Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe - Printable Version +- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com) +-- Forum: Science (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-61.html) +--- Forum: Astrophysics, Cosmology & Astronomy (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-74.html) +--- Thread: Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe (/thread-12639.html) |
Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe - C C - Jul 31, 2022 https://astronomy.com/news/2022/07/rare-earth-hypothesis-why-we-might-really-be-alone-in-the-universe EXCERPTS: . . . In 2000, two researchers, Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee, published a book that offered a possible explanation for our species’ apparent aloneness. It is called Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe (Copernicus Books, 2000). Ward, a paleontologist by training, and Brownlee, an astronomer, combined forces to produce what has come to be termed the Rare Earth hypothesis. Simply stated, the Rare Earth hypothesis suggests that the very unique conditions of Earth that allowed complex life to arise and flourish are exceptionally uncommon — and they’re unlikely to widely occur throughout the universe. Ward and Brownlee postulated that many fortuitous features of Earth, our Sun, and the solar system led to our highly favorable and surprisingly stable ecosystem. While some of these properties had been widely discussed in astronomy circles before, others had scarcely been mentioned...
[...] It’s important to remember that the Rare Earth hypothesis only applies to the emergence of complex life. Ward and Brownlee believe that simple life, such as bacteria, is widespread in the universe — after all, even the harshest habitats on Earth harbor microbes. However, the pair feel that complex life, metazoans like animals and us, are exceptionally rare... (MORE - missing details) RE: Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe - Kornee - Aug 1, 2022 The opinion space on abundance of (physical) intelligent life 'out there on other planets' is so wide it's a waste of time to take any estimate as remotely reliable. A pure 'educated guess' guessing game. Yeah that includes the Drake so-called 'equation'. But the cited tome gels with my opinion the likes of bygone super celebrity Carl Sagan were way over their depth in cavalier pronouncements of 'a cosmos teeming with intelligent life'. RE: Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe - Zinjanthropos - Aug 1, 2022 I guess that means our other worldly intelligent life detection methods are fantastic or should that be technically advanced intelligent life? RE: Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe - RainbowUnicorn - Aug 2, 2022 look at the ancient stone work & building still we cant copy that technology if any advanced civilization is out there they will be hiding from humans. how would the human population react to find out that there is advanced life in the galaxy but they refuse to associate with humans because humans are soo barbaric. how would that reality change global politics ? |