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It's much less expensive to look for other trees of life on Earth, but is there any reason why a second one on Earth would be any more likely than a first one o
by jjs 16y ago
It's much less expensive to look for other trees of life on Earth, but is there any reason why a second one on Earth would be any more likely than a first one on, say, Europa or Titan?
It might be less likely, as we (you, me, and a couple scrillion of our closest relatives) provide robust competition against any other types of life, which may, as you mention, need different chiralities of various molecules, and may have trouble digesting any portion of our biomass.
- ryandvm 16y agoWell, you have to admit, it's a pretty nice place to live. I suspect Earth is probably the most amenable place in the solar system for long term life because of a number of features: * High ambient energy (temperature, non-ionizing radiation) * Shielded from ionizing radiation * High atmospheric and oceanic churn * Stable geology * Rich dispersion of minerals Though you are right, the competition on Earth that a second branch of life would face is not insignificant...
- wanderr 16y agoEarth is a great place for our type of life to pop up, because out type of life is well adapted to it. Imagine a puddle somehow gaining sentience. It would likely be amazed at how well designed its "world" was: the divet, slow draining and puddle shaped is just right for a puddle like me! The reality is that if we are the only puddle we can imagine, then of course our puddle hole will be the most aminable place in the entire galaxy for puddles.