Some of you may have seen news reports on television or the Internet recently saying that there has been an alarming rate of UFO sightings from all around the world. Some people even believe that these UFOs belong to aliens who have come here to help us while we go through some major changes in the next decade. These changes, for some reason, have something to do with anticipated events that will happen before, during, and after the year 2012. You may want to read my 2012 Doomsday article to understand what some of these events could be.
I've always been fascinated by the universe. It's so enormous. I mean, if Earth is so full of shit, then imagine how much more could be out there floating in the vastness of space. I guess it's the reason why black holes exist. There's a need to flush the crap off the face of the cosmos from time to time. Anyway, before I go any further, let me remind you that I don't claim to present answers to all the questions that you might have. I only provide food for thought. If you start to get bright ideas after reading this, then those ideas are entirely yours. I'm not responsible for any indigestion that may occur.
By the way, mad props to Rose Belle for her inspirational comment and to Shanaz for her stimulating curiosity. Now, let's proceed, shall we?
LIFE IS COMMONPLACE IN THE UNIVERSE, BUT WHERE ARE THE ALIENS?
If the universe is estimated to be 15-20 billion years old and there are 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone, what makes our planet so special? Obviously 100 to 200 billion (the estimated number of galaxies in the known universe) far exceeds Larry Graham's "One In A Million" standard. Furthermore, if the laws of physics and the chemical elements needed for the creation of life are the same throughout the entire universe, then many life forms could've even begun billions of years earlier than the creation of our solar system. Nevertheless, for the sake of providing a sound argument, you may want to take a look at the discovery of planets in other star systems and microorganisms that survive in hostile environments if you find the need to be convinced.
Now, if you accept the idea that life exists beyond our planet, in huge numbers, the next obvious thing to ask is, "Where are they?" Seems like a simple question, right? To make it a little bit more challenging, a physicist named Enrico Fermi developed a theory called the Fermi Paradox which basically asks, "If intelligent extraterrestrial life is abundant in the universe or even our galaxy alone, then why don't we see physical artifacts or any signs of intelligent life?"
A number of theories to answer this have been proposed, but none has been generally accepted so far. Some scientists have even tried to answer this question mathematically by using a formula called the Drake equation. The Drake equation is used to calculate the potential number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy. Unfortunately, all the parameters in the equation are completely unknown, making the result worthless. If, for example, you have (X + Y = Z) as your formula and the value of X and Y is equal to "maybe," your equation will more or less look like this (maybe + maybe = beats me).
Here are other arguments that address the question in Fermi's paradox:
* WE ARE ALONE IN THIS UNIVERSE. The condition needed for life to evolve at our level is rare or even unique to Earth. This is quite arrogant, in my opinion, but some religions are satisfied with this assumption and instruct their members to make it a central component of their belief system.
* WE'RE JUST TOO FAR APART FROM EACH OTHER. Considering that there are civilizations out there similar to our own, it's just impossible to have an acquaintance party with them without violating the laws of physics.
* WE'RE NOT SMART ENOUGH. Civilizations, just like ours, have already experienced a technological singularity allowing them to become highly intelligent. An attempt of any advanced alien culture to communicate with humans is hypothetically similar to a person talking to an ant.
* THEY JUST CHOOSE TO LEAVE US ALONE. According to the zoo hypothesis, any advanced civilization that may have detected us will opt to hide their presence to avoid any kind of influence over our existence. Yes, leave us alone please.
* THEY ARE OUT THERE SEEKING OR HAVING FUN WITH ALIENS THAT POSSESS THE SAME LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE. Let's face it, if a bunch of losers invited you to go out and party, will you consider hanging out with those guys? If your answer is no, then what makes you think aliens would want to hang out with us?
ARE ALIENS INCOMPETENT?
As humans, we need models that we could use to compare the various things and events we observe in reality. For this reason, most people often make the assumption that aliens or extra-terrestrials, capable of interstellar travel, are biological creatures with human-level intelligence and human-like interests. I think the problem stems from our inability to think beyond our preconceived notions of existence. Is it possible to detect aliens with superior intelligence if the only type of intelligence we can comprehend is of our own kind? I don't think so. Try reading Ten Alien Encounters Debunked and see how people annoyingly fit patterns of human behavior to extraterrestrials to create false claims about their existence. Are there alien spacecrafts that crashed on Earth? Well, if it's true, then they probably have neglected the regular maintenance of their ships.
Maybe you're asking, "If that's the case, then will there ever be a time when we can arrive at the understanding of their existence?" Probably. If species evolve into more complex species, then why should we stay like this forever? Besides, scientists in various fields of study like nanotech, computer science, and quantum physics are racing to develop technologies that will aid us in transforming into a more intelligent type of creature. It may no longer be a matter of how, it's probably just a matter of when. Take a look at this list of emerging technologies and try to imagine what kind of effect it might have on us humans.
Now, if we get to that level, does that mean it's the end of the road for everyone? If we become astronomically intelligent and aliens welcome us into their poker club, does it mean we can stop right there and not continue to evolve? Well, I don't know. I've never been in that situation before. I'm still human. However, in the short amount of time that I've spent here on Earth, I've observed that everything in my reality seems to fall into a hierarchy. There's always something bigger, faster, more complex, and so on. If that's the case, then is there a reason not to think that the same is true for intelligent life in the universe? Isn't it possible that there are networks and networks of highly evolved beings, each largely hidden from the others, due to vastly different complexity and intelligence scales?
WHAT DO ALIENS LOOK LIKE?
Do you remember what the "U" in "UFO" stands for? Some people, however, seem to forget that it's supposed to stand for "unidentified" and claim that the UFOs they saw are actually alien spaceships that came from outer space. We humans have a burning need to have an answer for the unknown, but our perception is awfully susceptible to ways of getting things wrong. Thus, in some cases, we create the mistake of inventing explanations to things that we cannot explain and descriptions to things that we are unable to describe. This is called argumentum ad ignorantiam or argument from ignorance.
There are many theories that try to clarify the existence of aliens and UFO sightings. Some of these theories include, but not limited to, the following:
PSYCHOSOCIAL HYPOTHESIS - states that culture has a significant influence on people's accounts of alien and UFO encounters.
INTERDIMENSIONAL HYPOTHESIS - states that UFOs and alien encounters are visitations from other "realities" or "dimensions" coexisting separately alongside our own.
ULTRATERRESTRIALS - states that extraterrestrials are a species that has always been here, which evolved on Earth along with other species, but which represents a far superior intelligence.
It's clearly up to you to decide which one to believe. You can even treat it like your religion and offer prayers, worship, and sacrifices, if that suits you. As for me, I can't really decide if aliens exist or not, but I do think that appearances are trivial. If these dudes aren't physical and biological in nature, then why should looks even matter?
WILL ALIENS INVADE OUR PLANET?
Definitely! I think aliens will come on Earth to annihilate the entire human race. The reason?
BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET OUR ACTS TOGETHER! =P
What do you think?
UPDATE DEC 12: See the overwhelming need of people to find an explanation: Anyone for some Arctic roll? Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway
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