The recent discovery of a rocky planet (designated Kepler 10b) outside our solar system has excited some astrophysicists. It’s always been their contention that a universe filled to the gizzards with stars must include some with orbiting planets. Billions and billions of stars, they say, means millions and millions of planets. Fair enough. But understand that I’ve just made a logical inference here: it would stand to reason that billions and billions of stars must produce many millions of planets. The evidence found, however, is otherwise: Stars are found in the billions. But we have discovered just a handful of planets beyond our own, none of which is particularly suited to the forms of life as we know it. The ratio: billions of stars to, what, five or six planets?
Then, of course, those millions and millions of planets - that haven’t been discovered to exist yet - must include a finite number of ‘Goldilocks’ planets with intelligent life that we might be able to recognize as such. Again, no evidence exists to make such a statement. But logically - reasonably - such a huge number of planets must include some that bear some faint resemblance to earth. Why they would produce ‘intelligent life,’ as some assert, remains an unexplained phenomenon.
As humans we are inclined to make preposterous statements like this: “To date, it appears that we are the only ‘intelligent life’ in the universe based on the non-response we get from space aliens.” If space aliens exist out there, they are being very quiet and reticent about their existence. But the fact that no one answers the phone probably means that no one’s home. And until we have evidence otherwise, we cannot make wild statements about probabilities of life- much less ‘intelligent life’ - existing out there.
Then, of course, those millions and millions of planets - that haven’t been discovered to exist yet - must include a finite number of ‘Goldilocks’ planets with intelligent life that we might be able to recognize as such. Again, no evidence exists to make such a statement. But logically - reasonably - such a huge number of planets must include some that bear some faint resemblance to earth. Why they would produce ‘intelligent life,’ as some assert, remains an unexplained phenomenon.
As humans we are inclined to make preposterous statements like this: “To date, it appears that we are the only ‘intelligent life’ in the universe based on the non-response we get from space aliens.” If space aliens exist out there, they are being very quiet and reticent about their existence. But the fact that no one answers the phone probably means that no one’s home. And until we have evidence otherwise, we cannot make wild statements about probabilities of life- much less ‘intelligent life’ - existing out there.
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