We have been visited by extraterrestrial beings.
Yes, probably
Side Score: 29
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Probably not.
Side Score: 44
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For me I fully believe in the existence of another type of living being or organism far out in the cosmos. I kinda think that they have visited earth especially since most famous masterpieces involve some sort of flying object that we see on movies or games today. I am not sure they are here as of now though. I know some people believe a race of reptilians exist on earth and can shape shift back and forth but I never believed that. I do think some UFO cases may have a chance of being real but it is highly improbable for it though. Side: Yes, probably
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The size of the universe is too vast for the probability of extraterrestrial beings to not be alive. The age of humanity is too great for the probability of one of the least likely existing beings to have not come here at least once. This is all assuming the unlikely existing beings have been alive longer than us, substantially. Side: Yes, probably
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Certainly, it makes sense to conclude that there is a fair probability for intelligent life to have developed elsewhere. However, it is a stretch to assume (1) that such intelligent life actually cares about humanity enough to cross galaxies to get here; and (2) that such intelligent life is actually capable of traversing the universe to arrive here. You do acknowledge that such intelligent life would likely have needed to be alive longer than us to have developed that sort of technology, however I would contend that this is not as probabilistically true given the significant time which evolution requires and the limited scope of time imposed by the age of the universe that other life forms would have had to evolve in. They could be older, but I do not know if they could be significantly older. Which is all to say, it's possible but highly improbable in my opinion. Side: Probably not.
However, it is a stretch to assume (1) that such intelligent life actually cares about humanity enough to cross galaxies to get here well, they, like us, might be wondering if there is anyone else out there beyond their own world. and (2) that such intelligent life is actually capable of traversing the universe to arrive here. I find your lack of faith disturbing. Side: Yes, probably
My reason for believing we have been visited once before is similar to the theory many "ancient alien theorists" come up with. We were always a interdependent world, but since in history we hadn't developed faster ways to import goods, being "interdependent" was not a reliable option, and we came up with different ways to survive. Assuming that alien civilizations have much more advanced technology than we do, they could have easily come here to guide us as a new species until they thought we didn't need help anymore. Or they were curious, just as we are about other life out there. Asking why "they would want to come here" is a self-explanatory question, since I'm sure we would do the same if we could. Another thing I would like to note is the Roswell incident and the amount of UFO sightings that have seemingly occurred since ancient time. Columbus, in one of his journals, described a bright moving light over the night sky, and something that could be interpreted as a "UFO" or alien spacecraft could also be read in the bible. This phenomenon isn't new, yet any conclusive evidence was probably hidden or kept secret (go figure) so we would be totally unaware of what is really happening around us. I'd like someone to give me a good reason why, we should trust the government, if that's any more of a reason to believe that if something modern and unexplained occurred in Roswell or any place else, it was covered up. Side: Yes, probably
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1: Size of the universe. Most of the universe is lightyears and lightyears away - we have sent the fastest ship we have (Voyager 2 I believe) to leave the solar system - it's not even close, after close to 40 years. Then the space between galaxies is ridiculously massive, in the regions of factors of 100 the size of our own solar system. Finally, remember that the chance of having life in a single solar system is miniscule - the closest solar system to us is almost certainly not going to have life. It is only in the vastness of space that there is a probability, but also a ridiculous distance away. 2: Size of earth in the universe. Even if there was, by some ridiculous chance, other life with a goal to travel to other solar systems in search of earth, what's the chance it would find us? We are but a tiny planet, in a reasonably sized galaxy, with no real defining factors. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack - except the needle was actually a piece of dust, and the haystack was the size of a football pitch, and 100 ft high. And you were blindfolded. 3: Motivation: Why the fuck would someone want to come all that way, simply to observe us and then go home? It would take a large amount of resources and time to travel from any other solar system to our own, especially to not make contact, it would be rather frivolous. Side: Probably not.
