The prospect of other life existing in the universe has permeated society and culture throughout time. It only makes sense that we cannot be the only ones out there in the universe. After all it is some 13.8 billion light years in diameter and growing. The question remains, why haven’t we come across alien life?In the event that scientists do discover alien life it will a momentous occasion. Humanity would finally have answered the age old question “Are we alone?”. Of course this question will always be met with “Possibly not”.
Philosophy is dead and with it a time where the human mind and matters of opinion were the dominating source of evidence. While we can reasonably conclude that using the human inputs such as sight and hearing as any valid data points when conducting experiments where observations such as observation is important.
Much like how we can see the delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder. The speed of sound was estimated as soon as the year 1635 using a cannon. With that they were within .5 m/s to modern day values. Remarkably accurate. However it is very different when peering into the universe. We cannot really hear things in space. Or can we?
There are videos floating about on Facebook and other social media sources of the “Sounds of Planets”. Immediately ones curiosity is perked up by the idea of hearing what the planets sound like from space. However it isn’t sound at all. Scientists observe the planets using electromagnetic radiation sensitive equipment and record the radiation released over the course of a couple months. They then represent that data as sound.
We are able to peer deep into the universe and understand how stars work. Humans are capable of growing artificial tissue using stem cells. We have harnessed the power of human brain and have discovered and invented incredible things. Yet the question of extra terrestrial life remains just that a question.
If life is discovered on Mars it will be a historical event. A time in human history where the life long question is answered. We are not alone. Yet we have all heard the theory before. Life on Earth originated from a meteor impact which came from mars or something to that extent. So if that is the case is it fair to say that we aren’t the only ones if we originated from Mars to begin with. It would be reasonable in my opinion to postulate that at that point life did originate from a meteor impact from Mars. Life on Mars in this hypothetical situation might not have been able to survive or adapt fast enough to the hostile conditions and had a better chance on Earth where it obviously flourished and over the course of millions and billions of years evolved into the vast array of life we have today.
It is still hard to say. That is where philosophy lives today. In the questions and thesis’ made by us every day. The questions that remain unanswered for decades and centuries waiting to have their inquirers fulfilled with the joy of knowing. When will this question of “Are we alone?” going to be answered? Maybe sooner than we think.