed in the idea of finding aliens and such. We're alive on Earth, that should be what counts most.

 

[Kip The Fury]

Its an incredibly arrogant and self centred assumption to simply say "Of course we are alone in the universe, There is no other life but us." I read a quote that summed it up really well, cant remember the source though unfortunately:

To say we are alone in the universe is akin to saying out of a billion gardens, mine is the only one with flowers.

Statistically it is ridiculous to say we are the only life in the universe, whether that life is advanced as us or within reach is another question. Unfortunately I believe those questions won't be answer within the next century or even the next millenium without major advances in technology so all we can really do for now is look towards the stars and wonder.