Aliens

[ZPD]

I am an alien.................
So what?

Knock it off with the probing then! Haven't you had enough?

 

[lost1]

Well at least you have good taste in alcohol. Warning...nerd-speak is commencing in...5...4...3...2...you get the point.


I find that light speed arguement interesting. Its obvious to anyone looking at these numbers that such travel would be unreasonable. Taking the next logical step however leads you to ask the question, 'is there a way to travel faster than the speed of light?'

Well that's a whole other debate, but they have managed to both completely stop light particles in thier path, and even speed them up beyond light's standard speed. Some brief searching on Google brought this up... http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/lightstop_010119.html http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/faster_than_c_000719.html

If its possible to move light particles faster than previously recorded, then that has dramatic impacts on our thinking in regards to interstellar travel. Include the possibility of gravity waves as a mathematically predictable and finite (and therefore measurable) and we have the beginnings of a way to shorten our interstellar travels. communications technology will likely be the first field that benefits from our recent discoveries, but with advances like we've seen in the last fifty years we might see some staggering discoveries in another fifty.

You ahve to look at space travel as very long-term, in transit as well, but mostly in development. It would be unreasonable to expect an entirely new form of propulsion to be used even five years after being developed, because you have to examine the cause-and-effects of the object before you can consider its usefulness and its safety.

Wonder what I mean by that? Then you're nto thinking, you're jsut reading. Consider the nuclear bombs dropped on japan in WW2. When we dropped those bombs our scientists had no idea what was going to happen. some thought they would cause minimal damage, be an embarrasment. On the more extreme end of the arguement, it was theorized by others taht they would cause a tear in Space-time itself and destroy everything within a few light years of the bomb. Comforting, huh?

Getting back on track though, its been less than one lifetime since we left our atmosphere and began exploring the stars. I find it pretty funny that we can say its impossible to travel between planets when not too long ago we thought the speed of sound couldn't be broken. We've held to the belief that light speed couldn't be surpassed either; maybe we're wrong on that front as well, the debate is finally getting some serious food for thought instead of endless hypothesese. What's to say we can't travel to other worlds in another century? We may not even have to move faster than light, just different than light. We're raised to think of moving directionally, but in the vastness of space direction takes a twist. We're just beginning to unlock the secrets of space, its way too early to block out any possibilities. Well, except maybe that the earth is round.

everyone knows that's bullshit.

 

[Bent]

What do you think "God" has to say about this?

"I owe you an explanation, Why?"


:roflmao:

 

[Bent]

Aliens are some of the nicest people you'd ever meet....

In a "Mote in God's Eye" sort of way? Friendly, well meaning, helpful ....


I'm going to stick with "FootFall".

:explosion

 

[Geepfreak]

I find that light speed arguement interesting. Its obvious to anyone looking at these numbers that such travel would be unreasonable. Taking the next logical step however leads you to ask the question, 'is there a way to travel faster than the speed of light?'

The Movie "Event Horizon" explains it well, you "fold" space and time, making it the same, really no need for travel, cause you are already there. instantanious baby..
I am currently working on the process from my house to Moab.

 

[RichP]

In a "Mote in God's Eye" sort of way? Friendly, well meaning, helpful ....


I'm going to stick with "FootFall".

:explosion

Ahhh, elephant season opens again eh...

 

[ColoCherokees]

Just "running the numbers" and saying there's "10^8 habitable planets" in the galaxy/universe/whatever doesn't mean anything. Last I heard, there are around 130 factors that must be in place for humans to exist on earth - stuff like the right number of hurricanes of a certain intensity. Lots of things have to be just right here on Earth to allow us "smart" humans to have evolved and survive.

The obvious next question is "why does alien life have to be carbon-based like us?" It doesn't have to be carbon-based, but it sure makes sense, since carbon is so abundant (compared to everything besides H and He). Life forms could be silicon or boron based (according to what we've uncovered so far), but boron is pretty sparse, so makes boron-based life pretty unlikely. IIRC, silicon-based life needs more or less what us carbon-based life forms need, in regards to temperature, liquid water, etc.

And, even if a particular planet/star provides the right conditions, why does life (especially intelligent life) HAVE to form? The odds are against intelligent life resulting on any given "hospitable" planet, from what I've seen, especially, since the universe is not "infinite" in it's size or number of "hospitable" planets.

