E.O. Wilson: Aliens Are Out There and They Probably Look Like This | Big Think
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- E.O. Wilson: Aliens Are Out There and They Probably Look Like This
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The Pulitzer-winning biologist draws from our own knowledge of evolution and Darwinian theory to posit the physical and mental characteristics of extraterrestrial life. Wilson's new book is titled "The Meaning of Human Existence."
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EDWARD O. WILSON:
Edward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist (Myrmecology, a branch of entomology), researcher (sociobiology, biodiversity), theorist (consilience, biophilia), and naturalist (conservationism). Wilson is known for his career as a scientist, his advocacy for environmentalism, and his secular humanist ideas concerned with religious and ethical matters.
A Harvard professor for four decades, he has written twenty books, won two Pulitzer prizes, and discovered hundreds of new species. Considered to be one of the world's greatest living scientists, Dr. Wilson is often called "the father of biodiversity," (a word that he coined). He is the Pellegrino University Research Professor, Emeritus in Entomology for the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism.
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TRANSCRIPT:
E.T. is out there. There just has to be in the hundred million star system a galaxy that we belong, that we dwell in, other cases of life originating, because we now know there's so many planets that almost certainly you're going to have certain planets that are goldilocks, that is a right position nearest their sun, the right size and so on that can have the potential to create life. And of those it seems, and we don't have any basis for this except intuition, that given enough millions of years, in our case we have had half a billion years since life came on the land, to produce a human grade eusocial species. So we can only guess that it's likely that that has occurred in some of them. So ET probably is out there. We don't know if whether it's one of the several planet circling star systems one light year away or whether it's dozens, ten light years away or it goes into the thousands with a hundred light years away. And that's pretty close by galactic standards. And so they're probably out there.
So, here's what I did. In the course of this book actually I did it with some care, the Meaning of Human Existence. I looked over the many examples of the origin of whole new lines of animals that have occurred on the land since the early Paleozoic. Now we're talking going back more than 415 million years, that's a long time. The land of earth was populated by the first plants, then forests and with them a whole array of animal types. But we have these many multiple lines of animals that originated and we can I think reasonably conclude that eusociality, when it did it develop, including big animals that have the capacity to create a big brain, cerebrum, memory storage areas essentially is what it is and this bizarre round head shapes that we have, I mean seen from the point of view of gorilla we have a bizarre funny looking head, that here is what they all have in common. Now I'm talking empirical information. First, you have to be on the land. You can't develop advanced societies and anything like civilization, which in humans goes back a couple hundred, or at least complex eusocial societies, goes back in the human line a couple hundred thousand years.
Well, why not? Why no marine, freshwater creatures? Because they don't have fire. You just have to have, in order to build tools beyond chipping some rock or stone away or maybe crude binding or fashioning materials together, you don't have any way to create more advanced technology without concentrated power source that you can transport from one place to another. ET, and now drawing this again from the record of multiple origins of animal lines on earth, ET has got a head. And the head's upfront and the head contains a central organizing center for all of the senses that are spread out through the body. And the body itself is almost like part of the brain but the information is concentrated in a head that is a forward part. No octopuses limping along on ten legs or anything like that; they got a head...
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they will look like humans
it is impossible to alien exist without looking like human because human biogolgy is the only way to find alien intelligent life
Job 1:6-7 (KJV) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
The Bible gives you the truth on the evolution of life... It's a test for the human race for the right to join the cosmic civilizations... these aliens are fallen angels who have hyjacked this planet....
Great episode, more like this please!
"Only in Hollywood can an alien armada cross the vastness of interstellar space, in ships the size of mountains, yet be dumb enough not to install anti-virus software."
Isaac Arthur.
Wonderful monologue. There is a lot of logic to his assertions. Much obliged to EO Wilson for taking the time and effort. Thanks to BigThink for uploading it.
Content such as this is why I never look at a television.
Same here!
It's odd that you think so, because I thought the monologue was so full of really stupid assumptions.
@@RadioactiveSand that's because it is over your head
The odds for us being alone in even the Galaxy is very small.
Time and Space not really. It takes about 30-40 millions years for a capable civilization to colonize one galaxy and this hasn't occured. There have been billions of years time to do that. Life in some form probably exist, but intelligent life can be extremely rare.
