The evolution of self-replicating systems that we might recognize as having similar properties to Life* elsewhere in the Universe seems quite likely. But why do most people seem to think that the evolution of a species that is capable of interplanetary travel is both inevitable and stable? It only happened once on Earth in 3.8 billion years of evolution, and the conditions that gave rise to us were unusual and specific. Furthermore, it is not clear that we will exist for any more than a blink in time; what if intelligence is a highly unstable state that does not survive for long? Even if intelligent life# arises once every 3 or 4 billion years, what if it only persists for a few million years? Then the chances of two independent origins of intelligent life meeting up somewhere in the Universe (existing at the same place and at the same time) seem highly unlikely. *Life (with a big L): the single, monophyletic, biological taxon that includes the common ancestor of life on Earth and all of its descendants. #life (with a little l): A concept that is defined differently by different people, but is generally understood to mean a self-replicating system of genetic information with the capacity for metabolism, growth, and evolution. io9/is-it-time-to-accept-that-were-alone-in-the-universe-1654960619
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 14:57:59 +0000
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