I find it ironic that many skeptics rant and rave at people who have faith in some deity or "great beyond" and then rant and rave that "there MUST be intelligent life out there, there just MUST be, I don't care what you say." The way things look right now, intelligent aliens probably don't exist, and even if they did, it's more than likely we couldn't have any meaningful contact with them, so who cares? Why do some people seem to have this overwhelming need to believe in intelligent life outside Earth?

There's more than enough to do and learn right here, with the people we've got - and who's to say that aliens would be any nicer/smarter/caring than we are? Basically, I couldn't care less about the idea of little green men running around out "there" it's just not relevant to anyone's day to day life, or even our investigation of how the universe works.

 

[Root Moose]

In a "Mote in God's Eye" sort of way? Friendly, well meaning, helpful ....

Actually, in more like a "kinda tastes like chicken" kid of way.

 

[Root Moose]

I find it ironic that many skeptics rant and rave at people who have faith in some deity or "great beyond" and then rant and rave that "there MUST be intelligent life out there, there just MUST be, I don't care what you say." The way things look right now, intelligent aliens probably don't exist, and even if they did, it's more than likely we couldn't have any meaningful contact with them, so who cares? Why do some people seem to have this overwhelming need to believe in intelligent life outside Earth?

More to the point, wake me up when we find some intelligent life ON this planet.

Because, the truth is out there...

dooo,dooo,dooo...dooo,dooo,dooo...dooo,dooo,dooo....

 

[ROOK1]

Just "running the numbers" and saying there's "10^8 habitable planets" in the galaxy/universe/whatever doesn't mean anything. Last I heard, there are around 130 factors that must be in place for humans to exist on earth - stuff like the right number of hurricanes of a certain intensity. Lots of things have to be just right here on Earth to allow us "smart" humans to have evolved and survive.

The obvious next question is "why does alien life have to be carbon-based like us?" It doesn't have to be carbon-based, but it sure makes sense, since carbon is so abundant (compared to everything besides H and He). Life forms could be silicon or boron based (according to what we've uncovered so far), but boron is pretty sparse, so makes boron-based life pretty unlikely. IIRC, silicon-based life needs more or less what us carbon-based life forms need, in regards to temperature, liquid water, etc.

And, even if a particular planet/star provides the right conditions, why does life (especially intelligent life) HAVE to form? The odds are against intelligent life resulting on any given "hospitable" planet, from what I've seen, especially, since the universe is not "infinite" in it's size or number of "hospitable" planets.

I find it ironic that many skeptics rant and rave at people who have faith in some deity or "great beyond" and then rant and rave that "there MUST be intelligent life out there, there just MUST be, I don't care what you say." The way things look right now, intelligent aliens probably don't exist, and even if they did, it's more than likely we couldn't have any meaningful contact with them, so who cares? Why do some people seem to have this overwhelming need to believe in intelligent life outside Earth?

There's more than enough to do and learn right here, with the people we've got - and who's to say that aliens would be any nicer/smarter/caring than we are? Basically, I couldn't care less about the idea of little green men running around out "there" it's just not relevant to anyone's day to day life, or even our investigation of how the universe works.

Apparently you care enough to write this.

 

[ColoCherokees]

Apparently you care enough to write this.

Hah, touche'. I think it's a hot button issue for me, since I'm in school and this issue comes up regularly (astro/phyics major). Maybe a better way to put my first post would just be a big "WHO CARES" and leave it at that.

 

[woody]

You called?

 

[Bent]

Actually, in more like a "kinda tastes like chicken" kid of way.

:chef:

I've always wanted to go for a swim in BBQ sauce.

 

[IMORTL]

Spoken like someone who has not yet fathomed the infinite vastness of space (no insult intended!).

The reason it intuitively 'feels' to be improbable, is because humans are not naturally inclined or socially conditioned to think in terms of the interminable vastness - both physically and mathematically - that 'space' holds. (We could get into how space shoud really be considered to be spacetime and that there can be no real separation between the two, but that's for another time...). Our tiny minds are constrained when we try to imagine things on the terms of 'infinity'.

