Question of the Day Monday 3rd

[-_aj_-]

I didnt say any where i thought little grey men were coming to abduct us, i was refering to what i had been listening to and my question was

Do you think there is anything out there?

by believers i meant people that actually stopped to think there was more to life than us and our planet of living things, i should of been more clear....

 

[pookie-poo]

Don't know....probably, but I don't really care.

 

[misty8723]

Absolutely, there has to be. How could we be the only planet that has life in this incredible vast universe?

 

[tigerontheprowl]

Definitely. The odds are just too outrageous for there not to be anything. There are billions of stars and potentially billions of planets. There has to be something/someone out there somewhere.

It's just the Drake Equation:

N = R* X fp X ne X fl X fi X fc X fL

N=number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible

R*=average rate of star formation per year for our galaxy

fp=fraction of those stars that have planets

ne=average number of planets that can support life per stars with planets

fl=the fraction of above that go on to develop life at some point

fi=the fraction of above that go on to develop intelligent life

fc=the fraction of civilizations that develop technology to send detectable signs of their existence into space

fL=the length of time such civilizations release signs into space

 

[ut0pia]

Originally Posted by TigerOnTheProwl

Definitely. The odds are just too outrageous for there not to be anything. There are billions of stars and potentially billions of planets. There has to be something/someone out there somewhere.

It's just the Drake Equation:

N = R* X fp X ne X fl X fi X fc X fL

N=number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible

R*=average rate of star formation per year for our galaxy

fp=fraction of those stars that have planets

ne=average number of planets that can support life per stars with planets

fl=the fraction of above that go on to develop life at some point

fi=the fraction of above that go on to develop intelligent life

fc=the fraction of civilizations that develop technology to send detectable signs of their existence into space

fL=the length of time such civilizations release signs into space

how can you possibly know all these variables so you can calculate N??? I don't thinkwe know ne and everything under it....
What about the biological/evolutionary aspect?? I think this formula assumes that the evolution of life at a planet with favorable conditions is a given but I don't think it is, we still don't know how exactly life began on our own planet, even though we can trace it from the cyanobacteria, we don't know how exactly it happened, and what the odds are of it happening again if the conditions are exactly the same.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by ut0pia

how can you possibly know all these variables so you can calculate N??? I don't thinkwe know ne and everything under it....
What about the biological/evolutionary aspect?? I think this formula assumes that the evolution of life at a planet with favorable conditions is a given but I don't think it is, we still don't know how exactly life began on our own planet, even though we can trace it from the cyanobacteria, we don't know how exactly it happened, and what the odds are of it happening again if the conditions are exactly the same.

You guess, sort of. Look up Fermi Paradox, though.

 

[butzie]

Originally Posted by Ruthyb

Morning

Thats odd, I was having this conversation the other day with my friend after Stephen Hawking has said that there are things out there but not to delve into it. Yes I do think there is, how do we know that there isn't another planet out there like this and they are thinking the same as us

I really do believe it. x

Saw the same program with Hawkins in it. Hey, if he believes, I believe.

 

[-_aj_-]

i havent seen the program but i did read about Stephen Hawkiins saying it in the newspaper

 

[ut0pia]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

You guess, sort of. Look up Fermi Paradox, though.

I looked it up...I don't know how these scientists are jumping to these conclusions... It seems like the Fermi paradox is already using the fact that civilizations are out there...not bacteria, not plants, not even apes or dinosaurs, but civilizations like US!! I think it's a looong shot to be assuming that, not because of the probabilities, but simply because looking at our own planet out of the abundant diversity of species, we are the only ones who can think the way we do and pretty much colonize the whole earth if I can put it this way....I think in our own evolution, the way our brain evolved, something unusual happened.. just because we are so different from other animals!!
I guess scientists automatically discount that, because really it's approaching the spiritual realm...but to me it's impossible to separate the two. Maybe that's why I couldn't stand studying science and had to go to liberal arts

IMO there is no way we evolved the same way all the other animals did, otherwise we'd have talking cats who understand differential equations ....maybe one day in a few billion years, that will happen, and we will be wiped out since the talking big cats will prey on us

And Drake's equation?? It seems like multiplying guesses also multiplies all the errors in the guess, and it's A LOT of things to multiply!! It seems to me like it doesn't really tell us much...
Even when I read what Stephen Hawking said in the recent documentary, the thing that stood out to me was "He speculated that most extraterrestrial life would be similar to microbes, or small animals. Microbial life might exist far beneath the Martian surface, where liquid water is thought to trickle through the rock. Marine creatures might also conceivably live in huge oceans of water beneath a miles-thick layer of ice on Europa, a moon of Jupiter."

All the other stuff seemed far fetched to me, and didn't even sound very scientific, there wasn't much backing up of the facts like here with the example of the Martian surface....
I'm not saying I don't believe intelligent life forms exist, but I just don't find it very convincing when I see claims that they do for sure.