[Bringbackthedraft]

We are not alone. Out of a gazillion planets there has to be other intelligent life out there. My money is on life on other planets. We will eventually find them, but getting there will be the problem.

[Dallas59]

Outpost

[rbg81]

My theory is that there are/were lots of intelligent races. So why have we not found it—or had it found us? The answer is both where and when they are with respect to us. I agree with Arthur C. Clarke: every intelligent race either: a) becomes God-like (shaking off its physical form), b) destroys itself violently, c) peaks, becomes stagnant, and eventually degenerates back into the muck. I think the window where an intelligent race might be able and interested in communicating with another is very short: anywhere from 1K to 100K years. Given this, plus the distances involved, its very unlikely that one will actually find another.

BTW—I think humans will either take the b) or c) route.

[genghis]

read “the rare earth”
by a couple of university of washington profs.
Also, do not thik there is a simple solutin to fermi’s paradox.

[Thunder90]

PING!!!

[Yardstick]

Since there are gazillions of planets, it is probable that somewhere out there, there is a planet whose geological features form a perfect likeness of Alfred E. Newman. In fact, it is a statistical near certainty. It would be pure arrogance to think that a planet that looks just like Alfred E. Newman doesn’t exist in this vast universe of ours.

[GOPJ]

The original thought behind SETI was we’d point our “ears” in any direction and hear millions of civilizations speaking to each other... We put on our ears and ... nothing. In every direction. Nada. No one. Zip.

[NavyCanDo]

Certainly at least one planet out of the one hundred billion Earth-like planets must be populated by beautiful Amazonian women. Spend more on NASA now!

[dfwgator]

Okay. That means that our whole solar system could be, like one tiny atom in the fingernail of some other giant being... This is too much! That means one tiny atom in my fingernail could be—

Could be one little tiny universe.

Could I buy some pot from you?

[greyfoxx39]

PING!

[Starfleet Command]

[SkyPilot]

Bovine Scatology.

Billions of Earths? Carbon based, with moon at the precise distance to keep the tides, at this temperature to sustain life, with planets in the solar system to keep it stable, with a core to create a magnetic field to deflect solar wind and radiation, and about 200,000 other factors? God created the Earth, and we should be grateful for every breath. Apparently, that is too much to ask from some. There is one Earth, and the odds of it being what it is speaks to a Devine Creator.

The Privileged Planet

[Elsie]

Out of a gazillion planets there has to be other intelligent life out there.

Oh?

Why?

[onedoug]

First find the number of individual G2 stars in our galaxy, and go from there.