Alien life

[Braydz]

After watching a documentary on TV last night on UFOs and alien life, I thought this would make an interesting thread on the CT forum. I myself have no doubt that there is intelligent life out there, much more intelligent than us humans. I also believe that some form of life has visited our planet, but the government is covering it up to stop any fear or any bad consequences of letting the public know.

EDIT: Forgot to add a poll option. Fixed.

[hatakikakashi]

I think that there is probably life elswhere in the universe, whether or not it's intelligent I have no idea. I highly doubt that intelligent life has visited us however. Not that I think that we are all that special, it's just that we would probably be too far apart, plus how would they be able to find us? We have only been transmitting for a very short time, I think that if they do exist they are asking themselves the same questions. Wondering if they are alone in the universe.

[Reach]

Well, if they actually were advanced enough to break the speed of light/warp travel, im sure they wouldn't have any problem finding us hataki. They would be too advanced for us to even comprehend at this point in time.

And yes I do believe there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. The universe is bigger than we can comprehend really...the chances of there being no life elsewhere is basically 0, even though life is obviously rare, there are more planets out there than we can even give a number value to.

[Tasselfoot]

There's life Jim, but not as we know it, not as we know it, not as we know it. There's life Jim, but not as we know it.

And, uh, yea.. There's Klingon's on the starboard bow...

Anyway... yea, figuring as there are Billions of stars, and many of them have "planets" around them, odds are there is at least 1 other intelligent lifeform in the universe. Chances are nothing will happen about it in our lifetime though, considering the whole Speed of Light issue and it taking thousands and millions of years to travel anywhere. Solve that, and maybe its possible.

[pntballa18]

I believe in aliens and UFO's, but not the stereotypical stuff. There are definatly other things out there, but maybe they arent green with mind control or whatever. Maybe they are. I really dont believe in the spinning UFO Flying saucer spiny stuff. Probably planes like ours.

[esupin]

There have been many unexplainable things concerning UFOs and whatnot since the 40's, but 99% of it is bs. However, I wouldn't be surprised if some alien species is yanking our chains every minute and treating us like lab rats.

[hatakikakashi]

I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it's unlikely. I dont' want to think that were alone, but even if there is other life were probably just too far apart, and long distance relationships can be so hard.

If they can break the light barrier,and are so much more advanced, why would they bother with us simpletons?

You gots to remember da prime directive yo!

[Braydz]

They would bother with us simpletons because we are totally different life forms to research. We are new species to them, and we are intelligent enough to communicate and interact. I am also with the idea that they are possibly a million years older than us as a society, and therefore much more technologically advanced, making it possible to get here. I also believe that 99% of all UFO/flying saucer sightings are BS, but I do believe we have been visited by alien life.

[unholyz]

Im with Reach on this one. I think the chances of there being no other forms of life ANYWHERE in the universe are 1 and a googaplex. Its gotta be there, but I just dont worry about it too much. If they can find means to get here and take us over space invaders style or in peace, let them. I highly doubt it will be in our lifetimes so if it does happen I think I would be one happy human slave.

[hatakikakashi]

You can be my happy human slave.

[unholyz]

oooohhhh dirty.

[Sickminded978]

Theres always the possibility something like this MAY happen in our lifetime.

Aliens could be nice, mean, whatever. They may like war, may not; Hopefully not.
The fact that the universe has been around as long as it has, it shouldn't be ruled out that something could be traveling our way since at least 1000 years ago, maybe even more.
Today, tomorrow, whenever, something may eventually come to us, and either wage war (We'd probably lose), observe us, or simply befriend us.

Theres also the fact something may happen to our planet first, wiping us out of existence. No matter what, one of these is bound to happen first.

If we colonate to another planet, the chances of our race dieing would be slimmer, but the chances of meeting other lifeforms will have gone up, as well.

We're bound to be in contact with other aliens at some point in time, if we haven't already, that is.

