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I don't begin to remember where I read that about Klass, I will try to find it, though.

The "Fermi Paradox" argument is compelling.

Have never heard of "Rare Earth," so looked it up on Google. Found a discussion in which the authors stated that the operative word is "rare" rather than nonexistent. Drake was included in the discussion, along with others. Interesting stuff, theories on the requirements for "complex animal" life which I had not been aware of.

I am wondering whether or not you think that there is intelligent alien life.

My gut feeling is that there is, though I don't at all feel competent to speculate on whether it could be common or rare. Nor am I convinced that it has visited Earth, though I think it may well have.

I have always spent alot of time outdoors, both at sea, which requires alot of time looking at the sky (because of the need to be constantly aware of the weather) and in the woods. I have yet to see any suggestion of a ufo. I figure most reports of them have to be mistakes...but perhaps not all, some accounts remain too difficult to explain away.

I tend to think that those who would be too positive either in believing or disbelieving are assuming too much. Surely we have established the truth of certain laws of physics, from which we can draw conclusions. Yet I persist in believing that there likely remains much still undiscovered that may well, as the future unfolds, change drastically what we think we understand of the universe.

I also am thinking that if there are races advanced as far beyond us as we are beyond, say, a frog, then their capabilities will never be within our understanding.

"I am wondering whether or not you think that there is intelligent alien life. "

I used to, but then I read "Rare Earth".

I fear we may be the only intelligent species in the galaxy. Perhaps each galaxy has one or two.

This saddens me greatly, since I have spent my life trying to help humans reach space--and ultimately (in a few hundred or thousand years?) the stars.

Being "alone" bothers me a lot. It imparts a terrible portent to everything you do--down to bodily functions. Also if the human race is the best the Universe can produce, it's a pretty sorry place.

The more I learn about the problems of living in space--and the near-impossibility of attaining even a fraction of the speed of light, the more depressed I get. If humanity is "stuck" on Earth, it is doomed. Either by the proverbial giant asteroid, or some other disaster (such as, say, a "super SARS" that kills 100% and spreads like wildfire).

Think about this: we may be living at (or near) the peak of human achievement, well-being, and knowledge...everything goes downhill from here. There are six billion humans on Earth; the planet can probably support 20 billion but eventually (and soon) the sheer numbers of people will cause some kind of disaster(s).

I'm glad I have no children.

--Boris