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When you say quantum teleportation, as far as I can tell, that in a mechanism by which quantum information is 'teleported' from one location to another (very close to the first). This is very different to teleportation, which I am assuming you mean. In reference to teleportation though, it is entirely possible that they have. But there is little to no evidence to suggest that such a thing is possible, it seems nothing more than a cool idea that we tell children about and put in films and things. I have no rational reason to believe that such a mechanism exists, so while I accept that it may, and that it would allow extraterrestrials to visit earth, I do not believe it likely that they have. Also, that only answers how they would get here. They would also need a reason to come (if it was so easy though, probably irrelevant) and they would need to have a reason to come to the specific location of earth - are they looking for life, and if so, are they simply visiting every single planet in existence? Finding us is very different from being able to find us - space is almost immeasurably large, remember. Side: Probably not.
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Your swearing is very out of order to be honest and didn't need to be there in your third argument. I don't know what your freaking problem is... He has not done anything to you, he isn't hurting anyone, people cuss... it happens get over it. Also you assume to know everything abou the universe when really we don't truly know it. He is making an argument based on what we possibly can suspect so far, and based off the littlest knowledge we have, he has not assumed to know everything, he isn't even arguing against you or your stance... what is your problem? seriously? you are accusing me of being a troll, but if anyone is a troll it is you... Side: Probably not.
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Apologies if I offended you, but I maintain to speak in the manner that I want. Hardly like I'm being particularly grotesque, just expressing my frustration. No. I assume that the very little that we currently understand about science holds true. That is not unreasonable. To say that we know nothing about the universe is like saying that suddenly cats will start appearing out of nothing, the earth will shake and rotate 4 times in the next 5 minutes, and gravity will stop working and we will all float away. Just as it is perfectly reasonable to assume that these things will not happen (that the laws of science as we understand them will continue), it is perfectly reasonable to assume that this is true on all planets. Side: Probably not.
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I will try to convince you based off of the prompt and using my logic to defeat your logic. It is only in the vastness of space that there is a probability, but also a ridiculous distance away. That is grounds for me to assume you believe that there is potentially life somewhere out there. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack - except the needle was actually a piece of dust, and the haystack was the size of a football pitch, and 100 ft high. And you were blindfolded. This is assuming their technology is the same as or worse than our technology. I feel that while the potential for them to be a stage I civilization exists, the age of the universe and their species existing first may lead to the potential for them to be a stage III civilization.(an interesting factoid I took from Zephyr.) So again this adds to the question answer (yes, probably). If the scenario I just presented exists they could have probably had a way to find the tiny earth by finding biotic factors through space in maybe waves or some way too advanced method for us to comprehend. Why the fuck would someone want to come all that way, This is again assuming traveling that distance is hard for them. it may seem hard to us, who have just recently made it to mars, to even fathom traveling that distance ever, but to them who may have discovered a way to mobilize their planet space travel like that may be just like going downtown for them. Again it's unlikely, but it's not entirely impossible taking into consideration the probable aspect, that's my basis for argument. It would take a large amount of resources and time to travel from any other solar system to our own, It's believed that in a stage 3 civilization that they will have discovered a way to fully utilize their sun's maximum output. As we know the sun contains a massive amount of energy and their are stars all across the universe, it's probable that they discovered a way to do this using only the absolute necessities, maybe one sun for one straight shot to the place where they located the other life in the universe. especially to not make contact, it would be rather frivolous. The reasons for not making contact are too numerous to even speculate on. I could say maybe the seven wonders of the world, with no human explanation, are proof of alien interference. Yet to not go into that can of worms I could stick with my prompt, maybe based off of the information I offered about their sun usage and the trip not being tedious, they found observation to be not a waste of time. Maybe they came here in a matter of days, to discover, potentially that we were too under advanced to interfere with and decided it's be best to let us grow on our own, and have since been watching or just left. Side: Yes, probably
