Sparkle Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I don't think there is other intelligent life out there, but I will accept it as a slim possibility since I'm not God :001_smile: I believe UFOs and aliens are expressions of demonic activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I think it is highly probable that there is intelligent life elsewhere, but I doubt we will ever see solid proof of it or encounter alien lifeforms in my lifetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I'm chopped liver.... :tongue_smilie::lol: I suppose I could have said that since the Hive exists there is intelligent life on Earth. Makes everyone happy that way. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Ooo.....I would love to see a thread dedicated to those who have seen something. There is a lady here who claims to have seen 3 low hovering objects. She didn't elaborate. Dawn Okay. I can do that before going to tai chi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 They come here to check on our technological progress. We aren't yet ready to join the Federation and the Prime Directive stipulates they are not to interfere with our natural development as a civilization. ;) :lol: Has anyone seen Brian Regan's skit on intelligent life in space? :D No, but I love Brian Regan. I'll have to look for it when I leave here. :iagree: hawking said something similar. Of course there is but they want what we would want resources Yes, Hawking said aliens aren't likely to be friendly. I'm not sure how he knows but hey, he's intelligent! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 May I ask why not? Yes, but Mormon beliefs hold to man being able to become a God in his own right and with his own planet to populate, correct? So by default that would hold to other intelligent life out there. Eh...that's a little skewed, but I don't think this is a good thread to get into a lengthy discussion of the nuances of LDS belief. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Of course it exists on Earth. You and I are here. ;) True. But days like today, I wonder about myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EducationX2 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I believe that there must be life out there somewhere. I find it highly unlikely that on all the planets in all the universes out there that Earth is the ONLY one that has developed life. I doubt life there looks anything like what life on Earth looks like. And I don't believe that life from another planet has ever visited Earth. But life on another planet, sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 I always wonder about applying our own definitions of "intelligence" and "life" to the entire universe, especially considering that we've decided most of the universe is dark energy and dark matter, but we're not sure exactly what those actually are. Well, except that they're dark. Perhaps what we have here is, indeed, not really "intelligent life" according to most of the universe. (Probably better not to answer these polls when I've been reading Terry Pratchett.) I just finished his new book, The Long Earth. Fascinating! Ok, y'all got me. I totally revealed my own bias in the question in the OP. :) I personally believe there is likely life out there somewhere, simply because the universe is so vast that it seems improbable we're the only ones. I know they've discovered several planets with similar conditions to our own (atmosphere, distance from sun, etc). From what I gather, though, because of the speed of light, by the time we see those planets, millions of years have passed from that moment. IOW, if I am understanding correctly, if ZibZab the Alien is looking at Earth right now from his planet far away, he might see the dinosaurs roaming around. Please feel free to correct me if I am misunderstanding. I asked why people might NOT believe there's other life because I imagined there might be a variety of reasons...some religious, some not, and I'm always interested in learning why people think what they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I said other: possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 (edited) If anyone is interested in a decent novel about it, try His Master's Voice by Lem*. The first chapter is slightly odd, but the rest is so real a story, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. *Lem is not a household name in the US, but world wide he one of the most famous Fiction About Science writers. Note I didn't say Sci-fi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice_%28novel%29 I disagree that it is "dense". It is actually a rather thrilling read. Edited August 8, 2012 by kalanamak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I voted yes. I believe in God and spiritual beings like angels. They are not limited to this planet. If you are only talking about beings like humans I don't think there are others. I don't think there are animals either. However, I'd allow that maybe there are micro-organisms out there somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I just finished his new book, The Long Earth. Fascinating! Well, that explains a lot! I haven't read it yet, though. Our library just got Snuff; who knows when they'll finally get The Long Earth. If anyone is interested in a decent novel about it, try His Master's Voice by Lem*. The first chapter is slightly odd, but the rest is so real a story, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. *Lem is not a household name in the US, but world wide he one of the most famous Fiction About Science writers. Note I didn't say Sci-fi. This sounds familiar. Have you mentioned it before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 This sounds familiar. Have you mentioned it before? I mention Lem periodically. I think the last time was over a year ago, and was the novel Chain of Chance. I believe I have told the story of carrying a Lem book with me when I lived in NYC. Before med school, I was out and about a lot on foot. I was reading everything translated by Lem. I believe HBJ had just put out a big bunch with monochromic covers. Foreigners would see a Lem book and speak to me: a visiting Chinese professor, a grad student from Prague, a Brazilian musician. Other than these Lem contacts and one nice student I spoke to waiting all day in a line for a driver's license, I had not ONE normal conversation initiated by a stranger (perverty ones, yes) in the decade I lived there. So, I took to carrying a Lem book just to get normal people to talk to me on the subway. HMV is my favorite, although I like his funny ones, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 They come here to check on our technological progress. We aren't yet ready to join the Federation and the Prime Directive stipulates they are not to interfere with our natural development as a civilization. ;) :lol: Why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Definitely. Given the size of the universe, I think it would be impossible for us to be the only intelligent life in existence. :iagree: It seems rather provincial and arrogant to assume that we are the only intelligent life forms in the vast expanse of the known and unknown universe. However, I am not referring to aliens who travel in aircraft and who allegedly abduct humans to implant microtransmitters behind their ears or stick probes .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I think there has been, currently is, or will be intelligent life out there somewhere. I don't think we will cross paths though. The distances are just so huge. Civilisations could have risen and fallen out there already. I think it's pretty likely we might come across bacteria out on another planet/moon at some stage though. My favourite type of science fiction is Future Earth type stuff, preferably without aliens. I don't believe that an alien race is going to visit us any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 (edited) "Intelligent life" has some defined parameters, apparently. QuestionWhat is the definition of intelligent life? Is it the abilty to analyze situations and react in the correct way, or is the complexity the primary issue? This is a diffficult question, and I have never found a satisfactory answer. This question is sometimes addressed in books and articles on SETI (for example, in "Extraterrestrials: Science and Alien Intelligence", edited by Edward Regis, Cambridge University Press, 1985), but from the SETI perspective intelligence must include the ablity to transmit and receive signals over interstellar distances (that is, technological intelligence). More generally, Carl Sagan wrote (in "Cosmic Connection," recently reprinted by Cambridge University Press) that intelligence involves the tendency toward control of the environment -- including a non-hereditary adaptive quality developed during the lifetime of a single individual (that is, intelligent creatures can learn). Other more recent definitions have been suggested by those working in the field of artificial intelligence. Good luck with this pursuit! David Morrison NAI Senior Scientist May 6, 2004 http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=918 Edited August 8, 2012 by Sis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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