Somewhere Out There

[Grom 0]

I come at Star Trek from what I consider a very different perspective than most Trekkies. To some, Star Trek is an embodiment of something beyond our current grasp, something to hope and dream for. For me, however, it's a whole separate fantasy world altogether. In my experiences, it has been interesting to love Star Trek so much and yet, at the same time, reject it sometimes in its entirety.

 

In Star Trek we see humans interacting with a vast number of species, inferior, equal and sometimes superior. To this date there has been little conclusive evidence of the existance of any extraterrestrial species besides our own. Sometimes when I look up at the great sky at night I wonder just what else is out there. Is there intelligent life out there? If not/so are we wasting our time and money looking for it?

 

Please stay on topic!

 

:D

[Seiben 0]

Well, come on.. yeah. I'm pretty sure there is. All this space out there and we're he only lifeforms? That seems to be a big waste of space to me. So, I don't think we're alone out there. Scientists already discovered tonnes of galaxies and planets out there, so the chances are quite high.

Edited December 2, 2003 by Seiben

[willingham 0]

I would of voted 10, but the last choice, I had to pick.

[Captain Huff 0]

I would say that yes, there is other life in space, but none of it has the technology to breach the distances that seperate us.

[Dumbass 0]

Hey, I'm not even convinced there is very much intelligent life on Earth!

[Nemesis 0]

Hey, I'm not even convinced there is very much intelligent life on Earth!

Yeah so far I have only met a few intelligent people :D

[Nemesis 0]

And for intelligent life out there I am absolutely positive I was abducted just yesturday :D

[Dumbass 0]

Actually, Carl Sagan calculated the probability there is life out there. His conclusion was that the universe must be teaming with life. Consider the number of stars times the percentage of them that have planets orbiting at the right distance to have liquid water times the percentage of these planets that have the right combination of proteins to form DNA. Even if these percentages are small the sheer number of stars (which could be infinite) would virtually guarantee SOMETHING is out there.

 

Is it intelligent life? To answer that question we have to have some definition of intelligence. That's where it gets tricky. We generally consider intelligence as having the ability to affect the environment, but by that standard dolphins wouldn't qualify even though most consider them intelligent. And despite what Star Trek says I don't think it will ever be possible to break the light barrier. Even light can't do that. If there is intelligent life out there I think they will be keeping to themselves for quite some time.

Edited December 2, 2003 by Dumbass

[FredM 0]

Hey there,

 

Well my choice was 10....though I hadn't seen option -1. Good thing I don't have any relatives still actively simming. :)

 

In this solar system, there are nine planets. One has intelligent life, another quite possibly had the seeds for it at some point and there remains a solid possibility another may have aquatic animal life of some form.

 

This is one system surrounded by hundreds of thousands that make up just this "arm" of the Milky Way Galaxy. Within this galaxy, there are billions of star systems. But then there are hundreds of thousands of galaxies...with hundreds of billions of stars.

 

And guess what? The "universe" is still growing. So in that vastness we, as humans, can't really come to grips with...one is to assume that life only happened here? That of all the possible places, in all the different systems, we are the only ones who developed intelligence?

 

When asked that question, in that fashion, I have yet to meet someone who can say no. Will we ever meet another intelligent civilization? I honestly don't know. I sincerely hope so...and have a feeling we will.

[Nemesis 0]

They also believe there is a possibility for life on one of Saturns moons now intelligent life in the universe a big definate answer, more advanced then us another yes any that would ever find us a big highly unlikely :)

[HyperDrive 0]

I agree that there must be other life out there. I also believe that some of them have means of space travel. Faster-than-light space travel really isn't the quickest... take it from Doc Brown. You've got to think 4-Dimensionally. :) If you can "bend" space, you would essentially bypass half of the universe. (Take for example a piece of paper. If you bend it in a hot-dog fold, you will skip over the middle of the paper if you went from margin to margin. That's how space works.)

 

So, I think the existance of far more intelligent life forms on other planets exists. By no means do I believe that Earth is the first, and most powerful planet in our Universe. As pointed out in Star Trek, humans are naturally curious. Well, what about people from other civilizations? Perhaps they have television shows that show people travelling across the galaxy in search of life. Technically, we are. :)

 

I believe that, in my lifetime, we will (if we haven't already) meet people from other planets, and will eventually have translators for each other's language(s).

