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Finding any extraterrestrial life is much more interesting than finding any specific kind of ET life. Having an n > 1 for biology would be one of the most profo

Finding any extraterrestrial life is much more interesting than finding any specific kind of ET life. Having an n > 1 for biology would be one of the most profound advancements in the history of science.

spdustin 10y ago
I agree. And I don't. Let me explain. Discovering that our planet is not a special snowflake would be one of the most inspirational experiences I can dream of. Discovering intelligent life, end more so! Discovering super-intelligent life - think of the possibilities! Then nearly every sci-fi movie flashes before my eyes, and I wonder: would they be as amazed at our presence in the universe? Or a pest, dirtying up a rocky ball of perfectly harvestable resources they intend to process for their alien armada?
- cloudjacker 10y ago
  and then imagine all of the fossils you might find deep underground. I wonder if Mars has an environment to fossilize anything.
- sandworm101 10y ago
  Would rocks on Mars detract from the special snowflake? Mars isn't all that different than earth. Both are in/near a Goldilocks zone around a stable star. Both are of similar size/makeup. And there has been not-insubstantial transfer of material between the two, suggesting the possibility that 'life' started on one and was transfered to the other. But life on a distant star would be truly unique and independent, properly shattering the snowflake.
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago
  > Discovering that our planet is not a special snowflake would be one of the most inspirational experiences I can dream of To each their own. Finding unique pond scum on Mars would deeply horrify me. If life independently emerged twice in one system then the paucity of intelligent life's cosmic signature means something happens between formation and broadcast with deafening regularity.
  - lovemenot 10y ago
    Not necessarily. It might merely reflect a too-narrow definition of broadcast baked into current assumptions. Right now SETI is looking for its lost keys near a street lamp, because "that is where the light is". Not to fault that approach, but I would not make any larger inferences about their lack of success.
- mathattack 10y ago
  Discovering super-intelligent life - think of the possibilities! This is what scares me. The universe follows long time horizons. It's unlikely that we'd find someone just +/- 10,000 years of us. It would more likely be much more advanced, or much less. And if they were much more advanced, they'd find us first. And that rarely ends well for the less developed species. We eat cows, and have vaccines for bacteria.

spdustin 10y ago

I agree. And I don't. Let me explain. Discovering that our planet is not a special snowflake would be one of the most inspirational experiences I can dream of. Discovering intelligent life, end more so! Discovering super-intelligent life - think of the possibilities! Then nearly every sci-fi movie flashes before my eyes, and I wonder: would they be as amazed at our presence in the universe? Or a pest, dirtying up a rocky ball of perfectly harvestable resources they intend to process for their alien armada?

cloudjacker 10y ago
and then imagine all of the fossils you might find deep underground. I wonder if Mars has an environment to fossilize anything.
sandworm101 10y ago
Would rocks on Mars detract from the special snowflake? Mars isn't all that different than earth. Both are in/near a Goldilocks zone around a stable star. Both are of similar size/makeup. And there has been not-insubstantial transfer of material between the two, suggesting the possibility that 'life' started on one and was transfered to the other. But life on a distant star would be truly unique and independent, properly shattering the snowflake.
JumpCrisscross 10y ago
> Discovering that our planet is not a special snowflake would be one of the most inspirational experiences I can dream of To each their own. Finding unique pond scum on Mars would deeply horrify me. If life independently emerged twice in one system then the paucity of intelligent life's cosmic signature means something happens between formation and broadcast with deafening regularity.
- lovemenot 10y ago
  Not necessarily. It might merely reflect a too-narrow definition of broadcast baked into current assumptions. Right now SETI is looking for its lost keys near a street lamp, because "that is where the light is". Not to fault that approach, but I would not make any larger inferences about their lack of success.
mathattack 10y ago
Discovering super-intelligent life - think of the possibilities! This is what scares me. The universe follows long time horizons. It's unlikely that we'd find someone just +/- 10,000 years of us. It would more likely be much more advanced, or much less. And if they were much more advanced, they'd find us first. And that rarely ends well for the less developed species. We eat cows, and have vaccines for bacteria.