Do you believe in life elsewhere?

[Relic]

Absolutely, positively and unequivocally yes I do believe that there's "life" elsewhere. I think it's darn near naive to think otherwise (IMHO of course) given the seemingly limitless expanse of the universe and the sheer number of planets. Though I do believe that there may be things out there that really challenge our definitions of what "life" truly is.
We very well might not even know that we're looking at "life" in any given situation if we had the ability to do so...

 

[DwaynieAD]

Simple answer yes.

Complicated answer, yes but why does a living thing even need cells to survive. That only applies to life as we know it. Any life out there especially intelligent life, most likely will be so far beyond our imagination that even trying to guess what they would look like would be an insult to their being.

this.

i always get a little kick out of these science shows when they start talking about looking for other planets with conditions similar to earth... is it hubris or stupidity?

just take for example the deep sea bacteria living off of sulfur in hydrothermal vents

Absolutely, positively and unequivocally yes I do believe that there's "life" elsewhere. I think it's darn near naive to think otherwise (IMHO of course) given the seemingly limitless expanse of the universe and the sheer number of planets. Though I do believe that there may be things out there that really challenge our definitions of what "life" truly is.
We very well might not even know that we're looking at "life" in any given situation if we had the ability to do so...

the crystaline entity!

 

[stratovani]

To me believing that there is extraterrestrial life is like belief in a god, it cannot be proven or disproven, so for now it falls into the category of a belief system. I do think there is life out there, but that's strictly speculation, since there is no proof for now.

The older I get, the more skeptical I become.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

this.

i always get a little kick out of these science shows when they start talking about looking for other planets with conditions similar to earth... is it hubris or stupidity?

just take for example the deep sea bacteria living off of sulfur in hydrothermal vents

the crystaline entity!

Extremophiles still have similar biological features to us. When they say looking for a similar planet, it's generally meaning one that isn't molten or dead

I'd say it's also because Earth is a known quantity, we have a range of planets in our solar system, and this is the only one to have definate signs of life. So by looking for similar ones we are keeping that constant, instead of scruitinising every single lump of rock out there, which is beyond our capabilities.

 

[12bass]

Extremophiles are much more likely to occur if "normophiles" came earlier. Not sure if we have enough evidence to suggest that extremophiles are likely to spontaneously occur on their own.

Still... it strikes me as odd how people can profess whole-hearted belief in something that cannot be known. Thinking something possible is one thing... but claiming it to be true without any evidence whatsoever is quite another. Makes me wonder how many people have thought about even the most basic aspects of epistemology.

 

[Relic]

Extremophiles are much more likely to occur if "normophiles" came earlier. Not sure if we have enough evidence to suggest that extremophiles are likely to spontaneously occur on their own.

Still... it strikes me as odd how people can profess whole-hearted belief in something that cannot be known. Thinking something possible is one thing... but claiming it to be true without any evidence whatsoever is quite another. Makes me wonder how many people have thought about even the most basic aspects of epistemology.

Meh, I dont think it odd at all... I claim to "believe" not "know". This based on what I perceive on almost limitless possibilities of what may lie "out there". While our neighborhood may be familiar, there's no guarantee that the same will be true for the "next county" over. It may be, it may not be. Claiming that it 100% is or isn't is also based on a faith call.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I find it unlikely in the extreme that Earth is the only planet in the known or unknown universe to support life.

And it is neither hubris nor stupidity to look for other Earth-like planets. It's just the way science works. You want to change as few things as possible when you are investigating. We know Earth exists and has life on it, so if we change the galactic neighborhood, looking for other planets like Earth, maybe we'll find something. They aren't saying that Earth-like planets are the only ones that can support life. It's just a place to start.

 

[Relic]

I find it unlikely in the extreme that Earth is the only planet in the known or unknown universe to support life.

And it is neither hubris nor stupidity to look for other Earth-like planets. It's just the way science works. You want to change as few things as possible when you are investigating. We know Earth exists and has life on it, so if we change the galactic neighborhood, looking for other planets like Earth, maybe we'll find something. They aren't saying that Earth-like planets are the only ones that can support life. It's just a place to start.

