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PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:41 pm
by vtmarik
strike wolf wrote:Really on earth we had the optimal conditions for life.


For human life. A planet made up entirely of water, for example, could spawn aquatic life. A planet with tremendous gravity could produce small, multilegged life. And so on...

Any manner of lifeforms are possiblities. If it hadn't been for the meteor strike, there might be a race of sentient beings that evolved from the dinosaurs.

Earth has optimal conditions for our existence, but it's not the only type of planet that can sustain life when you take into account that lifeforms could adapt and evolve to any climate with the right starting materials. We're carbon-based, but life could exist elsewhere that's nitrogen-based or copper-based or what have you.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:45 pm
by Truman
Of course, you all know that ETs are all based on "If evolution is true, there must be others out there!"

Now, if evolution isn't true...then this would all be a bunch of hocus pocus, right? Exactly right. I wrote a paper previously about this, but I'd prefer not to get into this topic any farther, so be free to deluge yourselves into thinking what you think about this nonsense. :wink:

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:47 pm
by vtmarik
Truman wrote:Of course, you all know that ETs are all based on "If evolution is true, there must be others out there!"

Now, if evolution isn't true...then this would all be a bunch of hocus pocus, right? Exactly right. I wrote a paper previously about this, but I'd prefer not to get into this topic any farther, so be free to deluge yourselves into thinking what you think about this nonsense. :wink:


Truman, we're here to discuss theoretical science, not religion. Go away.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:51 pm
by Truman
Where did I ever write the word "religion" in my post? No where. Where did I imply religion in my post? No where. It seems you like to twist anything against what you believe. I'm sorry, did I offend you?

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:57 pm
by vtmarik
My friend, I am a bisexual, discordian, patriotic anarcho-materialist. I don't get offended, I offend others.

You implied religion by referencing the possibility that "evolution isn't true." Science is the search for and analysis of fact, Philosophy is the analysis of truth, and religion is the search for truth. Sorry to call it like I see it.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. *waves byebye to Truman* I'm not saying that there is definitely life on other worlds, but i'm saying that it would be foolish to assume that there is no other life in this infinite universe.

Prediction from earlier wrote:I'm sure Caleb or Truman will mosey on in here to stir up trouble like they always do.


Damn, I should've put money on it. :lol:

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:06 pm
by Truman
You assume that if evolution isn't true that creationism can only be the other possiblity. This isn't true in any way but you seem to think it to be. But anyway, wouldn't that be why they never ever bring creationism under real scientific scrutiny when questioned? They simply throw it out and assume it could have never happened because their religion is harmed by the mere idea that creation could have ever occurred at all.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:10 pm
by AndyDufresne
Could always look to the Drake Equation, again though that is hotly debated, as you can put in any values you want for each of the variables. There are a few general area numbers that are used for certain variables, but again, you can put in what you wish.


--Andy

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:18 pm
by vtmarik
AndyDufresne wrote:Could always look to the Drake Equation, again though that is hotly debated, as you can put in any values you want for each of the variables. There are a few general area numbers that are used for certain variables, but again, you can put in what you wish.


--Andy


The drake equation? The album by Tub Ring? *checks wikipedia*

Oh, new evidence. Something to read up on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

According to the article, it mentions that the Rare Earth hypothesis may refute it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis

EDIT: The only problem with these two things is that they assume the same requirements for alien life that they do for human life to a certain extent. Thanks to my young life watching shows like Star Trek and SeaQuest, I can envision the possibility of life that can have other forms. Crystalline life, rock life, sentient clouds of gas. These are the alternate forms of life i'm talking about.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:21 pm
by AndyDufresne
Wikipedia is a scary frontier, 1984-esque. Essentially, if enough people get behind a certain idea, they can make it fact, and erase others that they don't agree with. **chills run down his spine**


--Andy

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:23 pm
by vtmarik
AndyDufresne wrote:Wikipedia is a scary frontier, 1984-esque. Essentially, if enough people get behind a certain idea, they can make it fact, and erase others that they don't agree with. **chills run down his spine**


--Andy


Yeah, but their articles about scientific stuff are referenced and cited so you can check up on them. These are the kinder, gentler side of the evil empire.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:36 pm
by misscrystal
I've heard so many crazy thoeries from my dad I'm not sure which to post, but this is one of my favorites....

Imagine you're a scientist who lives on a planet where cloning native life forms is illegal.

Further imagine that some of your colleagues have discovered a planet that may be able to support some sort of lab created life form (whether or not it's got it's own life forms already). Don't you think you might be more than a little tempted to create something and turn it loose on this foreign planet just to see what would happen?

I would, but then again I'm a mad scientist....

It's fun to theorize and see where your imagination takes you.


-----

And for the record....I do believe that there is a very real possibility that life does exsist outside of our little world.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:38 pm
by vtmarik
Hm, well, I'd be cloning people already in a secret facility deep within some jungle like Dr. Vornoff in Bride of the Monster, but that's an interesting thought experiment. I'd definitely shoot VT 5 into space and let him flourish on another planet.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:03 am
by gavin_sidhu
tough subject to come up with an answer.

I believe there is life on planets other than earth, but i dont think the life is as intelligent or more intelligent than humans.

I dont believe in alien UFO's because i think to travel the huge distances these aliens would have to travel in order to get to Earth, machines and such wont be able to do it, you would need something vaguely like teleporting.

Also i think that the life on other planets wont be based on an element we know. I personally discredit all we learn today about chemistry and the periodic table elements. I bet the ancient greeks thought like us, thinking all their theories were right, but as time went along, the human race found that the elements they had then (water, fire, earth, wind). The way we view the world is extremely likely to be completely incorrect, all our theories are probably wrong, but they are the best way we explain our circumstances.

Edit: rereading looks like ive went off track, anyway it was my chemistry teacher that put all these ideas into my head.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:12 am
by Pedronicus
I'm very suprised that there aren't more UFO's captured on mobile phone cameras.

I've never been into video and stuff - But you can't get a mobile phone with a colour screen now, that doesn't have a video built in to it.

Why aren't there more UFO's being caught as we all walk around with a video in our pockets?

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:35 am
by gavin_sidhu
It seems that the majority of UFO occurences occured when the world was at a hightened alert, the cold war and WWII are prime examples. Since the 1970's its been rather quite UFO wise.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:29 am
by Sammy gags
vtmarik wrote:
Sammy gags wrote:not likely, our galaxy is 2 small


Do you realize how big our galaxy is?

Let's put it into perspective. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is approximately 93 million miles. That distance is one Astronomical Unit (AU). A light year is 63 239.6717 AU [5,881,289,468,100 miles] Our galaxy is 100,000 light years wide and 150,000 light years long [Do the math yourself]. That's a pretty big distance.

Improbable yes, but not impossible.

that is still small compared 2 the odds of other life. & the farther u go out from pulto, the less likely there will be life, so if there is life, it is prolly in another galaxy

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:59 am
by Event_Horizon
Sammy gags wrote:& the farther u go out from pulto, the less likely there will be life, so if there is life, it is prolly in another galaxy


Thats not true. The farther you go from the sun in our solar system, the less likely there is life, but every star in the galaxy is just another sun like ours, and there is probably a bunch of planets orbiting each one, and there is at least 1 planet in every 1000 stars that is probably capable of life.


gavin_sidhu wrote:I believe there is life on planets other than earth, but i dont think the life is as intelligent or more intelligent than humans.

I dont believe in alien UFO's because i think to travel the huge distances these aliens would have to travel in order to get to Earth, machines and such wont be able to do it, you would need something vaguely like teleporting.


How can you believe they aren't as advanced as us? Human civilization as we know it began only 10,000 years ago. Alien life could have began hundreds of thousands of years ago. They could have technology that we could never imagine. Teleporting is the only method we can think of that they could use, but for all we know, they might be using some crazy dimensional warp drive that we aren't going to even think of for another hundred thousand years...

In the grand scheme of things, 10,000 years isn't a very long time at all. Alien life could be literally billions on years ahead of us! Imagine what they could be capable of....

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:48 pm
by Bozo
Yes, what could they be capable of, well blowing up a planet for one thing, even in our 'primitive society' we already have the power to destroy our planet and we have already flexed our 'atomic' mucels more than 60 years ago, so if there are aliens who are so much more advanced than us isnt it only right to preseme that the could in theary blow us all to hell without even knowing that we are here?

But i know that someone will argue that maybe these aliens are peacefull and our weapons may be greater than theres, it wouldnt matter they could eaily devolep soome kind of doomsday weapon that would kill people leave the enviroment intake and simply wait a 100 years untill our bodyies are all gone and the ecosystem recovers from mankind,I ask you if Aliens saw our tiny little rock of a planet, saw us scury around on only a third of the Earth, saw us wage war on each other, saw us maiming and killing each other pointlessly, would they or should they intervien? I believe they wouldnt because it is a lot easier to let someone beat themselves up then it is to beat someone up.

As for these people being abducted, i think 99% of them are a load of bull-shit, just as the first post in this thread said that even if a handfull of u.f.o's are aliens that is still a lot of proff of aliens, but if these aleins are so much better than us, why would they 'probe' us? couldnt they do it discritly and efficently enough that we wouldnt notice?

I will believe aliens are probing people when i get abducted and they tell me to bend over

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:23 pm
by Event_Horizon
Perhaps these aliens developed differently in different areas of technology. They could have completely mastered space travel, but might still be entirely in the dark when it comes to understanding biology.

The story I see alot of is that they survive only by cloning themselves, as they do not have reproductive organs. They have been trying for many years to produce their own but can't do it, and so they are abducting humans to try to discover the key to sexual reproduction. Weather or not this is true is a different story, but that seems to be the common explanation.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:28 pm
by maniacmath17
Ofcourse it's possible that aliens could be more advanced than humans. Try to picture the earth in the year 3000. You'd probaby imagine something much more advanced than our current world. By the same token, you could try to picture the earth in the year 1000 and realize how little we had in terms of technology.

Aliens could appear on either end of the spectrum depending on how soon their existance began and the rate of advancement.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:28 pm
by Pedronicus
there are lifeforms that survive clinging to the edges of black smokers in the pacific where there's no light and the temperature is the same as boiling water.

This helps explain how the Athletes foot fungui survives living in my trainers

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:28 pm
by Event_Horizon
Exactly, its just that gavin implied that they couldn't possibly be more advanced then us.

reply

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:52 pm
by Capt Killroy
I ALSO BELIVE that life must exist , if stars are all made up with the same elements then life should not deviate to much to where we would not recognize it. is carbon base life the only life out there ? more we ask the less we know but the the drive to find out is what makes us human . capt out

PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:23 pm
by Phobia
the chances of life is very very rare, i mean if there was one slight difference to the world like being a few 1000 miles further away from the sun, it would of been a whole lot different.

but since the universe is unbelievely big, there has got to be other life, but i do not believe that any life will contact us and we will never contact them.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:02 am
by vtmarik
If we are ever contacted by aliens, i can imagine a few reasons why they would come here:

1) They want to help advance their technology, a galactic form of 'Paying it Forward.'
2) They want our planet and what little resources it has left. This would be the type of alien invasion seen in TV shows like V.
3) They want to seal us off from spreading our primitive selves through the galaxy until we develop into more responsible lifeforms, a galactic blockade as it were.
4) They want to enslave mankind and use them as a slave race or as some kind of galactic manifest destiny, like the Farfnians in the book Cheese Runners


The likelihood of our world ever being visited by another race is incredibly remote, but it's still an intriguing possibility to ponder.