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That is grounds for me to assume you believe that there is potentially life somewhere out there. Yes. While I myself have not done calculations on the probabilities, I do understand that the number of galaxies and planets is in the billions, and that humanity has no reason to think itself as unique. This is assuming their technology is the same as or worse than our technology. I feel that while the potential for them to be a stage I civilization exists, the age of the universe and their species existing first may lead to the potential for them to be a stage III civilization.(an interesting factoid I took from Zephyr.) So again this adds to the question answer (yes, probably). If the scenario I just presented exists they could have probably had a way to find the tiny earth by finding biotic factors through space in maybe waves or some way too advanced method for us to comprehend. This is a similar argument to 'humans might not be able to time travel now, but with advancements in technology we will be able to in the future!'. We have not seen any time traveller yet, so it is rational to believe that humans do not master time travel. I don't disagree that there is a good chance that other species may be able to master technology much better than we have, especially considering our own short time on the planet, but there is a limit to technology. 'Life' does not send out its own waves in any way. The only energy detectable through space is that of stars, and the electromagnetic radiation it emits. From this, you are only able to work out basic things about stars - things like its distance from us (through comparative methods), its luminosity, its size, and even then, only in connection with the millions of other recordings we have made over the years. And stars are immensely much bigger than any life form. This is again assuming traveling that distance is hard for them. it may seem hard to us, who have just recently made it to mars, to even fathom traveling that distance ever, but to them who may have discovered a way to mobilize their planet space travel like that may be just like going downtown for them. Again it's unlikely, but it's not entirely impossible taking into consideration the probable aspect, that's my basis for argument. To move matter great distances at great speeds requires massive inputs of energy - whatever technology you utilize, that cannot be disputed. Any civilization, who could harvest energy at the sorts of levels which would be required, would have almost certainly left a trace of this, which would be likely to be picked up. It's believed that in a stage 3 civilization that they will have discovered a way to fully utilize their sun's maximum output. As I said before, absorbing an entire stars energy would cause a great ruckus in space - collapsing a galaxy, leaving a large hole in space, and almost certainly releasing a large amount of energy - energy that we could detect. Maybe they came here in a matter of days There is a big difference between saying that their technology can do things which we cannot comprehend, and saying that their technology can break the laws of physics as we understand them. They would be unable to travel the millions and millions of lightyears that separate us and 99.999% of galaxies in a a matter of days, when we cannot even get a single atom to move faster than the speed of light. Side: Probably not.
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Point 2, I dispute. Out of interest, why? With billions of galaxies, billions of planets, and millions of potential planets which could support life. Even if some of these life forms would want to, and were able to, visit earth, we still need to answer the question of whether or not they have. The insignificance of earth is relevant to the question. Side: Yes, probably
Allow me to further elaborate, I don't dispute your argument - rather I feel that it would be even more difficult than described to make inter-galactic contact with another species (assuming this species is even sentient and they are contacting us). I shouldn't have stated that I dispute your point, rather that I wish to clarify it. I have noticed that throughout nature, the strongest species ALWAYS makes it's presence known. People often think that "aliens" will be "above" human morals and ethics. I ask WHY!? Why would they be anything like us!? They would not be C based lifeforms, nor would they (presumably) follow our physical laws. Thus, they probably don't have anything similar to our "morals" or "ethics". Therefore, they would probably make their presence known - especially if they were more advanced than us. Side: Yes, probably
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Are you assuming (in your case), that if the extraterrestrials were to make a loud sound letting us know theyre coming, and hollywood will roll out a giant red carpet in the sky, that way of "we'll probably know it"... OR, maybe the way that it happened in the movie "Mars Attacks", where they send us messages through the television.... How do you mean "we'll know it"..... Side: Yes, probably
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Even speculation has to have some level of rationality, there has to be a reason to speculate something, as someone who seems to be an empiricist at least for the most part, it has been said that empiricism goes against anything theoretical. I have to disagree, theoretical thinking and theorizing is based on the unknown to some degree or another, which makes it tricky here. However all solid theories in theoretical physics have some rationality to it, it has some reasons behind the theory. Theoretical anything is about such out of grasp things that we cannot go much beyond the first two steps of the scientific method being "observation --> Question --> hypothesis" where we barely scratch the surface if at all of "experimentation --> Data" this however does not mean that theoretical sciences are superfluous because at least we are developing on the first steps of such sciences where we will have a good head start once we become advance enough to be able to execute the rest of the scientific method. So I agree with your stance and it is how I feel about a lot of these things, there is no reason to speculate on whether or not extraterrestrials are here, until we notice something that directly shows reason to think there are visitations of extra terrestrials. Every suspicion has to be evidentially based from the very beginning to the very end. Side: Yes, probably
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I wasn't going to post here as I did not have a lot to contribute, though since I want to see more activity here I will post what I can which has already been expressed. I will stay on this side until someone gives me a reason to think that we have been visited by aliens. Side: Probably not.
