“I come in peace.” “Take me to your leader.” “Live long, and prosper.” I know, nerd alert right? But wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to say these words to another civilization, say…a thousand light years away? Or are we really alone in the universe? There really isn’t any proof of any intelligent life out there that we, as a civilization of our own, have found. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t other life out there amongst the stars. For me, thinking about how much the universe is unexplored and that we have only seen a drop in the bucket compared to how alrge the universe is, it seems like an awful waste of space if we are the only intelligent life in the universe. I feel it’s just too small minded to believe that we are it and all that there ever will be. However, if there is other life out there, where would it be? Have they made attempts to make contact on their own? Or are they still too primitive? Or maybe they are watching us right now. Are they looking up to the stars and thinking the same? We have made attempts (some still ongoing) to make contact with alien life (Voyager Missions, SETI) but have had nothing to show for it in terms of contact with an alien other than billions of dollars in NASA funding and grants. We still keep trying to make contact none the less. I believe we will make some sort of contact this century, with the way technology has been advancing, it’s just a matter of when, not if. What would be the effects on society when we make contact? Would the information even be made public that we have made contact? Maybe we have and it is being kept under wraps to keep people from over reacting. What if we are alone in the universe? Did we evolve just in the right place at the right time? Are we the start of interstellar colonization? I know I will not be able to find any absolute answers to this question, as stated previously, there is no proof. But maybe I will find some good reasons to be optimistic that there is some alien out there sitting at their intergalactic computer equivalent, and writing the same.
Sources
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43886985/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/are-we-alone-universe-well-maybe/
I believe we are not alone. There is proof that other planets had water on them. Here is an idea what if there used to be other life forms out there. Maybe they used up all the resources on that planet(like we are doing here on our planet)and had the technology to move some or all people to another planet. If our world was to find another planet to support life, would they take any of us there?
ReplyDeleteThis has been a common question in my classes this semester. One of the students in my face-to-face class asked a very similar question in her blog last month.
ReplyDeleteI'll give you some hints from her research: she found NASA articles on the subject, and articles through the EBSCO databases. Also, NOVA on PBS has been airing some programs about this issue. You can probably still watch them on the PBS website.
This is a pretty tough issue for me. I very much agree with you that this universe is huge. I wonder, how can there be only this one spec of dust that is inhabited by life. I think that if there is life on another planet it is certainly in a different solar system. When I start thinking about life on another planet, I remember that we are in a very delicate state here on earth. If we were just this much closer to the sun, or that much farther from it. If we had a different ozone composition. The conditions came together either by design or accident in just such a perfect way that altered just slightly would make this planet uninhabitable. What are the odds that another planet could have this rare mixture of elements? I think that the odds are pretty low.
ReplyDeleteThis is something I have done a lot of personal research about so I am very much looking forward to what you find on the subject as well. I think there are plenty of resources out there to help you with this task. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI think it is very narcissistic to believe that we are the only life forms out there. As far as us being intelligent enough to find other life sources is not the issue. I believe we are intelligent enough, just not as advanced as we will be in the future. I disagree that we should be spending billions of dollars to try and find what is "out there" when the life that is here is suffering in many areas of the world. If there is other life out there I think it is best to leave them alone. I certainly do not want to become some other planet's experiment. Nor do I want to hear about our planet doing the same. Maybe I watch too many Sci-Fi movies, but this issue really scares me. I'm thinking if there are others in the universe they may not be happy with the way we live. We already have other countries that hate us. Is it really necessary to have other planets hate us too?
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