Why do you think some people want to believe in Extraterrestrial Life?

Question

And Fear It Evenso?

Answer 1

I think that it has to do with the way that human intelligence evolved. The human brain evolved to recognize patterns. Patterns in nature. Patterns in animal behavior. Patterns in the weather. Patterns in human behavior. By recognizing patterns humans are able to make predictions, and by being able to predict, they are able to plan ahead. This is the essence of intelligence, and it's what allowed humans to survive and thrive. So wherever we humans look, we try to find patterns, we try to connect the dots, per se. Whether it be in the seasons, in the stars, in events, or in each other. When we see something that we cannot understand we try to explain it based upon information that we have at our disposal, and sometimes that information is extremely limited, but that doesn't stop us from conjecturing an explanation. Bigfoot, ghosts, conspiracies, the Bermuda triangle, God. Humanity is full of examples where man's imagination has taken limited and sometimes questionable information and extrapolated quite elaborate theories to explain it. Currently the idea of extraterrestrials seems to have found favor among many, although there is absolutely no evidence to support such a claim. Generally these beliefs are quite harmless. But sometimes people's beliefs can become so fervent that they become dangerous. People lose all reason and objectivity. Still, on the whole, our tendency to look for patterns, our passion to explain, has brought us to where we are today, and if we can keep our passions and fervency from destroying us, we may someday find out if there really are other intelligent beings out there.

When people encounter the unknown, their minds immediately begin to conjur up visions of what could possibly be filling this strange and foreboding place. Humans are naturally wary about what lies in the unknown. Just like when we were children, and were afraid of the dark. Our natural instinct for survival, makes us imagine all sorts of dangers in the unknown. Even when we grow older, we still have that tendency to imagine monsters in the dark. It's what kept our ancestors' children from walking off into the dark, which was indeed a dangerous place, and it keeps our minds filling the unknown with all sorts of mysterious things, even to this day. Wherever there is an unknown, be it in the world, in the universe, or in the future, our minds will fill it. Fortunately, our passion to understand, outweighs our fear of the unknown.

There is something called the Drake Equation, and by entering certain variables, the equation will predict the number of planets in our universe that should support intelligent life. When this equation was first proposed by Frank Drake, it predicted the existence of millions of planets with intelligent life. Over the years science has refined it's understanding of the evolution of the universe and life, allowing us to better input the variables. Still, people can input whatever variables they would like. But when input into the equation, the current best guess information about the universe, returns an answer, that the number of planets in the universe with intelligent life, is one.

But like I say, you can input whatever variables you like, and the fervent belief of some that there is intelligent life out there, may lead mankind to go and see, and that, I believe, is a good thing. I don't believe that a universe with us as the only intelligent life would be an incredible waste of space. I believe that it would be a wonderful adventure, one which we are only now taking our first steps to explore. Someday the universe may be full of intelligent life, and it may have begun with us.

Answer 2

I do think there is extraterrestrial life based on nothing but probability.
Life as we know it needs a planet with liquid water.
This is very small a probability, but there are billions of stars in a given galaxy, and millions and millions galaxies.
Given these numbers why should we be alone.
I think that anyone smart enough to be actually able to leave and go intergalactic distances would really be interested in us other than as a study in what can go wrong?

Answer 3

Space goes on forever. If we are the only life in space that seams like an awful waste of space.

I have also seen things that i believe were not from this earth.

I was mowing the lawn one day and stopped to wipe my brow and looked off to the east and there was a disk shaped object hovering atleast 2000 feet in the sky. Then it shot stight up into the sky leaving a contrail untill it got out of sight. There is no plane I know of that can do that.

Answer 4

I think that people want to believe in ET life because there is such a big universe out there, and we (humans) cannot be the only (technologically) intelligent life form out there. Also, it brings up a sense of "believing" without necessarily "seeing". Everyone should have something they believe in, and when you believe, you dont ask questions.

Fear is the unknown. Because we have yet to collect "significant scientific data" that eveyone believes is true, we should fear what we dont know. There could be a life form out there that is so technologically savvy that they could over power the human race. Who knows.

"If it is just us, it seems like an awful waste of space" -Contact

Answer 5

I beleive that most thinking people do accept the reality of extraterrestrial life! The signs from the distant past to the modern future allow no other possibility! People from other places have always been with us & they most definetly are with us right now! They are mentioned throughout the scriptures, they look like us, & they are very powerful, with greateR scientific knowledge. In todays world, they are refered to as 'angels' by those who do not understand where they come from of why they are here! Acceptance of them causes fear in the minds of most people! The Bible even prophesies that when the SAVIOR returns that the nations will think that they are being atteched from aliens & try to shoot them down with their missles! What ignorance & stupidity!!!

Answer 6

Since there is no evidence supporting the idea, I do not "believe in" extraterrestrial life. But I am completely open to the possibility, should such evidence ever become available.

Answer 7

Because it's impossible to believe that we're the only somewhat intelligent life forms in this entire universe.

The only ones who want us to fear are the producers in Hollywood, who make money off of "monsters from space" films. I don't know anyone who really fears E.T.'s, I mean if they were out to get us they would have done so already.

Answer 8

I believe in extrateretial life, because think about how big space is. It goes on forever. We couldn't possibly be the only source of living life. Maybe in our solar system? yes. But think about the other millions of galaxies? Could we really be the only living life?
Think about it. You tell me are we really the only living things in the universe?

~hope I was helpful. If you happen to find an alien send him in a cardboard box to me! lol :) ~

Answer 9

With the trillions and trillions of planets out there exactly like earth, it seems a bit narrow minded to think we're the only intelligent beings in the universe.
That said, I seriously doubt any of them have ever visited us in tiny saucer shaped space ships.

Answer 10

The human mind needs to believe, it is healthy. When we come to conclusion that all possibilities have been explored our creativity dies. Belief in E.T.s is an example of how the human mind tackles the galatic unknown. The fear of unknown is balanced with curiosity of the unknown. We only fear what we do not know. All that we know we love.