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Here's probable reason based off of semantics and well probability. The Earth is old, the universe is older and larger. The probability of extraterrestrial, intelligent, beings to exist is there. The fact that there is a probably is not even debatable. Now as long as the universe has been around, the possibility of another life form being created way earlier and surviving up to now, exists. Now with that life form, that probably exists, being way older than humanity, and having been advancing their research and technology since they began to exist, they decided at some point to go out into their universe, using the technology they might have, to find other life forms, that they too have surmised may exist. In their searches they may have came across our planet, but for any number of reasons decided not to make 1st contact. Or even may have back when the 7 wonders of the world were invented. All the ramblings of a madman you may be thinking. May be but Gregor Mendel was thought to be a little mad as well. Side: Yes, probably
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Well most likely than not, other extra terrestrial life exists. However one must take into account the fact that any specific planet is unlikely to be habitable due to the fact that all sorts of unlikely requirements must be filled for any sort of life, and even more unlikely complex life (more than bacteria, since it takes time for bacteria to become complex, and can survive in more environments than complex life) and then intelligent life (we are the only intelligent enough to be civilized species on this planet out of millions of species), then one must take into account how slow progressing space travel is in relative to all other sciences, with all we have accomplished we may just barely visited mars with human contact in the near future, than take into account how difficult space travel is, then take into account if their is enough incentive to visit us as the effort it would require. The closest planet with habitable life, and the closest planet with intelligent life will most likely get a visit from us, however after that, our incentive will drop completely, so the most likely species to visit us is the closest more advanced than us intelligent species, and we have no idea how far that is. An extra-terrestrial that could possibly visit us with ease is probably that of a type III civilization, but they would be so advanced we may not seem that intelligent to them significantly dropping their incentive, and we wouldn't be there only option possibly. Side: Yes, probably
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I would love to be visited by a peaceful advanced alien species. That would be so amazing and would be a dream come true to me. According to the Kardashev scale in theoretical physics we have already speculated on how other civilized more advanced species will work, and are using that to see to speculate on ways find signs of these species with in the universe (as far as we can from our technological potential). I think if we want to find extra-terrestrials the best way to do this is to look out rather than in, as that is where they will most likely be. Nothing yet so far, but we have only been able to scratch the surface of looking out into the universe so that is not expected... I wish I was born a few generations later or so because according to our scale we may start to learn how to manipulate mother nature soon enough, then again we do advance faster than we typically expect so maybe that isn't to far into the future beyond life span... I'll keep my fingers crossed ;). Side: Yes, probably
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Well if you actually read my argument without accusing me of point whoring for no good reason when I have done nothing to you, you would know I made this argument to try and get this debate in the "active" section of the front page, maybe you should try reading people's arguments... it's a very good skill to have... I like having it. Side: Probably not.
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I do think extraterrestrial life is out there somewhere in the universe but it is extremely unlikely that they would come here. For one we are VERY far away from the next place that might have intelligent life, and another reason is why would they come here we are an insignificant blue dot in the blackness of space. Side: Probably not.
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I don't think so because I have researched the subject and learned that scientists were saying that if they really existed, they'd be really smart and of course, more advanced than use in technology. By stating that, we, humans already go in space so if the "aliens" existed they'd be smarter, which means they'd come and "visit" us on Earth. To summarize, if they were really here they would have come to Earth since they'd be way more advanced. Side: Probably not.
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