- Analysis suggests idea of extraterrestrial life is 'wishful thinking'
- Scientists have believed that because life evolved early in Earth's history, it must be everywhere
- Idea is simply wrong, say Princeton scientists
- Earth could be a one-off aberration and other worlds could be lifeless
Nasa has said there are 'billions' of planets in our own Milky Way galaxy - but a new study suggests that the idea that they are teeming with alien lifeforms may just be wishful thinking.
Two Princeton scientists used what's known as 'Bayesian analysis' - a technque that 'boils down' ideas to the actual data, as opposed to scientists' own ideas about what 'should' be true.
They suggest that it's very possible Earth is a one-off aberration where life took hold unusually fast - and on the average extraterrestrial planet, the chances of life are very low indeed.
The Milky Way: It contains 100 billion planets, but scientists suggest that it's very possible Earth is a one-off aberration where life took hold unusually fast - and on the average extraterrestrial planet, the chances of life are very low indeed
Hi-
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. Have followed your post for almost a year now. I just read this article the other day. I think they might be right which is extremely disappointing. My opinion depends on the day. I go back and forth, but ultimately I really hope we are not alone. There are several interesting ideas for explaining the fermi paradox which seem plausible. The truth is the universe is huge and we just have not explored enough and will not truly know until we get the technology to search beyond our galaxy. I think it's the most important question of our species.
Are you a optimist there is intelligent or non-intelligent life out there?
Carson
Hi Carson - I don't have any doubts about the plurality of life throughout the known and unknown universe. However, I also firmly believe there are extra dimensional entities that our present gadgets and instruments wouldn't be able to detect, even if we wanted to. Some call them angels, others aliens, either way...there are most certainly intra/extra dimensional beings closer than anyone realizes, imo.
ReplyDeleteGood answer. What you say is true about our gadgets and instruments. Extra dimentional entities could actually be sending us signals that are far beyond our tech and unrecognizable by us. We could be just like rats in a cage. Even if rats truly realize we exist, how could they really study us or learn more about us. Take Care
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