[magister_negi_magi]

Here's something to think about. What if we, human beings, are the most intelligent lifeform for trillions of light-years around? That any other life on some distant planet is just now beginning to develop from prehistoric ooze? It's highly possible. We have never really gotten any sort of real contact with other planets, yet we have traveled to our moon, and have sent satellites and rovers out to other planets within our solar system. If there were some sort of uber-genius alien race somewhere in the galaxy, I think they would have discovered us by now, using some sort of device similar to our Hubble Telescope. I mean, life has existed on earth for millions of years(not necessarily intelligent, mind you), so they if they did exist, and they did send some sort of message, it would have reached us by now, seeing as how it doesn't take billions of light years to travel across our galaxy(not using universe, that would defeat my purpose). If the aforementioned aliens exist beyond our galaxy, and into the vastness of the universe, then I can understand how they wouldn't have contacted us yet...and I'm getting way too into this. I'm gonna stop now...-.-

[Sickminded978]

Also take into consideration that maybe they are more technolically advanced than us, but maybe not by much?

I'd be willing to bet there is at least one other civilization of lifeforms out there somewhere very similar to us, that are about as technologically advanced as we are.

[MonkeyFoo]

I guess I have a few things to say regarding this topic, having skimmed the other posts. First off, I believe in alien life, but not in UFO's, or at least not ones that have come anywhere near our solar system. Before I was 8 or so, I hadn't read about the universe being an expanding thing, with finite dimensions at any given time. So, with my theory before then of an infinite universe, there would have had to be alien life despite the mathematical improbability. Of course, we know fairly certainly that it is finite, so this theory got debunked for me long ago.

If, however, there is alien life somewhere in our universe, the probablity of them being near our state of technological advancement seems infinitesimally small. Think of it like this: If an alien race developed, on a planet with the same general conditions as the Earth, the rate at which they would develop would be very different from ours. This is because mutations are random, and so evolutionary rates vary greatly. (If you're a creationist, ignore this part and don't start whining.) Plus, the time at which life on the planet developed, or even when the planet itself developed, would likely be millions or billions of years off anyway. So, keeping in mind that our technology changes dramatically every century, if aliens were even a thousand years off from us, they would be extremely different in terms of technology.

Originally Posted by Magister_Negi_Magi

I think they would have discovered us by now, using some sort of device similar to our Hubble Telescope.

Uh... remember that technology has its limitations: We can't see extrasolar planets with the HST. Aliens would need HST x10000 power to see our planet from the Orion constellation, for example. Remember, it can take billions of years for light to go significant distances through space. Aliens would only see at best a developing, pre-life planet, even today.

Then, there's the issue of contacting us. Remember that you can't travel faster than light in a vacuum (think Einstein). There are no wormholes within a million lightyears of Earth, so it would still take millions of years at light speed after using a wormhole, if they turn out to be usable somehow for travel. So they couldn't send a ship, there couldn;t be UFO's.

Even if they could build a powerful enough laser to pulse signals at us, and they could calculate all the warping of space-time and obstructions so that the laser would get to Earth eventually, it would take millions if not billions of years to get to Earth. So they couldn't contact us even that way.

Don't think I'm trying to say that aliens can't exist. This supports their existence. Many ask, "Why haven't we had a concrete contact by them if they really exist?" It is clear to you now, I'm sure, why this is. Let's eat babies.

[magister_negi_magi]

I stated that I was only going to consider the possibility of alien life within our own galaxy, not that outside. Like I said, if I talked about any life outside of our galaxy, I may have defeated my purpose.

[blargherness]

well if by UFO you mean alien life coming and contacting us, then i dont really think that would happen. i mean, if the universe really has no end, then that means we are just a little atom in a massive object. i dont think it would be possible to single out a single "atom" from all the other "atoms". it would be too unlikely in my opinion. but thats just me. i do believe in alien life though, its such a big place, theres bound to be another planet that has adapted beings to the conditions in a place somewhere...

[ramonesfan]

I believe if there is alien life within our galaxy, it is not intelligent. Maybe some sort of bacteria or insect at the most complex organism. So, no, i do not believe in UFOs so i will not vote in the poll.

[Lazy_Peasant]

humans aren't intelligent...look how many idiots there are around you

[Bakyurha]

i believe in aliens and UFO but i think the reason why some people are getting abducted because they want to examin us like scientist want to examin aliens.