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Originally Posted by T@T
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The latest estimates figure 1.6 rocky earth like planets per star(and climbing) in our own milkyway galaxy, If Watson is right with his calculations thats a lowly 160,000 intelligent life forms in just our galaxy alone.  |
And that's an upper limit, with a lower limit of 1.
Even with 160,000, the amount of empty space that would be left in the galaxy is astounding. That's 160,000 out of 480,000,000,000 planets. Even with travel at the speed of light, and communications at the speed of light, we would likely never know they exist. They would be too far away for us to ever reach.
Factor in the fact that the center bulge of the galaxy is where the majority of stars exist, and the likelihood that the entire region is so bathed in radiation as to make it uninhabitable - the galactic habitable zone. Add to this the fact that we know almost nothing as to the cause of the Cambrian Explosion - the rise of true multi-cellular life, and that 160,000 becomes a really, really high estimate. I am very skeptical about this, and am glad that someone out there that is respected is throwing cold water on the idea that our galaxy is teeming with life. There is zero scientific evidence that there is any life of any discernible type outside of earth, and to suggest not just otherwise, but that the universe is teeming with life - especially intelligent life - is not very scientific.
My guess - there's only one life form that has any kind of intelligence whatsoever. Unless you count Dolphins. Even with these weirdly optimistic calculations, there had to be a time when there was only one. What if that time is now?