Humans likely alone in universe, study reports

Yes, it does hit me as really weird to suggest life happened once and only once.

Even those who blow off science for the "god did it" theory surely could accept that they don't know how many TIMES "god did it".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_analog

On November 4, 2013, astronomers reported, based on Kepler space mission data, that there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way galaxy. 11 billion of these estimated planets may be orbiting Sun-like stars.

https://www.space.com/25303-how-many-galaxies-are-in-the-universe.html

All in all, Hubble reveals an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe or so, but this number is likely to increase to about 200 billion as telescope technology in space improves, Livio told Space.com.

Just let those numbers sink in to your minds for a moment. There are an estimated 40 billion planets like ours in our one galaxy alone that could sustain life like we see on Earth. There are around 100 Billion galaxies in the observable universe and possibly an estimated 200 billion. The odds that there is no life on other planets, given the available evidence is astronomically slim. So is something out there? Probably. There could be billions and billions of planets like ours. Now what is that life like? Could it be similar to our own? You only need one microorganism originating on another planet to establish that life exists elsewhere in the Universe.

There are many possibilities including planets teeming with life with alien species as complex as all the various plants and animals on Earth to beings as intelligent or much more intelligent than us with technology or abilities that exceed our own. There are a lot of theories on interstellar space travel being possible, at least in theory. Given the vastness of the Universe I think there is probably some life on other planets, probably a lot on many planets and even some advanced alien civilizations but I doubt we will make contact with them given the vast distances and time it would take to travel between solar systems, never mind galaxies. Perhaps on other planets there are alien civilizations wondering the same thing or perhaps they already know and we are rather insignificant to them or just another planet they plan to colonize when they get around to it.

 

I enjoyed your post and agree with most of it. For years I too doubted ETs could come here due to the vast distances coupled with the limitation of the speed of light, but I was wrong. They can, and have--for many centuries. But they don't use fuel powered vehicles to make that trip. They use transdimensional craft that travel into parallel realities then re-emerge vast distances across the cosmos after very short periods of time. This travel is based on the use of biological craft controlled by advanced forms of consciousness. I know it sounds absurd, and you certainly don't have to take my word for it. There's lots of info on YouTube about it. I recommend Dr Steven Greer's website as a good starting point. Good luck & happy hunting!

 

Actually, if we were to ignore how life got started on Earth, and how it evolved (except in Washington, D.C.), then it would be easier for me to say we are alone in the Universe...just chalk it up to some mythical event. But if we accept how life started and evolved on Earth, and these same chances for life to begin on other planets exists across the Universe, then we should expect varying forms of alien life to exist. There could be a billion other planets with life that possess equal technology to us today and we would never know each other exists! There is far more that we do not know about the Universe than what we do know...

 

I can't agree with that.

Neither a natural beginning nor a "god" beginning carries a justification for life happening once and only once. There just isn't any evidence for a "once and only once" hypothesis. And, the Bible carries no statement that life only exists on earth - at least as far as I've been able to find.

 

Of course it doesn't. It was written by ignorant people that didn't even know that earth was a planet, much less one of trillions in the universe.

 

The post I responded to leaned toward the idea that a naturalistic cause would make it easier to believe there is life on extraterrestrial bodies.

But, a creationist view doesn't exclude life on extraterrestrial bodies.

Neither science nor religion has an argument for the idea that life started once and only once.

More broadly, I just don't believe that what science figures out has any bearing at all on the question of whether there is a God such as the one in the Bible. And, questions that science can not answer don't improve the odds of there being a God.

 

God is not a subject of science. The only thing that can be said is that there is no evidence for a god.

 

But, No Tholians . No way they can be human.
We can only wonder abut the Breen. Under their survival suits.


Just realized, I'm Human and feel very alone.
Human alone in the universe, must be true.

 

I'd make it stronger than that.

I'd say that by definition, science can not approach the question of whether there is a supernatural.

The last couple of Popes talked about science and religion being different "realms", with it simply being a mistake to mingle these realms. Asking the religious realm for evidence that is meaningful in the realm of science is mixing realms - a direction that can not lead anywhere.

 

Technically I agree but a supernatural being could allow scientific evidence to be found for it's existence. So in principle science could address direct evidence even if it cannot address the nature of such a being.

There is also the notion of "supernatural". I don't think such a thing exists by definition. If it exists it is natural. It may just be beyond our ability to understand it. I often refer to this idea when people talk about things like ESP being "supernatural". It is exists it is natural. Supernatural is just a word used to refer to concepts that we have no current means of addressing or that we want to dismiss out of hand. Even a god must have some means of action.

... and being supernatural must be tiring. I have gone months without a day off. God only made it six days.

 

Interesting points. Maybe supernatural isn't the best term. Maybe the term has to include there being a motivating consciousness that can not be detected.

I don't know what the scientific evidence for a supernatural being would look like.

It would have to be something that science would look at and would come to the conclusion that there is no answer. But, science has huge numbers of questions for which it has no answer.

 

We do see religion retreat on some points. Cosmology is one instance where an elaborate religious viewpoint was modified by science. We've seen religion retreat on our understanding of women, slavery, on the notion of human rights (as opposed to duties), etc.

I agree that religion and science have very different ideas on logic and evidence.

But, your "trump card" is certainly very real. Whatever science finds can be described as something god did.

 

Magic.

God could cause the seas to part, earthquakes to consume the globe, pigs to fly, and come down on a cloud as a 1000-foot tall man with a long gray beard surrounded by angels with wings. But then we have the AC Clarke paradox.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

I have often thought about the Miracle of the Sun or Fatima. If you ask me, assuming that people really saw what they say they saw, the most likely explanation is that ET was messing with us. There were thousands of witnesses so it is hard to entirely dismiss. Too bad they didn't have cell phone cameras back then.

 

Spot on - it consists of nothing but pointless guesswork and flaky speculation, and 'space science' is just a non-productive but extremely lucrative sinecure for life (and this is the important bit) without having to work. I'll go further, and say it's the biggest scam ever since bureaucracy was invented. The same applies to politicians and the clergy . . . all useless eaters.

 

I guess then, that the computer you type on, the satellite you communicate on, and the other thousand things you use every year that are a resuly of the space program in some way are pointless.

 

They would all have been invented in the normal progression of technology without having to know what's out there in deep space? Jesus wept! I just asked on another thread - How can adults be so bloody dumb?

 

That is one hell of an assumption, though in no way surprising when the source is considered. As for adult intellect....you make me wonder that as well.

 

Having people believe that god did the big bang is OK with me. We're not going to stop people from adhering to the major religions of today, even though we do see some decline. If we can agree that it all started with the big bang there is a lot of room for scientific discovery of how things work.

I think we have to pick our fights to a certain degree. The attempts to prove there is no god are futile and alienating. They lead to such things as a distrust of education.

My biggest concern today is that too few people know what science is. Far too few can tell you if some claim is science or not science. As a nation, we accept large quantities of fake news even on important topics. We have so little knowledge of statistics that we here thousands and forget that we're a nation of hundreds of millions.

 

I agree completely...

 

A ridiculous claim that you could not possibly know the truth of. And anyway, the fact that they were invented sooner is good. And the fact that they were invented sooner because of a need and want to explore space makes that process valuable