Maybe! We only assume (colonization) hasn't happened yet. Imagine an even more terrifying and yes bazaar prospect. We (mankind) could be actually owned (someone's property), We are kept in the dark about events for an unknown agenda. Does a fish in a tank know it's owned? We are talking about if someone(s) has reached us their technology would be unimaginable. And we in fact could be their property. Why is this even a possibility? Because knowing humans in a 100,000 years we will be out there exploiting some poor sucker for their resources. No doubt.
This statement assumes that intelligent life isn't beyond a great filter. We could be completely unique in our galaxy. It is equally plausible that there are entire galaxies that don't have intelligent life. This is essentially the idea that, in our galaxy alone, we have not observed an alien civilization colonizing other solar systems (at least in our understanding of what the observable evidence would be).
Glenn Joy Charles Fort wrote about the property idea a century ago.
I'm sure the galaxy teems with life. But they are more than likely to be like cows, cats, lions or horses than "E.T."
Bravo, Mr. Wilson! It's definitely an interesting theory. Regardless of you being correct or incorrect, you've caused one hell of a commotion in the comment's section! In the end, that's what Big Think is all about -- getting people to think about things, question things, and share thoughts and ideas with one another. My thanks to you, Mr. Wilson!
Last point he made was very poignant and true to life - that we are always torn between selfishness and altruism and that is the nature of being human and what drives our creativity. Not sure there are others out there like ourselves, but I hope there are.
I am getting scared, Big Think just made a video about an interesting topic
You're funny.
It's probably because it's a mixed bag on here and it's entirely subjective which topics you like, I agree that this an interesting topic and I don't usually watch much on here but other topics may be more interesting to other people.
Doctor Michu Kaku, is a really mind expanding guy to listen to and he is here, on this site.
TJ Armstrong thank you
***** Subjective yes, but looking at the up/down votes on the different videos you can get a pretty clear idea what people find interesting, just because something is subjective it doesnt mean that an overwhelmingly large majority doesnt favour one thing
What if there were a creature somewhere in the universe which completely did not fit this description at all, yet was sentient and used its advanced metal capabilities to control primate-like aliens with the characteristics described? To us these aliens would seem sentient, but in reality they'd be under the control of a far more evolved alien that we may not even recognise as being alive, like a boulder or a cloud of dust particles or one with no mouth, no arms, no head etc
that almost fits are depiction of how we used to worship gods or spirits for there "knowledge"
Ethereal being of "infinite" complexity and firm control over matter.
MENTAL NOT METAL
I think they would then be considered the same creature, as these "advanced" creatures would require the "primitive" ones to live. Think the Jafa (or whatever) from Stargate.
Just like the greek gods, they could be shape shifters. They could be made out of nanomachines or some morphing material that gives them the look they want.
If evolution leads to at least type 3 civilization by kardashev, these creatures would be immortal to the event when universe dies. Like living robots. Type 5 could change universe, they could be "mental".
An incredible amount of brilliance in this eleven minute video. Thanks very much for creating it.
Us Humans originally are fruitarians.
Creating fire was also for cooking food because culturally we moved from the jungle to the desert the fruits are far more scarce so farming and cooking with fire started.
Fire? What about hydrothermal vents and the like?
Look how confused and insane the seven billion of us humans are,me included.Why would they even consider making contact with us? Maybe they have a smart ray that they could shine on us and it makes us more intelligent to have insights to understand ourselves better so we can solve the problems of our human dilemmas and difficulties. I usually feel pretty hopeless when I consider what I see and what I have experienced in this bizarre fleeting consciousness. It is like we are dead then come to life experience a lot of pain, mostly, then we die again. At least we get a good show even if it is just the sunset, or birds singing. The universe is beautiful to witness as a conscious sensate organism, the rocks trees, and for that I am grateful, but there is too much sadness, misery and pain.I'm amazed but at the same time I feel it is a cruel surreal joke. I think happiness depends on which side of a line you are on in life for random reasons that one has very limited if any power to control.Some people make it over the line for various complex random reasons and others can't because they do not have the right currency,capital,circumstance and other things. I'm one who will never make it over that line. I hope E.T. comes and is intelligent,peaceful,generous and helps us in some non-interfering, non- coercive way. It is nice when your friend helps you but not when he makes you an offer you can' refuse, so I hope E.T. is kind, but I would not be so surprised if E.t.s came and harvested us for food.
This is why Prof. Wilson is among my favorite scholars.
There is absolutely no way to imagine the diversity that could be out there. Everything we take for granted as characteristics of life has all developed from the same ancestor. You can't even assume they would be carbon based.
You are absolutely correct. This guy has by in no doubt had a stroke, and is off in his own world. I agree with you completely.
