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To: Bubba_Leroy
Let's say that of all the stars in the universe, only 1 in a thousand has a planet capable of supporting life and of all these habatable planets only 1 in a million has intelligent life.

Forgetting most of the above sentence for a moment, just look at the phrase "intelligent life" - - that is purely a human notion. But of course, "notion" is a human notion.

I believe that there are other "beings" in existence (let's pretend that "existence" is not solely a human notion for a minute), but these beings would not share any part of our (human) reality. It is quite enough to wonder that our human reality overlaps the realities of other life forms here on our own planet, although this is probably explained by the fact that all the "nature" that we understand is concentrated in the ecology of a single planet, Earth. So our human reality overlaps (that is, we share some aspects in our respective realities) with, for example, insects and plants. Our development occured together, over (at least) millions of years.

But (again) the odds that we humans would possible share any aspect of our reality with "beings" on another planet are (pardon the pun) astronomical. If there are "beings" on other planets, we will never cross paths, even if we were to in some way pass through each other. There are countless realities, and we have ours here on earth, alone. Our "laws of physics" are ours alone. We humans percieve such things as "gravity" and "pain" and "light" and "sound".... These are things that exist in OUR reality.

Look, I love science fiction and I even belonged to the science fiction book club as a teen. I read everything Heinlein ever wrote. But there comes a time when thinking goes deeper than the things in front of your face. When you finally realize that EVERY thought in your head, and EVERY thing that you see, hear, and touch is perceived in a strictly human context, it gets clear that our reality is ours alone.

Regards,
LH

55 posted on 12/17/2003 10:55:01 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: Lancey Howard
Our "laws of physics" are ours alone.

That's ridiculous. They hold for everything we've found in space including other galaxies. We, using our physics, can see their movements and predict their tracts. We even see them colliding and following the exact physics we use.

Why do so many people assume that IF there is other life, they are more advanced and have different physical laws? Has anyone ever bothered to think that other life might exist but WE are on top of the chain? Why is this never a template?

65 posted on 12/17/2003 11:28:03 PM PST by Fledermaus (Fascists, Totalitarians, Baathists, Communists, Socialists, Democrats - what's the difference?)
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