Life elsewhere in the Solar System

[HowlerMonkey]

There is the possibility that humans are the most advanced civilization and that we won't be seeing any alien life forms until we make the trip ourselves.

Someone has to be the most advanced and chance might have picked us.

[BarnatosGhost]

HowlerMonkey said:

There is the possibility that humans are the most advanced civilization and that we won't be seeing any alien life forms until we make the trip ourselves.

Someone has to be the most advanced and chance might have picked us.

But we are a civilisation who made Jedward millionaires. The very idea that we're the best of the universe's best is too depressing for words.

Come friendly aliens, and fall on Jedward.

[crofty1984]

scubadude said:

Agreed- we're never going to meet and shake hands/limbs/tenticles

But I see no reason why we couldn't "discover" life elsewhere, either bugs or bacteria on a moon in the outer solar system or life of exoplanets through EM wave transmissions, be they old radio or the signature of glowing sodium in the night (street lights on Alien highways :-) or flashes of light from explosions or burning of fires in war or industry.

We've been burning wood and coal for 1000's of years, anyone advanced enough to recognise that will have a F-off big telescope and be able to see it, eventually we'll be able to do the same.... how irritating will that be? Knowing their is someone with a brightly lit city 100light years away but knowing none of us will ever meet them!

Probability says there is life, lots of it, out there.

Odd thing being if an alein is looking at earth now through his massive telescope millions of light years away, he'll just turn to his mate and in what I imagine will be a birmingham accent, say "Don't bother going to that blue planet for your holidays, just a load of massive fking lizards!"

[Simpo Two]

Well until we find something better, we are.

[BarnatosGhost]

Simpo Two said:

Well until we find something better, we are.

Regardless of what we find or don't find, I'd say in the balance of probabilities, we aren't.

Whatever our standing in the cosmic intelligence rankings, it is unaffected by whether or not we know it.

The probability of there being life in the universe is 1 (it's us). The probability of there being no further life in the universe is less than 1 (we haven't checked everywhere for signs of no life).

So the only question is whether whatever life is out there (if there is any) is or was smart enough to not make their equivalent of Jedward into their equivalent of millionaires.

My guess (and fervent hope): yes.

[Hugo a Gogo]

SystemParanoia said:

if you want to read something really strange.. google up about Saturns moon Epimetheus and Janus highlight of the solarsystem for me

I've never heard about that! excellent

[Simpo Two]

BarnatosGhost said:

Simpo Two said:

Well until we find something better, we are.

Regardless of what we find or don't find, I'd say in the balance of probabilities, we aren't.

Whatever our standing in the cosmic intelligence rankings, it is unaffected by whether or not we know it.

The probability of there being life in the universe is 1 (it's us). The probability of there being no further life in the universe is less than 1 (we haven't checked everywhere for signs of no life).

Are you claiming that as a hypothesis or a theory?

[BarnatosGhost]

Simpo Two said:

BarnatosGhost said:

Simpo Two said:

Well until we find something better, we are.

Regardless of what we find or don't find, I'd say in the balance of probabilities, we aren't.

Whatever our standing in the cosmic intelligence rankings, it is unaffected by whether or not we know it.

The probability of there being life in the universe is 1 (it's us). The probability of there being no further life in the universe is less than 1 (we haven't checked everywhere for signs of no life).

Are you claiming that as a hypothesis or a theory?

I'd say the above is beyond dispute but not very well explained, so I'll label it A Law.

The continued success and wealth of Jedward is so self-evidently ridiculous to any sentient being - be-tentacled, non-carbon-based or whatever, that it is really in need of a 'super-theory' type designation. In precis:

"There is a Jedward therefore we are idiots. Therefore aliens are probably smarter than us. Whether they exist or not, frankly."

[Simpo Two]

BarnatosGhost said:

The continued success and wealth of Jedward is so self-evidently ridiculous to any sentient being - be-tentacled, non-carbon-based or whatever, that it is really in need of a 'super-theory' type designation. In precis:

"There is a Jedward therefore we are idiots. Therefore aliens are probably smarter than us. Whether they exist or not, frankly."

Or that we have advanced to such a state that our society can afford to support such cretins...? If we were less advanced we would simply kill them and eat them (minus the hair of course)

[Eric Mc]

Being able to assimilate Jedward into our culture in a self-nocking way is a sign of advanced intelligence - ergo, the Irish are the most intelligent race on the planet.

[BarnatosGhost]

Eric Mc said:

Being able to assimilate Jedward into our culture in a self-nocking way is a sign of advanced intelligence - ergo, the Irish are the most intelligent race on the planet.

Even after allowing for the deleterious effect of Jedward themselves on the national average intellect? I think not.

Had you adopted them from another country your claim may have some merit, but they're yours. All yours.

[BarnatosGhost]

Simpo Two said:

BarnatosGhost said:

The continued success and wealth of Jedward is so self-evidently ridiculous to any sentient being - be-tentacled, non-carbon-based or whatever, that it is really in need of a 'super-theory' type designation. In precis:

"There is a Jedward therefore we are idiots. Therefore aliens are probably smarter than us. Whether they exist or not, frankly."

Or that we have advanced to such a state that our society can afford to support such cretins...? If we were less advanced we would simply kill them and eat them (minus the hair of course)

Less is more, at least in the above sentence.

[Simpo Two]

Well remember that there are only two Jedwards out of a global population of I think 7 billion.

We'll put it down to a spontaneous mutation of the genome and trust they don't pass on their genes

[BarnatosGhost]

I understand how they came to be. It was out of our hands. Could have happened to any race, on any planet.

But, once blighted, we made them millionaires.

Damning. Just damning. We should be demolished to make way for an intergalactic highway, or something.

[AshVX220]

Hugo a Gogo said:

SystemParanoia said:

if you want to read something really strange.. google up about Saturns moon Epimetheus and Janus highlight of the solarsystem for me

I've never heard about that! excellent

What an amazing coinsidence [sp], that the first moon discovered was called Janus - a two-faced God!!

[Odie]

callyman said:

BarnatosGhost said:

Does our moon have a name? Every other moon does.

For that matter, does our sun have a name?

Our moon is called 'the moon' and our star is called 'the sun'

Perhaps a better way of saying this is -

Our Natural Satellite is 'the moon' and our star is 'the sun'

[Hugo a Gogo]

do you think extra-terrestrials (extra-solar?) also call their own planets by their word for 'ground'?

[Simpo Two]

BarnatosGhost said:

I understand how they came to be. It was out of our hands. Could have happened to any race, on any planet. But, once blighted, we made them millionaires.

Never mind, they will probably spend it all and so recycle it to more needy folk.

Odie said:

Our Natural Satellite is 'the moon' and our star is 'the sun'

Moon and sun are general terms - I thought our sun was called Sol; not sure if our moon has a 'proper' name.

[SystemParanoia]

isnt it called lunar or something like that?

[rxtx]

Selene, it's already been mentioned Ben Bova also called his moon colony Selene in his Grand Tour series.