That would be very surprising if it were true, considering the incomprehensively vast numbers of stars and planets out there.
Comment on To put life into perspective
SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 6 months ago
It’s also the only place that has life in that vast desert of stars with empty rocks orbiting them.
Ranvier@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
ricdeh@lemmy.world 6 months ago
If it were not true then that would be the actual surprise. The probability for life to form has been computed over and over during the past century, incorporating ever more gains in scientific knowledge, and it is on the order of 10^-100^, meaning that there likely is no other life in at least our galaxy.
Gabu@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Source: your anus.
Ranvier@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
There’s no one that can make the estimate accurately right now. Any calculation like that is going to rest on lots on many wild estimates and unknowns. Happy to look at it if you have a source though.
SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 6 months ago
But so far chances of intelligent life seem to be vanishingly small and using those numbers we get one civilization every few galaxies.
Gabu@lemmy.world 6 months ago
There could be ten different civilizations in a radius of 100 light years of us with the same technological level we had 200 years ago and we wouldn’t know.
Ranvier@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
We’re working with an n of 1 basically. If you’re talking about the drake equation, many of those terms are wild estimates that we simply don’t know the answer to. In the course of astronomy history when we’ve assume uniqueness about earth or our cosmic situation we’ve generally been wrong. Unfortunately the vast distances between stars make an estimation of life in the universe difficult with current technology.
But there’s septillions of star systems in the galaxy with billions of years for life to happen. Intelligent life has happened at least once because we’re here. It would be utterly shocking if we were the only intelligent life out there.
Denvil@lemmy.one 6 months ago
We do not know that
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 6 months ago
How do you know? It’s like you sampled a thimble full of water from the ocean and concluded that whales don’t exist.
SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Some astrophysicist are saying that. And like they say: it’s never aliens.
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 6 months ago
No serious astrophysicist is claiming there is no extraterrestrial life. We haven’t found any definitive evidence yet, but that’s just because our sample so far has been tiny.
SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Nobody claimed there was no extraterrestrial life. Most expect some life with at least some algae. Just chances for intelligent life, as more data comes in, turns out to be rather small and with a reasonable chance we’re the only one in this galaxy. The values originally used in the Drake equation were very optimistic.
Gabu@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The meaning of that phrase is “don’t assume things without evidence”. We have plentiful evidence that life should be common in the Universe - of which not the least reason is that the Universe is believed to be infinite, meaning there are countless galaxies out there nearly exactly like out own, with planets exactly like our own.