[Blackmirror]

Are we alone in this great big universe?
have you ever seen a UFO ??

[pyritechips]

I hope you don't think the two are related.

I believe we are not alone. I have seen "UFOs". I don't believe we have been visited by extraterrestial intelligent beings.

[Albert Lionheart]

Dahling! I'm BACK!
Did you miss me??

Oh - thats not what you meant is it?

[Goku]

I too think that we are not alone in the universe. I think the reason they are not able to get to us is that they too might not have the resources or tools to come to our solar system which could be virtually light years away from them.

What I don't understand is that why people imagine that aliens will be more sophisticated, advanced or will possess supernatural powers. It might be the opposite too but few people try to imagine them that way. Anyways, I hope we will be the one to "make the first move".

It might be that we may find our own "unearthly" brethren in some other far-away galaxy!

-- Goku

[Albert Lionheart]

Given the number of suns the odds are that one of them will have a suitable planet and life will have evolved there.

[Rik]

As Albert says the odds are in favor of their being intelligent life out there. Goku has an extremely good point too.

My take on it is, if there is far more advanced beings out there, why would they be even slightly interested in a race that is continually poised to wipe itself out with nuclear weapons!

[Albert Lionheart]

In the same way perhaps that if we came across a bunch of BEMs (Bug Eyed Monsters) about to wipe themselves out we might try and save them. There was once a really good SF book about this but long since lost the thing.
It is a given that a war like environment drives technology faster than anything else, so the road to space travel is most likely to have been followed by BEMs with a similar history to ours on this planet. But would they play Cricket? This is crucial.

[Jason]

I'm undecided on this. We shouldn't even spend our time looking for life. First of all, if there was other life, then they probably don't want to be harassed by us. If there is anything, then they'll find us perhaps. I've said this before and I'll say it again: Man will destroy himself. There's no doubt about it.

[Albert Lionheart]

Anyone ever run the SETI programme that analyses radio signals from space? There is a humungus community of people doing this so somebody must think it is worth it!

[Jason]

Yeah, sad people with no lives. I respect them 'n' all, but that's not the life I'd want.

[Albert Lionheart]

Interestingly tho, the SETI and BOINC thing sparked off a load of other projects that used PC idle time across the 'net to process huge volumes of material.

[Klunk]

Yes there is intelligent life out there, the proof of their intelligence is in the fact they have chosen NOT to visit us here on Earth.
Why would higher beings be interested in us anyway, be like us getting friendly and conversing with ants.

[Albert Lionheart]

Good one Klunk = so you think we are being watched?? All the time?

[Klunk]

They could be Albert, who knows? I doubt they watch us all the time, surely they would have much better things to do than watch us, much in the same way as a scientist doens't just sit watching bacteria grow and multiply in a petri dish.

As for us listening for their signals from out there, what makes us think they want us to know they exist? I reckon the only communication we will ever get off beings from out there would the be the sound of laughter brought upon by them watching us here on Earth.

Q. What was ET short for?










A. Cos he only had little legs

[Wolfeymole]

Originally Posted by Blackmirror

Are we alone in this great big universe?
have you ever seen a UFO ??

Never mind a UFO love, have you ever seen your Vac?

[Klunk]

Why, in Sci-Fi films do the enormous space craft still have red and green navigation lights?
With all that technology on board you would think they be pretty pointless, dont you think?

[Klunk]

I saw a mass or UFOs just the other day, but on closer inspection it turned out to be some silvery paper swirling around in the wind

Did you hear about those UFO reports last week somewhere in Scotland? Turned out to be balloons carrying tea-lights or similar.
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Police flooded with UFO sightings

[Blackmirror]

Originally Posted by Wolfeymole

Never mind a UFO love, have you ever seen your Vac?

I'm off limits vacuuming due to my back
Thats what sons are for

I have seen a UFO.. many years ago

[pyritechips]

Scientists have considered intelligent life for many years and here are some things to think about:

- Scientists know what they are talking about and do not think there is life due to uninformed, wild speculation. For instance there is the Drake Equation: SETI: The Drake Equation

- How advanced a civilization can be is directly related to how long it has existed, which is also directly related to how old its star and planetary system is. A civilization even just a few hundred or thousand years older than our own could be advanced far beyond our comprehension. I believe it was Arthur C. Clarke that said a civilization even a few hundred years more advanced than ours would be indistinguishable from magic. Think about how much more advanced the Europan Industrial Revolution nations were over the stone age cultures of Africa and North America.

- I firmly believe that no extraterrestial civilization has visited us because they don't know where we are! I think it is conceit on the part of humans to think that we are known elsewhere and interesting enough that superior civilizations* would want to visit, and even if they did why would they do it in secrecy? The Prime Directive? The only way that other worlds would know of intelligent life on this planet wou7ld be by the escaping radio waves of our TV and radio transmissions, which travel at the speed of light. Therefore, since they have only existed for about eighty years the leading waves have only radiated out into space to a distance of eighty light-years. The odds of an intelligent life form being in such a small sphere of such a large galaxy - nevermind the universe - are just about infintesimal.

My conclusion? They are out there but have not visited us.

* - They would have to be advanced to be able to detect and/or visit us.

[pyritechips]

Originally Posted by Jason

Yeah, sad people with no lives. I respect them 'n' all, but that's not the life I'd want.

Why do you say they have sad lives? By what criteria do you judge them?