I think the basic environmental influences imposed on life where ever it forms, determines what they look like. No matter what they may be made of elemental wise, and what gases they require to live, the basic outer forms will look very familiar to the life we have here. Aquatic higher life forms will look like fish to us, because the liquid environment determines what the life form will take.
Only Carbon has the possible diversity in atomic bonds needed to develop life, and without fire, you have no technology worth mentioning.
***** Read the sci-fi book "Dragon's Egg" about a completely different possible life forms on the surface of a neutron star that has life based on a different type of chemistry under super high gravity and pressure.
Michael Davidson Yeah, that's a fantasy book. It's Not Real.
Life anywhere will have the same basic characteristics that we have here. Life most likely forms in liquid environments first. Over time you will see many of the same forms that we have up to the free swimming "fish" with internal skeletons that you would not distinguish from our own models. Eventually they will crawl out onto the land, and have limbs to mobilize themselves, just like ours has. The exterior forms will look just like ours has over the eons. From the simple snakes / worms, to four limbed critters, as well as six and eight legged versions, with some centripetal things just to round em all out, and maybe some bipeds. The only real differences there will be, would be the gases they need and the proportions they live with in their atmosphere.
Things living in liquids will eventually stream line to look like our fish, and the land based critters, can range in types to the wide varieties we have here over the many millions of years life as thrived here.
It will take a land based life form to create the technology needed to leave their planet. Think of an aquatic based life form trying to discover electricity, then using it for something useful. That would never get off the ground (pun intended, in more than one way).
Ah so not everybody believes in magic. Been a bit surreal.
Then again is there some volcanic vents fan club on this site am not aware of?
chris watson I would never discount any heat / chemistry from kick starting life, but it takes a dry environment to play with electricity and also an important factor to advanced civilizations should be working with chemicals. Try that under water.
I'm pretty sure that any and all critiques and "what ifs" that are given in this comment section this guy has already thought of or someone else has confronted him for. The point of what he is saying is not that all E.T. will share these traits, but that these are some of the traits required for a species to develop an advanced society, not all of the traits, not the mandatory traits, but some of them. Obviously it's not very imaginative, it's a self-examination of our own species, and species similar to ours, and recognizing traits that allowed us get where we are now
Very interesting and articulate! Big think needs more like this
I, like many of the other commenters on this video, find this view to be particularly narrow and anthropocentric. They are reasonable guesses to make only if we also make certain basal assumptions about life in general, such as that tool-making is requisite for the survival of an intelligent species which we assume to be true only because we know that it was requisite for us in our specific circumstances. Even the most commonly accepted basal assumptions about life are rather chemically restricting, such as the idea that life requires all of the same fundamental building blocks that we ourselves require, despite recent evidence here on earth that some of them aren't as requisite as previously thought (such as the strain of bacterium found to utilize arsenates in place of phosphates when phosphates aren't available). Our biochemical structure is well-suited to our environment, but you wouldn't expect biochemistry similar to our own to thrive in an environment vastly different from earth. Restricting our definitions of life and intelligence based on these criteria is likewise restricting our ability to recognize life and intelligence if/when we happen to find it out there. If there is one thing that evolutionary theory should have taught us by now is that environment informs diversity and we shouldn't expect earth-like analogues in an environment drastically different from our own.
Maybe an aquatic civilization could build fires on shores? It's possible to get plant matter from the seas and rivers, and perhaps skillful aquatic creatures could find ways to amass them into a bonfire on a beach, kinda like how all human cultures have had fishermen who have found ways to catch those fish without being able to swim. On a planet with an oxygen rich atmosphere, starting a fire could be easier than it is on Earth.
You sound dumb.
Life outside of earth is real, life on this planet should be all the evidence we need.
Have we charted habitable zones for moons for Jupiter sized planets that we have discovered?
I thought I was going to hear about aliens and I listened to one of the greatest talks about human nature ever...
Please please please Big Think, read this and take heed :( Thumbnails of random pictures mean that when I look on your uploads, I don't know alot of speakers because I havent actually heard or dont remember their name, although I have heard lectures by them and it stops us clicking any links any more. Really turns me off your videos. We're aesthetic creatures :(
The purple people eaters are coming. Make sure you’re not purple.
Could hydrothermal vents play the same role as fire for marine aliens?
as far as heat yes but if you think about smelting or manipulating metal the water is gonna cool the metal quickly and otherwise to impractical to make anything out of metal. could there be other materials that can be molded and used maybe but since the universe is made out of the same stuff prob not.
