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I think the probability of there being other life is much closer to 100%. There just has to be. Our universe offers way to much of the correct “stuff” that can

I think the probability of there being other life is much closer to 100%. There just has to be. Our universe offers way to much of the correct “stuff” that can create life that it just has to exist elsewhere. Why haven’t we seen it? Well that is one of life’s great mysteries. But the idea we are all alone in this giant thing called the universe… it just doesn’t feel right. The more we learn about things the more we realize humans aren’t really special and neither is our planet. Hell the idea that there are other galaxies is a concept that was only realized around a 100 years ago! We humans think we know a lot but the truth is there is way, way more stuff we don’t know.

yamtaddle 4y ago
I think life's probably fairly common. Like, bacteria-type stuff, maybe something like moss. I think complex life, and life that lasts as long as that on Earth has, is probably extremely rare. There's a lot more that's special about Earth that lets it support large fauna over long spans of time, than just orbital position and basic composition and such. Our weird moon plays a role, tectonic activity is vital, not just for our radiation shield but for the carbon-silicate cycle, Jupiter may even play a pretty big role, and so on. A whole bunch of systems are required to keep conditions on the planet from running away in one direction or another, and it's still come close to getting stuck in some hostile-to-life state, multiple times.
- fernly 4y ago
  If you grant moss and bacteria, then more complex life forms become inevitable. There are _advantages_ to be being multicellular, or multicellular life wouldn't exist. It's energetically advantageous for a plant to acquire a woody stem and stand up above the moss, or for a simple organism to work out how to have eyes, or teeth, or legs, or an exo- or endoskeleton. Assuming an environment that affords nutrients and is stable over a long time, once life kicks off it should keep complicating itself. It wouldn't stop at simple forms.
superposeur 4y ago
I fear that "much close to 100%. There just has to be" (as much as I too would like to share in this sentiment) may be an anthropomorphic projection and wishful thinking. Anthropomorphic because we are living creatures and assume that there must be other living creatures in the region of the universe we can see, even if just biochemically. But, one thing we are able to estimate is the number of stars in the observable universe -- that collection of stars in causal contact with us. It is far from infinite. In fact, not that much larger than the number of atoms in a macroscopic chunk of matter. The number of possible games of chess is incomparably vaster. If by "universe" we mean everything out beyond our causal horizon in an infinite universe, then I would guess that yes, there is other life. Actually, there are other copies of you too, because everything that can happen does happen in an infinite universe. The hinge of my point is that the observable universe is not infinite. This is not to say, by the way, that we should not continue looking for traces of life or to be open to these.
pfdietz 4y ago
> I think the probability of there being other life is much closer to 100%. There just has to be. When you find yourself waving your hands vaguely and saying "it just has to be" that's a red flag that you're fooling yourself. No, there's nothing about the situation that requires life "has to be" out there.

yamtaddle 4y ago

I think life's probably fairly common. Like, bacteria-type stuff, maybe something like moss. I think complex life, and life that lasts as long as that on Earth has, is probably extremely rare. There's a lot more that's special about Earth that lets it support large fauna over long spans of time, than just orbital position and basic composition and such. Our weird moon plays a role, tectonic activity is vital, not just for our radiation shield but for the carbon-silicate cycle, Jupiter may even play a pretty big role, and so on. A whole bunch of systems are required to keep conditions on the planet from running away in one direction or another, and it's still come close to getting stuck in some hostile-to-life state, multiple times.

fernly 4y ago
If you grant moss and bacteria, then more complex life forms become inevitable. There are _advantages_ to be being multicellular, or multicellular life wouldn't exist. It's energetically advantageous for a plant to acquire a woody stem and stand up above the moss, or for a simple organism to work out how to have eyes, or teeth, or legs, or an exo- or endoskeleton. Assuming an environment that affords nutrients and is stable over a long time, once life kicks off it should keep complicating itself. It wouldn't stop at simple forms.

superposeur 4y ago

I fear that "much close to 100%. There just has to be" (as much as I too would like to share in this sentiment) may be an anthropomorphic projection and wishful thinking. Anthropomorphic because we are living creatures and assume that there must be other living creatures in the region of the universe we can see, even if just biochemically. But, one thing we are able to estimate is the number of stars in the observable universe -- that collection of stars in causal contact with us. It is far from infinite. In fact, not that much larger than the number of atoms in a macroscopic chunk of matter. The number of possible games of chess is incomparably vaster. If by "universe" we mean everything out beyond our causal horizon in an infinite universe, then I would guess that yes, there is other life. Actually, there are other copies of you too, because everything that can happen does happen in an infinite universe. The hinge of my point is that the observable universe is not infinite. This is not to say, by the way, that we should not continue looking for traces of life or to be open to these.

pfdietz 4y ago

> I think the probability of there being other life is much closer to 100%. There just has to be. When you find yourself waving your hands vaguely and saying "it just has to be" that's a red flag that you're fooling yourself. No, there's nothing about the situation that requires life "has to be" out there.