Thread: Aliens, closer than we thought?

Originally Posted by wasup

Who's to say life in other planets or galaxies depends on oxygen, water, certain temperatures, etc.? I mean, it seems rather silly to say that "life" will only exist on other planets that are like earth, especially considering we don't even have a solid definition for what life is.

I don't think he's suggesting that life only exists on Earth-like worlds, only that we KNOW it CAN on Earth-like worlds.

Actually I'm inclined to think that life may well depend on water etcetera, in this universe at least. You can make several important generalisations about what life 'must be' like. It must be carbon based and cellular, for a start.

Water is indeed a very powerful (and abundant in the entire universe) substance for life to utilise, but I don't think it has to be the only one. There are many other low-mass slightly polar hydro-carbons that could substitute for water on worlds such as Titan where life could conceivably evolve.

But for now water is our grand champion and mac daddy.

Water isn't really a hydrocarbon, it's just a covalent molecule. But water is definitely very special, it has the maximum number of H bonds per molecule possible.

Ah I didn't word that very well, my apologises. I know water isn't a hydrocarbon, but I was alluding to low mass hydrocarbons being a possible (poor) substitute.

There aren't any polar hydrocarbons though.

I blame this exchange on my lack of sleep, it being 4am, and 6 years since my last chemistry lesson. I was thinking of the dipole-dipole electron cloud, and only just now remembered that only occurs in LARGE hydrocarbons.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Never mind, chemistry's all a load of stuff some guys made up anyway. I'm pretty sure that Van der Waals and such things are just some chemist's fantasy that he couldn't actually prove but made his life a lot easier... but yeah, the only polar molecules you get are those in which you have an electron pulling atom, and hydrocarbons only contain carbon and hydrogen, neither of which do that.

There's two electron pairs free on the central oxygen, one for each of the two delta positive hydrogens, by the way. That's why water's so snazzy, and is fabby at dissolving ions like this:



which is pretty essential for an organism.

Sorry about all the technobabble by the way, but I'm revising for my big exams at the moment and it's sort of infectious.

They dont nessesarly have to use "eyes" for sight, maybe sonar like bats, or even something that we can't comprehend or have never thought about.

Not really, it has to be carried by a wave so that's either light or a high frequency sound.

Originally Posted by Alextanium

I don't think he's suggesting that life only exists on Earth-like worlds, only that we KNOW it CAN on Earth-like worlds.

Yes, that's what I meant.

Ha! That's a good one! I think that the reason aliens look so much like us is because their structure is a mere byproduct of our own narrowmindedness, and perhaps our species inferiority complex.

We make aliens like us, because there can't possibly be a species that's better than us without bearing resemblance to us. That's the reason why we are so intent on making androids, instead of a more efficient robot. Honestly, what moron would give a 'bot two front-facing eyes? My 'bot has an optic strip all the way around, and can see in infrared as well as the visible spectrum. And two legs? Why not make it drive a unicycle, too? Obviously, these "engineers" enjoy making it harder on themselves.

Of course Christians believe God based the human shape off of himself. Sounds a bit narrowminded, don't you think? Based on your idea, we could also say that God is the next evolutionary step for humans. And it's not just the Christian God, too. Most Gods have a human form. XD

Originally Posted by Abra

Of course Christians believe God based the human shape off of himself. Sounds a bit narrowminded, don't you think?

very few christians, if any at all, believe that God looks like a human. the only God figure in christianity that resembles a human, is Jesus *and us*. The old bearded man on a cloud has been called a graven image of God by many christians throughout the ages. because it creates an image of God that is singular, existing in one point in space, versus are more omnipresent God, that is not apart from existence.

christians that do believe God looks like a human, also believe God is up in heaven and not here on earth. and those christians have sadly, missed the entire point of christianity

the verse made in likeness refers to our capacity to create, we are co-creators. it does not mean our physical appearance.

That's an interpretation, not a truth. You're applying your own interpretation just as those who 'got it wrong' are.

Mhm. I have a feeling that whoever first wrote that we were made in God's image was trying to say that God looks like a human.

Then again perhaps they meant that we were made to be conscious beings.

But then again it's all just bullshit, and where's the point in speculating about the nature of bullshit?

Originally Posted by Xei

Mhm. I have a feeling that whoever first wrote that we were made in God's image was trying to say that God looks like a human.

Then again perhaps they meant that we were made to be conscious beings.

But then again it's all just bullshit, and where's the point in speculating about the nature of bullshit?

Ha, no.

Made in God's image simply means free will.

Yes, that's what it says in the companion volume of the Bible, isn't it?

Oh wait. The Bible's a vague piece of poetry which is completely open to interpretation and has no single inherent meaning. Can you really not see that?

And what's the difference between consciousness and free will anyway?

I just don't get how people can pick up a bible you know, and conclude some of the stuff they come up with.

I'd hate to appear as a supporter of intelligent design because I'm not but there are mathematical laws of proportion all forms of life follow in the way they evolve so it doesn't seem so unlikely to me that there would be millions of intelligent races of similar stature. In fact, I'd say it's a very natural evolutionary structure: two walking limbs, two accesory limbs, genitals go on bottom, brain on top, sensory items go on the face, obviously the eyes on top for the vantage point, ears on the side. Their similar mouth structure tells me they live on a planet where they must breathe oxygen, drink water and consume biomaterial in order to survive because if they had other needs then the bodily processes that take place would probably promote a different, more efficient design of their nose and mouth.

5 fingers and toes, too, I bet.

Obviously that particular race lives in a smaller, dimmer planet than ours. Either that or their nocturnal because big ravaging day-beasts wander around their desert homeworld.