Vito crabtree what about basic stuff like spearheads or hooks?
billygoatideas assuming conditions similair to hydrothermal vents on the bottom of our oceans, hooks or spearheads could be made out of bones or other animal remains. The soil in the surrounding area would mostly be volcanic in origen, probably wouldn't even be that much metal anyway.
billygoatideas
as he said, nothing more advance that something that you can get from hitting a rock with other thing, yes.
I would add that personal and social grooming is also a good reason for sensitive manipulatory appendages. Claws are still possible, perhaps sheathed. Humans can still grow nails, with some work one can make a humans nails quite deadly. I agree with the idea that a intelligence capable of some technological development would need to have a high density energy source. Not sure if the mastery of temperature manipulation by fire on land is the only route. Oceanic ET might use geothermal and pressure for example.
Dexterity is a prerequisite for technological development. So I guess that rules out dolphin like creatures.
RIP. You will be sorely missed...
"We are internally, eternally conflicted and that's a good thing, because that's the source of creativity and competitive behavior among people that drives the evolution of civilization." EO Wilson
Mind blown. Great points about ET traits and superb mantra. Should follow-up this with a Big Think describing the mantra. What is the tipping points in group composition (altruistic vs selfish) that split them into multiple groups? How does communication technology make group sizes increase? Etc, etc, etc... Are there any well defined models that express this in further detail? That was really insightful!
Have you considered the example of the cuttlefish? They are a predatory aquatic species among the most intelligent of invertebrates. Their main limiting factor is the inability to teach their young due to the fact that they die before their young is born, but this changed. After observing human family behavior they learned to teach. Although they can't teach their own young, the older members of the species are now teaching younger members of the species and as a consequence of this they have made dramatic leaps in their capability as a species in a very short period of time. For example, they have begun domesticating the Eels which used to prey on them which they now use as a riding animal. There used tools are advancing as well, and laboratory experiments shows that their tentacles are very good at manipulating objects.
While I would agree that they would need to be able to use fire before they can really advance to an advanced civilization stage, I don't think that it's necessary for them to have the capacity for a civilization. I would also point out that under sea vents could theoretically provide enough heat the development of more advanced tools.
It's also worth pointing out that the species that uses the tools don't necessarily have to be the species that made them. One species could evolve on land where it could make a large number of tools, and then maybe it goes extinct and those tools end up in the ocean where another species makes use of them. Depending on the nature of these tools, it could still require intelligence to put them together or make use of them. A cephalid would not likely have the capacity to build a harpoon gun underwater, but maybe it would have the capacity to repair one and learn to use one, for example. In the case of multiple species developing on a planet this type of scenario is possible which means that it's not impossible for something that is largely aquatic to develop advanced civilization.
The Cuttlefish is an example of a curious and intelligent species that is carnivorous and lacks fingers which goes against your argument. Of course, that's not to say that a carnivorous species can't adapt to be omnivorous. There might even be some foods present that would be digestible by a carnivorous species. Take spirulina, for example. A cyanobacteria that has all the nutritional value of meat and is easily digested and used by predatory species. An abundance of such a photosynthetic organism would allow for a largely carnivorous species to have the energy reserves of an omnivorous civilization which adds evidence to the idea that a carnivorous species could become an advanced civilization, although they wouldn't likely be going into space to hunt people.
Group empathy is a big one. They wouldn't have the capacity for teaching other members of their species that they are not related to if they didn't have the capacity to care about other members of their species. Members of other groups.
What a great and thoughtful scientist - one of the best in this century
I am the center of the universe
we form civilization and are one of a member of society
our civilization is the center of the universe
we meat neighboring nations and are now one of many
our world is the center of the universe
we discover that the earth revolves around the sun
our sun is the center of the universe
we are just one star in a galaxy
our galaxy is the center of the universe
our galaxy is just one of many in a vast universe
our form is the way advanced life can be
do you see a pattern here?
You really don't get that in science we make assumptions and build models based on what we know?
I Love Purple Hazmats yes, but I think Jeffery is just obvserving a pattern and making a logical prediction based on this pattern. Also a key part of science :)
assumptions are all fine and dandy, but anthropocentrism is a common rut we fall into and I don't see that going away any time soon. Though I suspect that they will have a similar problem "xenocentrism?" placing themselves at the center of the universe and thinking about how things must be like them because it is all they know.