 

Space travel would put a major stop on many wars and arguments here on Earth. ::shrug:: We'd all be looking towards the sky, and hoping the next people we meet are friendly.

 

~HD

Edited December 2, 2003 by HyperDrive

[Dumbass 0]

With all this space-folding aren't you worried about getting it all wrinkled? I mean a good 1-hour cleaners is pretty hard to find as it is.

[Grom 0]

It's funny, the same reasoning that Trekkies use to support that there must be intelligent life out there is the reasoning I use to support my belief that there isn't. And I'm not wrong until someone can prove me wrong. :) I look at the science of the Earth itself. A few degrees closer to the sun and we'd burn up, a little farther away we'd freeze. The earth's twenty-three degree tilt allows for almost equal distribution of sun rays, thus allowing the food chain to exist. Or take the exactness of out atmosphere with the combination of nitrogen and oxygen that we breathe. It just seems to me that the possibility of another "earth," even in the vastness of the universe, is very unlikely considering the precision that makes the earth work and support not only life, but intelligent life. It is even more unlikely if you introduce any "evolutionary" concept. To me, the Earth most likely is unique. :) Yet, that still doesn't keep me from thinking Star Trek is awesome!

[NDak 0]

Well Grom I think your partly right, but your also wrong (in my opinion) and here is why:

 

Life as we know it probabbly doesn't exsist anywhere else. Our formation and assent through evoloution was very hit and miss, but on some other world reptiles may have acsended to top of the food chain, or even those wonderful Pandarians :).

 

And my other argument for E.T. life (here is my God argument to really stir the pot) is why would he create all of this for just one species that sounds like a pretty big waste to me and we know he isn't one to create things like the stars just so we ahve something to look at :)

 

So in other words Trekkies, the chances of meeting all those races who like humans with just a nosewrinkle here or there isn;t very good, it is more likely to see those thing in the 'Alien' movies....hey now there is an Academy plot for some one....STSF vs the Aliens.....

Edited December 2, 2003 by Ern_Ndak

[Dumbass 0]

SOMEWHERE OUT THERE

from the movie "An American Tale" (1986)

 

Somewhere out there

Beneath the pale moonlight

Someone's thinking of me

And loving me tonight

 

Somewhere out there

Someone's saying' a prayer

That we'll find one another

In that big somewhere out there

 

And even though I know

How very far apart we are

It helps to think we might be wishing

On the same bright star

 

And when the night wind

Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby

It helps to think we're sleeping

Underneath the same big sky

 

Somewhere out there

If love can see us through

Then we'll be together

Somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true

 

Interlude (Instrumental)

 

And even though I know

How very far apart we are

It helps to think we might be wishing

on the same bright star

 

And when the night wind

Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby

It helps to think we're sleeping

Underneath the same big sky

 

Somewhere out there

If love can see us through

Then we'll be together

Somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true... :)

Edited December 2, 2003 by Dumbass

[ens_tino 0]

I voted 6. There is that chance that life could be out there. Why were we the only planet meant to have life on it. Even the findings on Mars suggests that there might have been life there at some point. Who knows, someday we could have a future like ST.

[Marris Krax 0]

10 for me.

 

I think most of the arguments for the existance of intelligent life have already been made, so I shan't add any more. Statistically, even including the fact that you have to get a planet of *just* the right chemical composition in *just* the right place with *just* the right evolutionary conditions to produce intelligence, I think chances are pretty darn good that there are other beings out there who can bang two rocks together to get a spark. Whether we'll ever meet is another matter entirely, so I shall leave that one alone.

