Please set aside religious beliefs???

Question

Can you, of intelligent mind, knowing the shear immensity of this universe, with a straight face and complete honesty say that you are absolutely positive that we (homosapiens) are the only intelligence that exists.

Answer 1

Although I think that there is intelligent life out there in the universe, I could make a case for it being pretty rare. To begin with, we know very little about the conditions that caused life to arise here on Earth. These conditions might be extrememly rare or non existent elsewhere in the Universe. We also know little about the solar system formation process. Maybe there was something special or unique about the substances of which the cloud of debris that coalesced to form our solar system was made. Maybe there was something odd about Earth's early atmosphere or geology that led to an abundance of water or organic molecules on its surface. Our moon is a very unusual feature. It was probably created by a collision between "Earth A" and another planet "Earth B" about the size of Mars during the solar system's formation. What if that event indirectly contributed to the origin of life?...perhaps by dredging up organic substances or water vapor or unique atmospheric gasses from deep within the Earth... What if plate tectonics and the strength of Earth's internal heat source are consequences of this collision? Maybe the modern Earth would be more like Mars or Venus if it weren't for our unique Moon. Maybe the collision that created the moon caused the Earth to have a rotation rate that is favorable to life. What if the laws of angular momentum cause most planets close to stars in the so called "habitable zone" to normally have much more erratic rates of rotation or more dramatic seasons that would normally not allow temperatures to be right for liquid water? Even if life does arise on a planet, multicellular life might be extrememly rare. Life on Earth was simple and single celled for most of the Earth's history. Although life began around 3.5 billion years ago, multicellular complex life has only been around for a little over a half a billion years. This suggests that its a pretty big leap from amoeba to alligator. Again, what if something rare occured that pressured life into making this crucial transition. Even supposing that multicellular life does manage to arise on a planet there is no guarantee that it will be what we would consider "intelligent". Although intelligence is an advantageous adaptation, it has a few evolutionary disadvantages as well. Large brains use a lot of physical resources and energy that could be better put into making the organism run faster or grow larger. Intelligent organisms also need to have fairly long life spans so they can learn about their environment and learn the skills necessary for survival and for the developement of culture. In order to build things and use tools, intelligent organisms also need special kinds of manipulative appendages. I should also point out that there are a lot of other intelligent animals here on Earth, dolphins, octopi, ants, chimpanzees, and elephants to name a few. Yet for all their smarts, none of these creature build cities, radio transmitters, or spaceships. None of them have philosophy or religion, they don't wonder about their place in the universe or about the nature of the world around them. This seems to be uniquely human in our world. Now that I've typed this essay, I hope that you have discovered something interesting in it to think about. :)

Answer 2

I can of intelligent mind, knowing the shear immensity of this universe, with a happy face and complete honesty say that I am absolutely positively sure without a doubt that we," thank God", are not the only intelligent life that exists.

Answer 3

Isaiah 40:12 says that the heavens (i.e., think of the largest galactic proportion your mind can fathom) can be measured with just the span of God's hand. So when we, the born again believer, sees the immensity of heaven, we don't ponder the possible existence of other planets with intelligent life; we ponder the immensity of our Great God!

Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?

Answer 4

That is a loaded question!!

You would have to either be intensly naive or at least ignorant in order to believe that there were no life in the universe besides that found on this planet.

Answer 5

Not at all. But understanding the sheer immensity of the universe our chances of ever meeting other life, intelligent or not, is vanishingly remote.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr7wNQw12l8

Answer 6

I for one believe that other life exists.

As far as intelligent life such as our own. That I can't be for certain.

There has been evidence for possible life on Mars. I believe intelligence is measure ed by not how much you know. But how much you ask.

Answer 7

People who are positive are wrong occassionally. So, your question accomplishes little. How positive were the passengers on the Titanic that they were in for a safe voyage? They bet their lives.

Answer 8

I would say, "No" - but then, I allow for the possibility of just about anything - there's far more in this life that I'm ignorant about than there are things I'm positive about.

Answer 9

Maybe it would be arrogant on the part of humans to say that there is no life out there but ours. I am not sure, but I believe in the possibility.

Answer 10

No. But the existence of aliens wouldn't mean the Bible is wrong. The Bible doesn't comment on dinosaurs either, but it doesn't change the Bible's message or make it less valid.