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Scientists estimate 100 Billion civilizations have evolved prior to us
Posted on 5/7/16 at 9:39 am
Posted on 5/7/16 at 9:39 am
quote:
Are we alone? It is, perhaps, one of the most significant questions human beings have ever asked—right up there with “Why are we here?” and “How did it all begin?”
Indeed, as soon as we understood that the universe was not circumscribed by the Earth’s horizons, but extended outward for unfathomable distances and contained within its compass innumerable worlds like our own, we began to wonder whether we are unique and alone, or if there might not be others out there—like us, and yet very unlike us.
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The results suggest that humankind is only likely to be unique if the odds of another civilization developing on a habitable world are less than one in 1022. That’s a very—some might say improbably—small number.
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“Think of it this way: before our result you’d be considered a pessimist if you imagined the probability of evolving a civilization on a habitable planet were, say, one in a trillion. But even that guess, one chance in a trillion, implies that what has happened here on Earth with humanity has in fact happened about 10 billion other times over cosmic history!”
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Posted on 5/7/16 at 9:51 am to Stacked
Conjecture. We are the only advanced species.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:02 am to Dick Leverage
quote:We may be the only ones at this point in time.
We are the only advanced species.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:07 am to Dick Leverage
How do you know?
It's pretty naive to think that considering how vast the universe is.
It's pretty naive to think that considering how vast the universe is.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:30 am to CNB
This site should be called "as seen on Reddit"
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:31 am to Stacked
The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:33 am to Stacked
The most disturbing thought I've had is not that we are utterly alone in the universe - but that we are among many, and are the most advanced, as improbable as that would seem.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:33 am to NashvilleTider
And Reddit should be called "as seen on 4chan" 
Posted on 5/7/16 at 10:34 am to Stacked
The only thing we know for certain is that intelligent life can evolve in this Universe. The laws of physics allow for it, presumably everywhere the conditions are amenable.
We have only one example to use for projections elsewhere and it indicates that life will arise very quickly when the ingredients are available. Intelligent life, however, may be extremely rare, if not unique to earth, using this sole example.
Unique, at least, in this galaxy. The 100 billion civilizations mentioned in the article can be said to support this statement because there are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the Universe.
So, one per Galaxy on average is a reasonable number based on the 4.5 billion years it took for intelligent life to evolve on our world. The Milky Way is 13 billion years old and some might say that that's plenty of time for another civilization to have evolved before us.
However, the ingredients for life have to evolve in stars and be spread into the Galaxy by supernovae to a concentration that would promote the formation of life. How long that might take is anyone's guess at this time.
So, the article's number of archaic civilizations seems huge until we consider the size of the Universe. We may very well be the first and only civilization in the Milky Way.
While there are probably other civilizations out there in the Universe, it's likely that they are as rare to their galaxies as we are to ours.
We have only one example to use for projections elsewhere and it indicates that life will arise very quickly when the ingredients are available. Intelligent life, however, may be extremely rare, if not unique to earth, using this sole example.
Unique, at least, in this galaxy. The 100 billion civilizations mentioned in the article can be said to support this statement because there are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the Universe.
So, one per Galaxy on average is a reasonable number based on the 4.5 billion years it took for intelligent life to evolve on our world. The Milky Way is 13 billion years old and some might say that that's plenty of time for another civilization to have evolved before us.
However, the ingredients for life have to evolve in stars and be spread into the Galaxy by supernovae to a concentration that would promote the formation of life. How long that might take is anyone's guess at this time.
So, the article's number of archaic civilizations seems huge until we consider the size of the Universe. We may very well be the first and only civilization in the Milky Way.
While there are probably other civilizations out there in the Universe, it's likely that they are as rare to their galaxies as we are to ours.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 11:25 am to Stacked
I don't get how people think we're alone in the universe. I mean the size of the universe isn't even comprehensible to me. Just our galaxy alone has over 100 billion stars and those stars have planets that revolve around them. I mean frick....
Posted on 5/7/16 at 12:32 pm to HempHead
quote:
are the most advanced
What makes you think we're the most advanced species or beings out there in the universe. The universe is infinite. There's no way we're the most advanced considering in the grand scheme of things, we know absolutely nothing. Way less than 1% of the universe is understood by us. For all we know, more advanced species could be hiding amongst us. Ground control to Major Tom.. Maybe that's where these huge technological advances are coming from. I'm not talking about recently. I'm talking going back to way before any of our life times. Back to the cavemen even. Numerous cave drawings found on different continents displayed the same mysterious being. What we perceive now a days as an extra terrestrial. Coincidence? Possibly. God knows how those people viewed the world back then. I wish I could just see how it was. I know it would be miserable compared to how established we are as a civilization (talking about first world countries) currently. Back before they had currency. Aliens bruh
This post was edited on 5/7/16 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 5/7/16 at 12:42 pm to NashvilleTider
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This site should be called "as seen on Reddit
Let me explain this to you so fricking simply.
