• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Aliens Are Almost Definitely Out There, SETI Astronomers Tell Congress

T

TheDemSocialist

Gradualist
DP Veteran
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
34,951
Reaction score
16,311
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Socialist
Aliens almost definitely exist.At least, that's what two astronomers told Congress this week, as they appealed for continued funding to research life beyond Earth.
According to ABC News, Dan Werthimer, director of the SETI [search for extraterrestrial intelligence] Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, told the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Wednesday that the possibility of extraterrestrial microbial life is "close to 100 percent."
"In the last 50 years, evidence has steadily mounted that the components and conditions we believe necessary for life are common and perhaps ubiquitous in our galaxy," said Werthimer in his written testimony, adding: "The possibility that life has arisen elsewhere, and perhaps evolved intelligence, is plausible and warrants scientific inquiry."
Werthimer's colleague Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, also told Congress that he believes our chances of finding extraterrestrial life are high.
“The chances of finding it I think are good and if that happens it will happen in the next 20 years depending on the financing,” Shostak told the committee. (Watch the full hearing here.)
Click to expand...


Read more @: Aliens Are Almost Definitely Out There, SETI Astronomers Tell Congress

I think this is all really common sense. Our conception of the universe is only minute to what really exists out there. I think its only a matter of time until we find life out there. We have found a lot of evidence of life, but to my knowledge we havent found "actual life". I do believe that there are other intelligent beings out there. But hey, I think we still should continue funding to these programs.
 
But you can bet they'll be capitalist :)


TheDemSocialist said:
Read more @: Aliens Are Almost Definitely Out There, SETI Astronomers Tell Congress

I think this is all really common sense. Our conception of the universe is only minute to what really exists out there. I think its only a matter of time until we find life out there. We have found a lot of evidence of life, but to my knowledge we havent found "actual life". I do believe that there are other intelligent beings out there. But hey, I think we still should continue funding to these programs. [/FONT][/COLOR]
Click to expand...
 
TheDemSocialist said:
Read more @: Aliens Are Almost Definitely Out There, SETI Astronomers Tell Congress

I think this is all really common sense. Our conception of the universe is only minute to what really exists out there. I think its only a matter of time until we find life out there. We have found a lot of evidence of life, but to my knowledge we havent found "actual life". I do believe that there are other intelligent beings out there. But hey, I think we still should continue funding to these programs. [/FONT][/COLOR]
Click to expand...

Think if they told congress yea there is no life out there congress would give them more funding?

They have found ZERO evidence there is life off this planet, mars has produced nothing.

Man they are working so hard to find life out there just so they can prove there is no God, but the darn evidence just seems to elude them.
 
votemout said:
Man they are working so hard to find life out there just so they can prove there is no God, but the darn evidence just seems to elude them.
Click to expand...

You think the existence of alien life wipes out metaphysical expression?

Let's not pretend the Bible has never been wrong. For example: birds did not come from fish, as implied in Genesis.
 
ecofarm said:
You think the existence of alien life wipes out metaphysical expression?

Let's not pretend the Bible has never been wrong. For example: birds did not come from fish, as implied in Genesis.
Click to expand...

I dont think alien life exists period.
 
votemout said:
I dont think alien life exists period.
Click to expand...

That has nothing to do with your comment to which I replied.

You seem to think that the existence of alien life will disprove God (thus, presumably, metaphysical expression itself goes *poof*).

What's up with that?
 
In this area of conjecture many get confused as to the difference between how many possibilities exist and what the probabilities really are.
I am a realist and as such I am an atheist. Along those same lines I am not a "believer "in extra terrestrial life largely due to a profound lack of any kind of evidence that supports that notion.

Sorry but I do not buy into the super natural nor the extra natural.
 
votemout said:
I dont think alien life exists period.
Click to expand...

And a great big sea dragon ate the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria....Oops maybe we were just a little wrong there.

It has become apparent from science that where liquid water exist thereto almost asuredly exists life of some sort. In order to believe that there is no alien life you would have to believe that the hundreds of billions of stars in our own galaxy have no planets or moons to those planets without liquid water. Not only that but you would also have to believe that all the hundreds of billions stars in the hundreds of billions of known galaxies in the universe do not have planets or moons of those planets with liquid water.

Common sense alone would dictate that their is alien life. Odds are that some of that life is intelligent. To believe otherwise defies basic common sense.
 
ecofarm said:
That has nothing to do with your comment to which I replied.

You seem to think that the existence of alien life will disprove God (thus, presumably, metaphysical expression itself goes *poof*).

What's up with that?
Click to expand...

No what i meant was if they do find life out there they will use that as SEE the bible is false. There is a better chance of them faking a find.
 
Buck Ewer said:
I am a realist and as such I am an atheist. Along those same lines I am not a "believer "in extra terrestrial life largely due to a profound lack of any kind of evidence that supports that notion.

Sorry but I do not buy into the super natural nor the extra natural.
Click to expand...

I'd consider the existence of billions of planets like ours to be some kind of evidence that there's a good probability. Throw in water being found all over the place and the chance of life not existing outside the earth becomes insignificant.
 
votemout said:
No what i meant was if they do find life out there they will use that as SEE the bible is false. There is a better chance of them faking a find.
Click to expand...

I don't see why the existence of alien life would disprove God or otherwise nullify metaphysical expression.
 
smb said:
And a great big sea dragon ate the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria....Oops maybe we were just a little wrong there.

