Does anybody think there is intelligent life on other planets?

Answer 1

It seems unlikely we are alone in the galaxy.

Chemistry seems quite capable of creating the basic substances for life and as it is likely that there are billions of moons and planets to work with it seems likely SOME kind of life is out there.

However, the odds of intelligent life happening to be both currently alive (an not extinct by some means) and anywhere close enough for us to detect with even future technology seems pretty remote.

By some basic numbers

300 billion stars in our Galaxy
Assume half are old enough to have formed in the metal rich clouds to have life sustaining chemical reactions 150 billion
Assume half of these may have planets capable of supporting life 75 billion
Assume further that half of these worlds actually have life on them currently (it is relatively easy to generate mass extinction scenarios) 37.5 billion
Assume these life forms live on land and not in water (most life on earth is aquatic, and will never develop beyond most rudimentary technology without fire) Say 10% of previous number or 3.7 billion planets

Sounds promising so far?

Assume the collosal odds of evolution, chance, mass extinction survival, sufficient material wealth, species adaption to develop
technology. 1% of 3.7 billion or 37 million civilizations

Assume life expectancy of an average technological society at 1 million years? Why? just because. Humans have managed about 10 000 years, call me an optimist and we last for 1 million

Now how many technological civilizations are currently in the galaxy? If they have existed on and off for roughly half the age of the galaxy (7 billion years) 7 billion years divided by 37 million civilizations or 189 currently existing technological societies

Now what is the average distance between them?

Imagine the galaxy is a circle (it is not) approximately 300 000 light years across and sprinkle our 189 technological civilizations more or less evenly around it.

I come up with a ball park estimate of 1 civilization per 375 million "square" light years, or put another way, each technological alien civilization is no closer than 20 million light years.

These numbers are far from scientific, but give an indication how rare extraterrestrial life is even to optimists like me.

If humanity survives a million years, we would be lucky to meet one!

Answer 2

I once read somewhere, that there are more Stars in the Galaxy then there is sand grains on the planet Earth... And if we use just our solar system as an example... Anywhere from 5 to 9 planets per star... With those odds there has to be at least one other planet harboring sentient life... The bigger question I have is... Are you sure there's intelligent life on Earth?

Answer 3

Until we prove that there is intelligent life in this planet, we should not be concerned with the probability of intelligent life elsewhere.

Answer 4

I believe there is intelligent life on some other planet. They could be just like us or they could be like all the stuff you see on Sci Fi or at Roswell,NM.
There are other galaxies and solar systems so I think there could be other life some where out there.

Answer 5

Yes there is life out there. The universe is HUGE and there is no way life can only exist on one planet.

Answer 6

Definitely yes. The question is - 'Is there intelligent life on this planet?'. =)

Answer 7

I don't think that there is another form of life out there in our universe. However, I do believe that there is an intelligent life on other dimensions parallel to ours.

Answer 8

Maybe not intelligent, but yes I do believe there is some sort of life.

Answer 9

i will circulate to the "maximum in all probability no longer" classification. First, the silence. the two from the skies, and from the Bible. What has pissed off the boys at SETI is that no one is speaking. And their figures state that there would desire to be hundreds if no longer hundreds of ETs calling from residing house. The Bible's silence too, is via the fact the subject it bargains with only affected Adam's kin. because of fact that there is no direct connection with the golf green ladies of Vega 4 in it, I have no authority to declare there is green ladies on Vega 4. 2d, the explanation why Adam sinned interior the 1st place. The being all of us understand now as devil, got here up with a plan to get some followers, people who would reject God and stick to his occasion of independence. because of fact that he focused the latest creatures interior the actual realm, it shows to me that there became no one else available that he ought to run the con interest on. third, and comparable to the 2d, the account the place the gang of angels desperate that ladies have been the main well-liked element interior the Universe and that having intercourse with them became nicely worth disobeying God's objective for the earth. because of fact that intercourse, animals copulating, were happening for hundreds of tens of millions of years, and it did no longer get their interest or created a choose to do an identical, human ladies would desire to have been something new and distinctive interior the completed universe. They have been smart loose ethical brokers, only like angels, yet had actual bodies that must be "enjoyed". The scriptures say that they went taking all that they needed. that ought to recommend to me, that there is not any longer the different actual smart beings latest interior the universe as much as that factor. So, (a million)the silence, (2)the shortcoming of risk to deprave somebody, and (3)the choose to have intercourse with ladies, stands out as the three issues that I see would say (on the 2d) we are on my own interior the universe. What the destiny brings is yet another element. The Bible only makes a speciality of fixing what's broken right here. One scientist wrote with reference to the subject of the silence. in step with probability we are the 1st ones, and that (as Hawking keeps telling us) we can unfolded.

Answer 10

Yes