1) Reddit is a website which hosts topics.
2) This website is home to the particular people I enjoy discussing topics with.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 12:58 pm to Dick Leverage
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We are the only advanced species.
That is a monumentally depressing notion.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 1:09 pm to SmoothOperator96
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What makes you think we're the most advanced species or beings out there in the universe. The universe is infinite. There's no way we're the most advanced considering in the grand scheme of things, we know absolutely nothing.
That's my point - it is not a belief, just a scenario I've entertained. What if, against all statistical probability, we ARE the first to do what we've accomplished?
It's absurdly unlikely, but it's interesting to ponder.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 1:21 pm to Stacked
Where'd they come up with the 1/1022 number? There are so many conditions that have to be just right for life to flourish, that seems absurdly favorable.
That said, if the universe is indeed infinite (unknown), then it wouldn't matter what those odds are - there will be an infinite number of civilizations, an infinite number more advanced than us and an infinite number less advanced.
That said, if the universe is indeed infinite (unknown), then it wouldn't matter what those odds are - there will be an infinite number of civilizations, an infinite number more advanced than us and an infinite number less advanced.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 1:40 pm to Dick Leverage
quote:
We are the only advanced species.
Also conjecture.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 1:42 pm to HempHead
I understood your point exactly. Don't know why no one else did. It would would be a fricking terrifying scenario if as advanced as the universe gets is Kim Jong Un blowing up mini-nukes in the ocean to threaten the countries within reach.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 1:50 pm to HempHead
You can come up with so many theories regarding this. Space is so vast that realistically if we had the technology to capture sight of another earthlike planet and see that it's inhabited...the people of that planet may have been extinct millennia ago.
The light we see in the stars with the naked eye was emitted millions of years ago, and some of those don't even exist anymore. It takes the light that long to travel here
Assume that the Big Bang theory is true, the universe could be still ever expanding outward from that event, creating new life elsewhere, while we are simply a dot on a timeline. And there could have civilizations born, advanced, and died out way before us in the earlier stages of the universe.
Will we self destruct and cease to exist as others may have? Will we be the first to develop capability of leaving our planet and inhabiting other planets to continue our existence?
Or are we the only ones? Maybe God is real, and the end will be the apocalypse predicted in the Bible.
Maybe the theories of other, more advanced civilizations coming to earth to help teach our ancestors their ways so we could develop faster (I.e the Egyptian pyramids as an example).
Nobody fricking knows and anyone who claims they are right and anyone who doesn't agree is stupid, are stupid themselves.
The light we see in the stars with the naked eye was emitted millions of years ago, and some of those don't even exist anymore. It takes the light that long to travel here
Assume that the Big Bang theory is true, the universe could be still ever expanding outward from that event, creating new life elsewhere, while we are simply a dot on a timeline. And there could have civilizations born, advanced, and died out way before us in the earlier stages of the universe.
Will we self destruct and cease to exist as others may have? Will we be the first to develop capability of leaving our planet and inhabiting other planets to continue our existence?
Or are we the only ones? Maybe God is real, and the end will be the apocalypse predicted in the Bible.
Maybe the theories of other, more advanced civilizations coming to earth to help teach our ancestors their ways so we could develop faster (I.e the Egyptian pyramids as an example).
Nobody fricking knows and anyone who claims they are right and anyone who doesn't agree is stupid, are stupid themselves.
Posted on 5/7/16 at 2:02 pm to HempHead
quote:
It's absurdly unlikely, but it's interesting to ponder.
But it's also possible. That's what's so fascinating about the whole thing. I'd be interested to see how long it takes to establish a form of communication if we were in fact able to contact other beings.
Maybe they can't hear or see, so the only form of contact that's basically universal is touch. And even that's debatable. It would be extremely interesting to see how we'd establish a form of trust and peace
Posted on 5/7/16 at 4:48 pm to PrivatePublic
quote:
That said, if the universe is indeed infinite (unknown), then it wouldn't matter what those odds are - there will be an infinite number of civilizations, an infinite number more advanced than us and an infinite number less advanced.
While we don't yet conclusively know whether the Universe is finite or infinite, we do know that it had a point of origin, the Big Bang. There is now lots of evidence that the Big Bang, or something very similar, did indeed happen so a finite Universe is most probable.
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