You are Not Alone - Monday, December 13, 2010

The Telegraph today carries this week’s first story about the possibility of alien life.

“The case for some kind alien life somewhere else in the universe is steadily building.”

First off, I hardly expected it to drop. After all, logically, the only way to be less sure of there being alien life on another planet is to prove, exhaustively, that not a single planet (or star!) elsewhere in the vast universe sustains replicable entities.

Note that the replicable entities need not have two arms and two legs. Think of this planet earth some 3.5 Billion years ago . Indisputably life, for we evolved from it.

Yet a visitor from another part of the universe would have found only replicating microbes. But that’s enough.

Do the math; it’s a fair statement to say that the universe will not live long enough for mankind to visit explore (remotely) every star and planet and be able to prove that there is NO life on that body.

But what gets me about the hoo-hah over alien life is that we have more than enough right here to keep us satisfied at least until a year next Christmas.

For some of us, cats are alien creatures (some men even claim not to understand women!). I am mystified by my cats, but try to understand them from within a cat brain seeing me. Dogs are more fun, better companions. If I could swim I’d be right in there with Dolphins.

For most of us all mammal life is alien. (How many times have you heard a bystander ask “How do they DO that?”).

For almost all of us life in any form other than mammals is a deep mystery.

I bet you didn’t even know what stromatolites were until you clicked on that second link, and it’s only a phenotype of a life form!

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