It has become apparent from science that where liquid water exist thereto almost asuredly exists life of some sort. In order to believe that there is no alien life you would have to believe that the hundreds of billions of stars in our own galaxy have no planets or moons to those planets without liquid water. Not only that but you would also have to believe that all the hundreds of billions stars in the hundreds of billions of known galaxies in the universe do not have planets or moons of those planets with liquid water.

Common sense alone would dictate that their is alien life. Odds are that some of that life is intelligent. To believe otherwise defies basic common sense.
Click to expand...


Almost huh? almost.

well its a big universe they will keep searching to no avail.
 
ecofarm said:
I don't see why the existence of alien life would disprove God or otherwise nullify metaphysical expression.
Click to expand...

I did not say it would disprove I said they would claim.
 
smb said:
It has become apparent from science that where liquid water exist thereto almost asuredly exists life of some sort.
Click to expand...
The science you refer to is earth based science. Just about every where water exists on earth some form of life can be found ... predicating the theory that water is essential to life. However nothing indicates that water is an indicator of life outside of our planet.
You have flipped and distorted the theory, now saying that life is essential to the presence of water.
 
votemout said:
I did not say it would disprove I said they would claim.
Click to expand...

What's the difference between alien life being discovered and the myriad of other errors in the Bible? I'm pretty sure anyone who wants to "disprove God" through errors in the Bible already has plenty of ammo and alien life doesn't change things.
 
votemout said:
No what i meant was if they do find life out there they will use that as SEE the bible is false. There is a better chance of them faking a find.
Click to expand...

Anyone without emotional dependency on their religion can tell that bible is false. The search for alien life has nothing to do with this. It's a search for the truths of universe. Religion has nothing to do with that.
 
ecofarm said:
I'd consider the existence of billions of planets like ours to be some kind of evidence that there's a good probability. Throw in water being found all over the place and the chance of life not existing outside the earth becomes insignificant.
Click to expand...
Sorry ecofarm but that is distorted logic.
With the evidence we now have, the probability is that life here is unique .
If I find a grain of gold on a huge beach of billions of grains of sand I can not assert any probability that I will find another ... no matter how numerous the possibilities are. If I find another gold grain within say a nine square meter section I can assign a probability of finding a third on that beach. But with evidence of only one I can not, no matter how big the beach is.
Many possibilities does not indicate any change in probabilities.
 
Buck Ewer said:
Sorry ecofarm but that is distorted logic.
With the evidence we now have, the probability is that life here is unique .
If I find a grain of gold on a huge beach of billions of grains of sand I can not assert any probability that I will find another ... no matter how numerous the possibilities are. If I find another gold grain within say a nine square meter section I can assign a probability of finding a third on that beach. But with evidence of only one I can not, no matter how big the beach is.
Many possibilities does not indicate any change in probabilities.
Click to expand...

The existence of a billion planets like ours is evidence of life outside the earth. As is the existence of water all over the place. It's indirect evidence, or at least "supports the notion".

You claimed "a profound lack of any kind of evidence that supports that notion." That's a false statement, as it ignores indirect evidence pointing toward a near certainty of alien life of some kind.
 
Buck Ewer said:
If I find a grain of gold on a huge beach of billions of grains of sand I can not assert any probability that I will find another ...
Click to expand...

It would be against logic and reason to presume you found the only existing grain of gold. Nothing else is unique. Why would the grain of gold, or earth life, be.

You might not find another, and presuming to find one is without support, but assuming no others exist is just dumb.
 
ecofarm said:
The existence of a billion planets like our is evidence of life outside the earth. As is the existence of water all over the place. It's indirect evidence, or at least "supports the notion".

You claimed "a profound lack of any kind of evidence that supports that notion." That's a false statement, as it ignores indirect evidence pointing toward the near certainty of alien life of some kind.
Click to expand...
Water is essential to life but you are asserting that where there is water there must be life.
That is not science ... that is wishful thinking.
 
Buck Ewer said:
Water is essential to life but you are asserting that where there is water there must be life.
That is not science ... that is wishful thinking.
Click to expand...

I'm not asserting any such thing. That's a ridiculous idea, I've no idea where you got it.

I'm asserting that logic, reason and knowledge about the universe is all evidence of the existence of life outside earth.

Planets like ours... water everywhere...

These are indirect evidence, indicators, that life can exist outside the earth. The number of opportunities makes that existence almost certain.

You cannot ignore indirect evidence, logic and reason and claim there is "no evidence of any sort that supports such a notion".
 
ecofarm said:
It would be against logic and reason to presume you found the only existing grain of gold. Nothing else is unique. Why would the grain of gold, or earth life, be.

You might not find another, and presuming to find one is without support, but assuming no others exist is just dumb.
Click to expand...
Until a second is found the possibility of it's uniqueness can not be ruled out.
Ruling out the possibility of uniqueness without a contrary finding is at least as dumb.
 
Buck Ewer said:
Until a second is found the possibility of it's uniqueness can not be ruled out.
Click to expand...

Can the likelihood of such be established? Of course it can! Is anything else unique? No. So what kind of hare-brained crap leads one to believe they've found the only unique thing in existence?

Ruling out the possibility of uniqueness without a contrary finding is at least as dumb.
Click to expand...

You have no evidence of the existence of anything unique. Yet you will presume it? That doesn't make any sense, especially in light of the extensive indirect evidence that life can exist outside the earth and there are literally billions of opportunities.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom