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Is there intelligent life out there?
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| Cyrus King |
In my opinion.... I think there are... i really think we would be arrogant to think we are the only ones that exist in this infinite universe.
What are your comments or opinions? |
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| TranceGiant |
Nobody knows. But I also think so. It's just probable...Given the Universe is infinite and I don't see a "point" in us(animals plansts and humans) being the only living species.
But then again, what does have a point :conf: |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
I'm pretty sure there is. It's impossible that out of so many planets in the universe, not one has the same conditions on it as earth. Besides, maybe those conditions aren't necesarry at all, so that gives even more chance for life.
Anyway, you can never prove that there isn't, only that there is. |
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| JohnSmith |
it's debatable whether there is intelligent life on earth. :)
nah, i belive that there must be something alive out there. |
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| dEsidEL |
i remember watching Discovery channel one time and they actually talked about this theory that explains how many sentient lifeforms are in our galaxy .. when i saw it i was like wtf..
so i went and downloaded the vid from their site .. maybe i'll post it for u guys if i can find some place to upload it to .. |
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| Yoepus |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cyrus King
In my opinion.... I think there are... i really think we would be arrogant to think we are the only ones that exist in this infinite universe. |
I think its arrogant to think we are intelligent. |
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| Cyrus King |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yoepus
I think its arrogant to think we are intelligent. |
What are you implying? This thread is about outer space intelligence.. not our race. |
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| Nadi |
| Because of the incredible size and age of the universe, I'd have to think that somewhere theres intellegent life, either similar to ours, or extrordinarly diffrent, or both :P |
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| oDrori |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
Anyway, you can never prove that there isn't, only that there is. |
Simple as dat . |
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| undertensecond |
| there is for sure! |
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| tor8024 |
| as long as i haven't seen it.. nope there isn't. |
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| Sarcoman |
I defintely believe there is intelligent life out there. I also believe that we will never meet them.
Some of you have mentioned the fact that because there are so many stars out there, the chances of life are more and more likely. That was the same concept Francis Drake had when he made the Drake equation. Its an equation that attempts to hypothesize how may intelligent lifeforms there are:
The Drake Equation was developed by Frank Drake in 1961 as a way to focus on the factors which determine how many intelligent, communicating civilizations there are in our galaxy. The Drake Equation is:
N = N* fp ne fl fi fc fL
The equation can really be looked at as a number of questions:
N* represents the number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy
Question: How many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy?
Answer: Current estimates are around 200 billion.
fp is the fraction of stars that have planets around them
Question: What percentage of stars have planetary systems?
Answer: Thanks to advances in technology, new planets are being discovered every month. Within a few years we may have a reasonably accurate estimate. For now we'll say 20% (a standard estimate given my many including Frank Drake).
ne is the number of planets per star that are capable of sustaining life
Question: For each star that does have a planetary system, how many planets are capable of sustaining life?
Answer: If you base it on our solar system you might say 3 planets could possibly support life - Venus, Earth, and Mars. There is also the chance that one or more of Jupiter's moons could support life. If our system is typical the answer may be between 3 and 5.
fl is the fraction of planets in ne where life evolves
Question: On what percentage of the planets that are capable of sustaining life does life actually evolve?
Answer: Current guesses range from 100% (where life can evolve it will) down to close to 0%.
fi is the fraction of fl where intelligent life evolves
Question: On the planets where life does evolve, what percentage evolves intelligent life?
Answer: Guesses range from 100% (intelligence is such a survival advantage that it will certainly evolve) down to near 0%.
fc is the fraction of fi that communicate
Question: What percentage of intelligent races have the means and the desire to communicate?
Answer: Who knows? Let's guess 10% to 20%
fL is fraction of the planet's life during which the communicating civilizations live
Question: For each civilization that does communicate, for what fraction of the planet's life does the civilization survive?
Answer: This is the toughest of the questions. If we take Earth as an example, the expected lifetime of our Sun and the Earth is roughly 10 billion years. So far we've been communicating with radio waves for less than 100 years. How long will our civilization survive? Will we destroy ourselves in a few years like some predict or will we overcome our problems and survive for millennia? If we were destroyed tomorrow the answer to this question would be 1/100,000,000th. If we survive for another 10,000 years the answer will be 1/1,000,000th.
When all of these variables are multiplied together we come up with:
N the number of communicating civilizations in the galaxy.
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The real value of the Drake Equation is not in the answer itself, but the questions that are prompted when attempting to come up with an answer. Obviously there is a tremendous amount of guess work involved when filling in the variables. As we learn more from astronomy, biology, and other sciences, we'll be able to better estimate the answers to the above questions. Many of these questions will be addressed in depth in future issues of Enigma.
NOTE: Drake's original equation actually used the terms R in place of N* and L in place of fL where R stood for the rate of star creation in the galaxy (i.e.: how many new stars are created each year) and L stood for the length of the time a given communicating civilization survives (in years). In general you will get the same answer using either set of terms, however I feel the terms used on this page make the equation more understandable.
Source:
http://www.activemind.com/Mysteriou...e_equation.html |
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