Are we really so ignorant?

Question

That we don't think there is a POSSIBILITY of other intelligent life? I mean really?! do you not think that SOMEwhere in this infinite universe there arent dozens more planets either WITH the same conditions as Earth or with Life that has adapted to other conditions? Whether you believe in God creating the universe, The Big Bang, or any other unprovable theory, WHY is it so impossible that :

A. The "God" That created everything and knows all could NEVER have been able to make 2-3+ other planets full of life

B. The same type of "bang" Could have occured in the billions of years Earth has been here

or
C. we aren't the FIRST people to ever exist.

honestly?
So many people laugh when the phrase "intelligent life" appears, but really...is it that far off?
I'm not saying I'm searchin the skys for some bug-eyed green thing to jump out at me, I just don't understand why people don't keep their minds open to entertain the possibility that the universe -literally- doesn't revolve around us..

Answer 1

I think you will find that most scientific people believe in the high probability of life elsewhere. Some even insist that it is obvious or stupid to think otherwise. This may be going a little too far, since all we know is that extraterrestrial life has never been discovered. But sure, most of us believe it exists elsewhere.

A) Most scientific people consider God to be of little use in this kind of discussion, since he has never been shown to exist. But yes, there could be millions of life-bearing planets.

B) No need for another Bang. This one was enough to create a few hundred billion galaxies. More than enough potential for life.

C) We are probably not the first. In fact, many advanced civilizations could have come and gone before we ever gained intelligence.

We have been systematically searching for life for over 40 years. It is called SETI. We use radio receivers that scan hundreds of thousands of frequencies, looking for anything that appears non-random. You seem frustrated. Have you really run into a lot of people who reject the possibility? Remember, there is a HUGE difference between some life maybe being out there and any of them being here.

Answer 2

OK, when you say "intelligent life" do you mean other planets or other dimensions? Personally, I don't think humans and animals here on this dimension are the only forms of intelligent life... I think there are other beings and the other beings come to earth on this dimension to get away from wars and other battles on their home. there are portals that not everyone can see or sense but they are out there and the beings you can come across can be very decieving I've been researching and have noticed an outbreak as of late of other dimensional beings comming forth and showing their true forms and soon there may be a war going on... it's been stated in many different sources all nonrelated so theres a good chance even nonbelievers will be forced into believing

Answer 3

I totally agree.

I believe 100% that there is life elsewhere. Maybe not "intelligent" life, similar to humans. But there is life, and who know's, maybe life from other planets are more advanced than we are.

Everything in the universe is made out of the same elements, so why couldn't life be created in another planet made from the same stuff as our Earth? Maybe it is not a matter of ignorance, but of limited knowledge of the universe (of the ordinary person). If everyone in the world knew more about the universe, then maybe everyone would be more open to the idea of life from other planets.

Answer 4

i don't think it's the exact same conditions. everyone thinks that it will have to be exactly the same so there's no chance. there are unfathomable ways in which life could form on other planets. the universe goes on for a long time(maybe not for forever, but for a while) so it's completely possible. and they may have lived trillions of light years before us. i guess we won't know for a few more trillion years once we get better telescopes so we can actually see the light coming from the planet thats been gone for a trillion years, and we just never knew it. it's just so unfathomable to us, we can't say there is or isn't, although my bet is on that theres been millions of them out there

Answer 5

A. sounds like your saying god COULDN'T build more than 1 planet with life on it.

but I think your trying to say
If God is SO powerful, then he probably DID create more life out there.

B........... uhm. what could another bang do but really screw our universe up. Maybe there are other bangs out there in different universes, but not here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOkAagw6iug

C............... people are humans. there where no other people before us on earth or even in space.... now a race of alien nonanthropomorphic beings then yes.

Chances are there is life that is much smarter, wiser and older than we are. We've only been around for at MOST (starting as monkeys) 200 million years and have truely been "intellegnt" for only about 10 thousand years.

Our world is 4.6 billion years old The Universe is supposed to be 13 billion years old. After about 5 billion years planets started to form. then 2 - 4 billion of years later they cooled down enough for life to grow on. (if we're talking about protein carbon based life) Soooooo whatever life is out there might have had about a 3 billion year head start........ the dinosaurs tried but died....... maybe OTHERS out there weren't so unlucky and are at least TWICE as old as us.


anyway... I think most people that believe we are the only life in this universe are closed minded ... children? with their fingers in their ears yelling LA LA LA lalalal LA LA LA lalalal I can't hear YOOOOOUUU!!!!!

or they are just people that don't know any better and have never picked up a book on astronomy or even thought about the vastness of space.....

I think pop culture, sci-fi and TV has a lot to with confusing and hyping people up in the wrong way, and people tend to take the idea as fiction as they have always accepted it.

And we don't really have a mind for numbers...... like this video suggests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw

Answer 6

The conditions to give life on a planet are extremely difficult to achieve. You need the right chemicals, the right sized star, and you can't be too close to other stars that are too big (or planets won't form due to radiationpressure) or any other nasties.

However, it is extremely likely that at least one or two other civilisations exist out there, that much is correct. However, it is unlikely we will run into them for at least the next few thousand years.

Answer 7

This question has been answered very well already.
So I'll just quote the final line from The Galaxy Song by Eric Idle.

"And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space
Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth."

Answer 8

If God said that this was the only planet with life, let it so. If God said that there were others, then so be it, once more.

Yes, we are ignorant making those theories. If you're a philosopher, you'd prove that there is no God, and the theories are true. Yet, the theories are only illusory propositions that can make someone mad and be dealt with without proof. The theories are still theories.

Answer 9

Most people are, I for some reason think that we may have life on some place. I mean when you look up at the sky at night you see so many stars I believe that one of them must have life.

Answer 10

I completely agree with you. With such a vast amount of space and with billions of galaxies occupying it, which in turn are occupied by billions of stars, it is almost foolish to imagine that we are the only living species. Why must we be visited by extraterrestrial beings in order to believe in them? We consider ourselves fairly intelligent beings, yet even we have failed to travel past our solar system. I typed a response to a similar question here, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmcEFaNUrfCwiWgmCz02AU7ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071031162146AAwl6ms&show=7#profile-info-AA10783710
It covers the majority of my thoughts about the topic.