How Many On Here Support The Rare Earth Theory? [Archive] - The CosmoQuest Forum with the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today Forum. Evolution uses things that work over and over again. Also it sticks to things that work. Sharks, not very smart, have persisted in some form or another for over 100 million years. The porpoise n itch is filled over and over again. What we dont see in the fossil record is hi tech tool building. I think the way a species' lifespan (averaging 4 million years, IIRC) is normally measured is flawed.
You may object saying that individuals which leave genetically distinct descendants are rare exceptions -- vast majority of all individuals do not form evolved lineages. Humans seem (imo) locked into a run away red queen situation, in competition with each other. Finally, I hope i am wrong. Well, here is a possible way out of the box -- for humans, genetic success is less important than memetic success -- passing the ideas and knowledge to the next generation. And if individual immortality becomes possible, as I am pretty sure it will, then all bets are off. Children will mostly disappear. Is There Life Out There Somewhere In The Universe. Are there alien civilizations out there? — Sorry this video is no longer available Are there alien civilizations out there?
Sorry the above video is no longer available; and the author has been unable to find a satisfactory substitute video. In reality, we have hardly begun to explore our galaxy for intelligent life… the stars are simply too numerous and many are hidden by the mass or our own galaxies stars, dust and gas as we orbit on one of its edges. Take a moment to check out how big our universe really is Shortened link to this video: Take a moment to check out how big our universe really is [music, astronomy pictures]: Criticism of how we have been trying to detect intelligent alien races There has been some criticism about how SETI is carrying out the search for alien civilizations.
Most power producing devices produce a signal of some sort as does the transportation of energy from one place to another. Will an intelligent alien civilization harm us? Evolution Predictable Everywhere in the Universe, Scientist Says. If the history of life on Earth could be rewound and replayed, many of the same innovations would reappear, although at different times and in slightly different forms. This is the conclusion of Geerat Vermeij, a paleontologist at the University of California, Davis. Vermeij's views imply that evolution is in some ways predictable and that life on other planets might not be so alien after all.
"Some traits are so advantageous under so many circumstances, or arise so relatively easily by virtue of self-organization, that you're likely to see the same things again and again," Vermeij told LiveScience. Among the innovations that evolution might find irresistible: photosynthesis, plant seeds, mineralized bones, intelligence and language. Videotape of life Vermeij's views contrast with those of the late Harvard biologist Stephen Jay Gould, who famously argued that if the "videotape of life" could be rewound and played again, vastly different life forms would evolve. A false historical perspective. Alien Civilizations in Universe. Introduction This calculation is just a rough one because galaxies vary a lot. There are also things called globular clusters that can contain hundreds of thousands of stars. I will be talking about type 0, type 1, type 2 and type 3 civilizations here.
You might want to watch this video to understand exactly what that means: Kardashev scale civilizations, type 0,1,2,3 civilizations and beyond Shortened link to video: ⊗ Kardashev scale civilizations, type 0,1,2,3 civilizations and beyond [our possible future, video + music]: The Number of Civilizations in Our Galaxy & the Universe To calculate the numbers of advanced alien civilizations in a galaxy that want to communicate with us we use a thing called the Drake Equation.
I have seen a few worrying directions to the Fermi Paradox. In one scenario if we discover life on other planets in our solar system it would be bad news for up since it means a “filter” (of extinction) lies ahead of us. Thus our universe has: The Astrobiology Web | Your Online Guide to the Living Universe.