 

This is all assuming that the universe as we perceive it is actually how it is, though. Erm...and as that will open up a completely different can of worms, I shall leave that one alone as well ^.^

[Garnoopy 0]

It's funny, the same reasoning that Trekkies use to support that there must be intelligent life out there is the reasoning I use to support my belief that there isn't.  And I'm not wrong until someone can prove me wrong.  :) I look at the science of the Earth itself. A few degrees closer to the sun and we'd burn up, a little farther away we'd freeze.  The earth's twenty-three degree tilt allows for almost equal distribution of sun rays, thus allowing the food chain to exist. Or take the exactness of out atmosphere with the combination of nitrogen and oxygen that we breathe.  It just seems to me that the possibility of another "earth," even in the vastness of the universe, is very unlikely considering the precision that makes the earth work and support not only life,  but intelligent life.  It is even more unlikely if you introduce any "evolutionary" concept. 

Grom, I agree with you and disagree with you.

 

Firstly, I must point out that the statement "You can't prove me wrong so you're not right" is a logical fallacy. You can't use that type of argument to prove either side of this whole debate, it is a complete disregard for logic in itself.

 

The Earth is a fragile item. There are so many things that could be different by just a minor item... you have to sit back and just try to contemplate how many variables and how much chance there was to get everything to the exact rightness for a chain of events to occur taking place of the timeline of billions of years to form a planet with what we consider "intelligent" life. Then, you have to sit down and attempt to figure out what the chances are that the same thing could occur again in a completely and utterly differnet location. I have no clue what the numbers are on this chance of randomness, but they've gotta be pretty high.

 

I believe, somewhere, there is a formula out there that shows you the probabaility of life being out there in space, but I don't know what the formula is and I'm not sure of it's results. I believe that the scientist who developed it did show that the probabaility of there being no life out there was more improbable than there being life out there, but once again, this is just what I remember. Someone should look up the information.

 

My personal opinion is that I think there is life out there. I don't have anything to prove me right, but a lot of things in this world are believed in without proof to them being there. Does that make me wrong? No, but it doesn't make me right either. It's just a personal belief.

 

There are no facts to prove either way in this post, just personal beliefs since we don't have any real proof either way.

[Merina 0]

Hey who knows if there is life on other worlds. I did a report last year on, what memory serves, life on other planets.

[Grom 0]

Firstly, I must point out that the statement "You can't prove me wrong so you're not right" is a logical fallacy. You can't use that type of argument to prove either side of this whole debate, it is a complete disregard for logic in itself.

 

Ah, but you have violated the principle of charity Mr. Garnoopy. :) You see, saying "You can't prove me wrong so you're not right" without the winky face attached is different than saying it with the winky face. I clearly used the winky face. It was meant as a joke. :)

 

You are entirely correct when it comes to beliefs about this issue. No one really knows, but nevertheless, it's fun to speculate every once in awhile.

[Garnoopy 0]

You are entirely correct when it comes to beliefs about this issue.  No one really knows, but nevertheless, it's fun to speculate every once in awhile.

Ohhh, I didn't understand the winky face thingy. Now it makes more sence. I figured you knew you were being illogical. :)

 

Yeppers. Always fun to speculate, hehe.

 

Like, speculating that there is actually a planet out there with yet another Garnoopy who might pop up somewhere at some point... :)

[Dumbass 0]

Like, speculating that there is actually a planet out there with yet another Garnoopy who might pop up somewhere at some point...    :)

I thought this thread was supposed to be about intelligent life. :) <--winky face

[LoAmi 0]

I voted 5 - maybe. You can keep playing probability games, but, they all require assumptions to put into the equation (the size of the universe, the probability of an earth-like sun, a planetary system with a Jupiter-sized comet deflector, an earth-like planet, that life - and even intelligent life - *requires* an earth-like sun). Most of those parameters are unknowns. That means that it's hard for me to believe that a probability equation that anyone shows me has any chance of accuracy.

 

That's as good of a reason as any to fund projects like SETI, and the ESA Eddington space telescope (recently budget-cut out of existence) -- because we want to know.

 

ps - I find it kind of funny that the title of this screen on the board is "Replying to Somewhere Out There."

[ens_tino 0]

And with where the Voyager space crafts are going we even have a better chance of finding life on different planets in the galaxy.

[Travis Kroells 0]

Im pretty sure theres life out there, and not just because Im a trekkie, theres way to many stars, galaxies and planets to dismiss the fact.

 

Once again, I will not dwell on this further due to the fact that I dont want to type things I'll regret latter.