Mathematically, we can be almost certain that there is life on other planets; within visible space alone its been calculated that there are probably 10^18 habitable planets actually hosting some form of life, and in our galaxy alone, its probable that there are about 10 million habitable planets hosting life. And this is only on the assumption that life needs the conditions that we have on Earth in order to spark, exist and thrive; it says nothing of the interminable vastness of forms that life may actually take, outside of our current understanding of life.

Do I believe that 'aliens' are currently visiting our planet or are studying us right now? No. Do I believe its possible that they are out there? Absolutely, its almost a mathematical certainty...

Just a couple of cents...

I believe there is life out there. Mostly because I don’t think we are "special" in the universe... I believe we are smart hairy apes.

I can’t tell if the universe is infinite, but it is HUGE. The light from the farthest (that we can see) is from 15 Billion years ago. That’s a pretty long time… time enough for life to from somewhere else too? Life lives here is some very extreme places from hot to cold. I really hope they find life on one of Saturn’s moons soon.

 

[blue_flip]

Art Bell is my hero.

x5 kajillion

 

[Beej]

Just "running the numbers" and saying there's "10^8 habitable planets" in the galaxy/universe/whatever doesn't mean anything. Last I heard, there are around 130 factors that must be in place for humans to exist on earth - stuff like the right number of hurricanes of a certain intensity. Lots of things have to be just right here on Earth to allow us "smart" humans to have evolved and survive.

The obvious next question is "why does alien life have to be carbon-based like us?" It doesn't have to be carbon-based, but it sure makes sense, since carbon is so abundant (compared to everything besides H and He). Life forms could be silicon or boron based (according to what we've uncovered so far), but boron is pretty sparse, so makes boron-based life pretty unlikely. IIRC, silicon-based life needs more or less what us carbon-based life forms need, in regards to temperature, liquid water, etc.

And, even if a particular planet/star provides the right conditions, why does life (especially intelligent life) HAVE to form? The odds are against intelligent life resulting on any given "hospitable" planet, from what I've seen, especially, since the universe is not "infinite" in it's size or number of "hospitable" planets.

I find it ironic that many skeptics rant and rave at people who have faith in some deity or "great beyond" and then rant and rave that "there MUST be intelligent life out there, there just MUST be, I don't care what you say." The way things look right now, intelligent aliens probably don't exist, and even if they did, it's more than likely we couldn't have any meaningful contact with them, so who cares? Why do some people seem to have this overwhelming need to believe in intelligent life outside Earth?

There's more than enough to do and learn right here, with the people we've got - and who's to say that aliens would be any nicer/smarter/caring than we are? Basically, I couldn't care less about the idea of little green men running around out "there" it's just not relevant to anyone's day to day life, or even our investigation of how the universe works.

I'm assuming this was partially directed at me. Allow me to point out that in my original post, I mentioned NOTHING about extraterrestrial sentient life. I only refer to life. Last I checked, single-celled organisms qualify as life...

 

[WVXJ]

What gets me is everyone taking films and photos of flying saucers with bright flashy lights. I figure, if aliens are that advanced, to fly saucers the speed of light using anti-gravity and what not, what the hell would they need with bright flashy lights?
My guess is, if they're here and don't want us to know it, we won't know it. Some say they've already tried to tell us, and to help us, by way of Sidartha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.,..........

 

[RichP]

This universe is only going to last till the landlord cleans out the previous tennants mouldy cheese from their refrigerator...then it's all over..

 

[Beej]

What gets me is everyone taking films and photos of flying saucers with bright flashy lights. I figure, if aliens are that advanced, to fly saucers the speed of light using anti-gravity and what not, what the hell would they need with bright flashy lights?
My guess is, if they're here and don't want us to know it, we won't know it. Some say they've already tried to tell us, and to help us, by way of Sidartha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.,..........

Who said that? The writers of Stargate SG-1?

 

[Root Moose]

What gets me is everyone taking films and photos of flying saucers with bright flashy lights. I figure, if aliens are that advanced, to fly saucers the speed of light using anti-gravity and what not, what the hell would they need with bright flashy lights?

Zleep tells me that's how he likes to futz with the slack jaw monkeys.

My guess is, if they're here and don't want us to know it, we won't know it. Some say they've already tried to tell us, and to help us, by way of Sidartha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.,..........

Putting Sidartha and Jesus together with Mohammed is offensive.