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This strangely reminds me of a Wired article[0] from 2013 where it quotes a scientist in this way: "If you want to study an alien intelligence, Godfrey-Smith sa

This strangely reminds me of a Wired article[0] from 2013 where it quotes a scientist in this way: "If you want to study an alien intelligence, Godfrey-Smith says, 'octopuses are the closest thing we have.'" Though it doesn't make the claim that it's of alien origin, nor do I subscribe to the theory necessarily. There's just too much question-begging in the theories that life is somehow of extraterrestrial origin (where did that life come from?). I think of just how genetically plastic dogs are within their own species, that it's not hard for me to imagine life developing into all sorts of directions without having to resort to the seed hypothesis. Then again, me trying to speak with any kind of authority on evolution or DNA is akin to a dog discussing quantum physics, so my opinion only goes so far ;) [0] https://www.wired.com/2013/10/how-the-freaky-octopus-can-help-us-understand-the-human-brain/ https://www.wired.com/2013/10/how-the-freaky-octopus-can-hel...

AlexCoventry 8y ago
> question-begging in the theories that life is somehow of extraterrestrial origin (where did that life come from?). I really dislike this paper, but they do address that. The fact that life had to start somewhere doesn't make the question of extraterrestrial origin any less interesting.
- natecavanaugh 8y ago
  Sorry for the late reply, but I agree the idea is interesting, but for me it comes off the same way intelligent design or creationism comes off, almost as a God of the gaps type mentality. Because if life is seeded from elsewhere, it's essentially placing it's origin into infinity, and kind of hand waving away the need to dig further. Not that I'm saying we should philosophically determine where we want the evidence to go, but usually the idea is based on so much conjecture and leads to the same result practically that it just seems like a secular way of dismissing the search based on the evidence we do have. Granted, we have no idea what discoveries and scientific advancements are going to come in the near to distant future, but while I think the question is worth considering, it seems pretty weird for some scientists to accept this conjecture, but randomly eliminate others. To each his own I guess, but this probably is more about my own distaste for the line of thinking (that, and the whole "we're in a simulation" hypothesis), where it kicks the question off into a place where we'll probably never be able to answer it. Though as far as fun discussion and speculating as entertainment, that is where I find the ideas most enjoyable, personally :)

AlexCoventry 8y ago

> question-begging in the theories that life is somehow of extraterrestrial origin (where did that life come from?). I really dislike this paper, but they do address that. The fact that life had to start somewhere doesn't make the question of extraterrestrial origin any less interesting.

natecavanaugh 8y ago
Sorry for the late reply, but I agree the idea is interesting, but for me it comes off the same way intelligent design or creationism comes off, almost as a God of the gaps type mentality. Because if life is seeded from elsewhere, it's essentially placing it's origin into infinity, and kind of hand waving away the need to dig further. Not that I'm saying we should philosophically determine where we want the evidence to go, but usually the idea is based on so much conjecture and leads to the same result practically that it just seems like a secular way of dismissing the search based on the evidence we do have. Granted, we have no idea what discoveries and scientific advancements are going to come in the near to distant future, but while I think the question is worth considering, it seems pretty weird for some scientists to accept this conjecture, but randomly eliminate others. To each his own I guess, but this probably is more about my own distaste for the line of thinking (that, and the whole "we're in a simulation" hypothesis), where it kicks the question off into a place where we'll probably never be able to answer it. Though as far as fun discussion and speculating as entertainment, that is where I find the ideas most enjoyable, personally :)