It is statistically impossible for life to exist on exactly one planet in the universe. Earth just isn’t that fucking special!
Edit:
A statistical impossibility is a probability that is so low as to not be worthy of mentioning. Sometimes it is quoted as 10−50 although the cutoff is inherently arbitrary. Although not truly impossible the probability is low enough so as to not bear mention in a rational, reasonable argument.
https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2049714/can-something-be-statistically-impossible#2049722
If I’m wrong about the definition, at least I’m not wrong alone.
Life is certain to exist, but multicellular life is less likely and intelligent multicellular who reaches for the stars is even less likely
Who said anything about multicellularity, intelligence, or space travel?
Point is, Obama’s answer was vacuously true, and the only answer a non-idiot could reasonably could have given.
…Okay, I admit he could have quoted Contact for extra style points:
“The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
But aside from that, the answer he gave was the only one he could reasonably have given.
Okay wait, listen to yourself. You expected Obama to give a reasonable answer, and of course he did. Gosh, wasn’t that nice? You might agree or disagree with his choices and priorities, but even his worst policies had SOME sort of reason behind them. And were stated in complete grammatical sentences that stayed in topic.
Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.
Arthur C. Clarke
I think it is pretty heavily implied in the question.
Earth is special. More special than most of the other planets that exist. But it’s not the only special one.
More special than ones we’ve detected, but our detection methods have a very biased available dataset.
If we presume a functionally infinite universe sure life pretty much has to exist in multiple spots. That’s a big presumption by itself though.
After that, is said civilization on some dinosaur shit? Are they so far beyond us we look like cavemen in comparison? Are they looking around the universe and just missed us? Do we want them to find us? Historically humanity finds less advanced groups and kills, enslaves, or just robs them blind. No reason to think the alien conquistadors would be better then the Spanish ones.
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As far as the history of the universe is concerned we are actually super early on in its lifespan. So in some ways it’s actually more likely that we will be one of the early civilizations that perish before the others show up.
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The problem is the human mind cannot understand the concept of how far one single light year is. Even Fermi struggled.
It isn’t. Check out this talk by Dr. Kipping. If you role 1000 x D6, you might say it is statistically impossible to role that number. And you’d be close to right; it was very unlikely. But you did role it.
eta: The number of people supporting the phrase “statistically impossible” is troubling. This is why it is a problem that prominent scientists have made similar statements based on intuition. It isn’t based on statistics. We do not have sufficient data to make binary statements about Drake’s equation, nor even really to make any quantitative statements about the outcome, but certainly not binary ones.
Also statistically most likely that no life form has ever been able to leave its solar system, huge limited the opportunity to have detected each other
Statistically *improbable
You’re substituting “statistically impossible” for “emotionally impossible.”
I’ve said it before, but Trump as president basically rules out the existence of aliens on Earth. That fat fuck could not keep his mouth shut if he knew about aliens.
I have been rewatching the x-files, and the most fantastical part of the show is the idea that the FBI could orchestrate an alien conspiracy. Kash Patel couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery, let alone hide aliens from the world.
It would be really funny if this was Obama messing with Trump. “Why has nobody told ME! What else does Obama know that I don’t?”. I can easily imagine Trump being unnerved by this
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“Mr President, there are aliens…”
“Yes, I know, that’s why we’re building the fence. It’s going to be fhe best, tallest fence anyone’s seen in the history of fences. And Mexico is going to pay for it!”
“… sigh…”
OK sure “they’re real” but said in a tongue-in-cheek manner and no follow-up from the ‘journalist’, LOL… Right on cue, another nothingburger that will keep the Art-Bell-Coast-to-Coast crowd occupied for another few decades while the billionaire class continues to build their empires.
It’s quite simple. If the US had evidence that aliens existed, do you think Donald Trump would gave kept it a secret? He would make a big show of insisting to be the guy who they talk to when they say “Take me to your leader”, and he wouldn’t be able to resist telling us all about it.
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That’s exactly what someone would say who has knowledge of aliens being kept in area 51
I’m more concerned about the pedofiles in government
If extraterrestrial, sapient alien life has been discovered here on Earth by the US government it was probably uncovered via signals intelligence gathering. Not via any sort of physical interaction or visual observation.
Everyone thinks that to find aliens you need to search the skies, looking for visual evidence or radio patterns. No one bothers to think that a mass surveillance network across the globe would pick it up first—from local sources. Meaning: They’re already here and could have been for hundreds of thousands of years (or longer).
There’s probably an autonomous alien monitoring station broadcasting information about Earth on the regular. Probably more than one.
Exactly the type of thing that would be investigated by signals intelligence analysts who spend their days trying to figure out, “WTF was that?” Looking at data gathered from all over the world (for spying reasons).
That’s why Obama would laugh at the question of, “where are the aliens?” Because he wouldn’t know! He’d just know that they’re here… Somewhere. Probably just super advanced machines, connected to a quantum-level universe-wide network.
The real question to ask is, “are they enjoying our memes?”
I think his comment was really just him acknowledging UAPs and referring to them generically as “aliens”. That’s why he’s never “seen” them. He can’t confirm or deny little green men in these weird flying craft so his answer is he believes but he has not actually seen one.
Or he was just being cheeky for a fun clip. 🤷♂️
Does alien life exist somewhere? Yes. Absolutely. It would be impossible for it not to given the size of the universe and the laws of probability.
Is that alien life multicellular? Again. Yes. For the same reason as above. In a functionally infinite universe, the roll of the dice is going to come up at least a few times.
Is that alien life intelligent? Maybe. But in my opinion, probably. Intelligent life arose here after many many stops and starts. It’s probably that given enough kicks at the can, multicellular life can evolve intelligence on any planet where it arises if the conditions are right.
Has that intelligent life visited us? No. No intelligent life has ever left their own solar system except possibly in the form or a one-way generation ship.
Life evolves, either biologically or technologically, because of competition for resources. From the most basic amoeba competing for the heat from a steam vent at the bottom of an ocean, to humans competing for oil and minerals, life is about resources gathering.
So what happens when we finally are able to access the resources of the solar system, which are effectively limitless (at least from a human perspective)? Nothing. We stagnate. There’s no impetus to go further than that. Scientists may want to. But pure science is a myth. People paying the bills are what drive us forward. and it’s reasonable to assume that any life that evolves would do so facing the same pressures.
Any physics grad can tell you that life visiting earth from another planet is impossible, because with absolute proof we know physics is truly universal.
We might find bacteria in a comet or meteor fragment.
Life finds a way…if there is a reason to do so.
My point is, once we’ve secured all the resources in the solar system, there is no reason to find a way.
There’s always a first civilization. Maybe that’s us.
Go storm area 51 part two Thanks Obama they can shoot all of you.
These days it’s probably full of a different kind of “alien.” Perhaps even a concentration of them.
I watched Pedophile Pam having her Karen-Thon in the House and if there was ever evidence for the conspiracy theory about reptilians, she looks like a textbook case…in some of her tantrums, I thought she might suddenly wriggle out of her snakeskin…
Obama is an asshole for saying this and not qualifying or expanding on it.
He did.