That makes perfect sense and I agree. My trouble with it is when claims are made that life "needs" earth-like conditions to flourish as I've heard some say.
My point is that while this may very well be absolutely true for earth-like life, we do not have enough knowledge to even remotely claim that life simply cannot exist on non earth-like planets. There are conflicting opinions on even what life is at this point.
Bearing that in mind, there's not a whole lot that we can say regarding what may or may not exist out there. Therefore it does come down to faith/opinion/best guess...
At least in my opinion

 

[Stinsok]

I'm sure there is someone in another galaxy asking "What's the best Zublarg for Pherblen?"

 

[LiquidMidnight]

And it is neither hubris nor stupidity to look for other Earth-like planets.

+1

There's actually sub-fields of biology dedicated to it: astrobiology and exobiology. And it's not a bunch of fringe nutjobs who are in those fields - they are scientifically valid explorations of the possibility of life on other planets.

 

[superbassman2000]

I will believe in intelligent life out there as soon as I see it here

As far as any kind of life--bacteria or whatever, I could see it...it seems that given the size of the universe with it's billions of stars and planets, I'd think it a bit silly to assume we are the only ones here

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Extremophiles are much more likely to occur if "normophiles" came earlier. Not sure if we have enough evidence to suggest that extremophiles are likely to spontaneously occur on their own.

Of course they do, it's your typical slowly dragging along evolutionary process in order to move and adapt.

What we class as "extreme" living conditions on earth, from one side of the spectrum to another, is still a pretty small range in terms of physical absolutes.

It wouldn't be inconcievable to think that on an earth-like planet, where much of it was running at the temperatures seen in thermal vents (so hotter than here), that life could be produced. It therefore wouldn't be an extremophile in relation to the norm. of that planet.

 

[IconBasser]

Makes me wonder how many people have thought about even the most basic aspects of epistemology.

most people don't read philosophy. I imagine that the majority of those who do don't read much of it (myself included).

 

[beyondthe48]

Yes. Why should we be the only ones to suffer?

exactly

i think the conscious universe (God) loves to create but thats where the attachment ends. making beauty and letting it then run its course unobstructed.

everything is allowed

and YES there has to be life elsewhere

 

[dukeisdog]

I believe that there are many less advanced earth like planets out there, that could very possibly contain other humans that just don't know how to get to us.

 

[dmonroe]

I think it's the epitome of human arrogance to believe that we are the only intelligent life anywhere. Just given the small amount of the universe that we know of, not to mention all of the other parts we, as of yet have no clue about.

 

[Bassman316]

You damn skimpy.

The universe is far too large to not have life other than on planet Earth. Whether it's simple life forms like bacteria or intelligent beings, they're out there.

I remember reading something a while back about levels of civilizations. I could be off a good bit on this, but a level one civilization harnesses the energy used by processing fossil fuels. A level two civilization harnesses all the energy of its nearest star. A level three harnesses all the energy of its home galaxy, which is near unimaginable. But hey, there could be planets out there inhabited with life forms that are so far more advanced than the human race on Earth that it's hard to imagine it, too.

Strange place, the universe is. But devoid of life other than here on tiny planet Earth? No way, bro.

 

[crucislancer]

Exactly.

Believing has no place in science.

Agreed.

I was watching an episode of "Nova" yesterday regarding the search for life on other planets.

It does seem highly probable that there is life in some form on another world. Finding it, however, is the problem.

 

[Relic]

You can put 1000 of the world's top scientist in a room and ask them to explain their take on epistemology or philosophies in general. You can study minute detail of every living critter on our planet and understand it all to the best of our human ability, but it will never change in the minutest detail, the fact that there is either life out there or not. So it always comes back down to "faith" until we photograph some 4 headed martian worm.
There is no right or wrong answer here

 

[Muaguana]

Life is not an assemblage of mollecules, cells, tissues, organs and functions. In fact, cells, tissues and organs could be dead or alive, telling you that life is not something we quite fully understand to start with.

Definition from Wikipedia (which is the exact same definition given to me in every Biology class I've taken in my life): "Living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, possess a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and, through natural selection, adapt to their environment in successive generations."

Life is a word we made up. Therefore, we decide what life is and isn't, and the conditions that must be met for something to be constituted as "life" are above.

"Believe"? No. "Think it's highly probable"? Yes.

+1.