LoL except that in a universe that is infinite, from your point of view, you ARE at the center of it. And, how can you argue that humans are not the most significant beings in existence? Considering you are human yourself, what is more significant than your own existence?
Jeffery Liggett i saw the same pattern in his argument, like life could evolve im other planets the same exact way it evolved here.
The aliens may very well be nocturnal rather than diurnal like we are. If so, their eyes will be very large. I believe that there is a large probability that aliens will also be colorful as most animals on our planet, nearly 90%, are colorful. Insects, fish, birds, amphibians, crustaceans, arachnids, snakes etc. Even we as humans have become a colorful species by means of our art and fashion.
The bitches in anime fit this description. Big eyes ,colourful hair,no noses. Aliens would look like them then.
I would say not likely, the reason animals are colourful is due to that been a defensive trait, humans and intelligent life simply would not need to be colourful as they would have weapons.
Even our own evolution, one day earth will have a single human colour.
You base this on what? If they are the dominant species and not pure carnivores there is no reason to be nocturnal (apart from specific/extreme environment factors).
There is no day and night for a creature of the cosmos.
Colin Ross Are you fucking serious LMAO
Thank you Mr. Wilson, that was Quote inspiring
Thanks Doctor Wilson
Sad that he passed away today.
The single celled organisms that spawned life here may have caught a ride on the remnants of a destroyed planet from somewhere in the galaxy
Its like the levitation charges you with an incredibly strong electromagnetic field, then the electromagnetic fields from the ship lift you and move you around... The laser lights charge the air to better allow the electric currents to travel back and forth. Similar to how the laser lightning rod works. 😅
I think the planets gravity would be the main driver of body shape, even on a planet similar to earth I doubt that a humanoid body would be common.
pretty smart for a biologist: "there just has to be in that hundred million star systems out there"
Such a lucid and wonderful analysis based on facts and not opinions.
Interesting Topic.Wilson's talk for me was fascinating .
Imagine species million years older than us. Amazing.
Rest in peace, Professor
The thing is that selfish individuals are always part of altruistic "groups". We can see this in sport teams. Some player is always going to act "selfishly" and help the team succeed. It's not really a selfish vs. altruistic thing in my opinion...
I may not agree with all of this but I am glad for someone in science speculating on what aliens might look like!
You don't agree with it because your mind is in fucking fantasy creatures. This is real science and based on convergent evolution. Get educated.
Well I don't think it is impossible for a marine species like dolphins or octopus to get technologically advance without fire. There are a lot of geo thermic vents in the ocean floor they could use as a power source to build technology. If Im wrong please point out my mistakes, I would appreciate that.
Great video. I think another thing that has kept selfish behavior down in the past is that these individuals would be punished or eliminated by their more "altruistic" counterparts. Being altruistic doesn't mean one is always this way in regards to all other humans/creatures. They would have, in many cases, sought to minimize or eliminate the selfish.
However in our current world this is much more difficult to do. As long as a selfish person is doing nothing illegal, it is much more difficult than in the past to do anything about it without ones own actions being illegal. This selfishness problem, with the almost elimination of group completion evolution in the modern world, seems like it is going to be a big problem.
Great episode! 👍
If a creature develops tools, it doesn't matter what their hands look like. As a matter of fact, they're more likely to work better together if their hands aren't as capable as ours are. But all of these assumptions (in the video & mine) are based on how we see things from here on Earth & are equally likely to have no accuracy at all
10:18 that's it man
Hey guys, I see where your critique is coming from.
But give this man a break.
He probably already had his share of conflict in life, so if you have something to complain about, just keep it in your head.
He was merely giving the most likely description of how Aliens would look like.
Naturally.... with about 300 billion galaxies and about 200 billion stars per galaxy with probably at least 3 planets per star, it's just a matter of probability.
So of course there will be sentient alien life that totally doesn't fit his description.
But it'll be the exception, not the rule.
So like I said give this man a break please :)
Check out the project " The 100 year Starship " .
The reason why society hates sociopaths, psychopaths, and narcissists is because what makes humans able to progress and evolve together into the advanced society we have today, is our morality. Think of it this way, when you have a group of humans against another group of humans, those lacking the key element for teamwork works against altruistic cooperation. When you have a group of selfish (non-empaths) people against a group of altruistic people, it is proven that the altruistic group will prevail. Although, when you have a single altruistic person competing against a selfish person, the selfish person will prevail. But human nature is not to isolate. Isolating is what would devolve us into a stage even further back from our primate ancestors. Therefore, those who lack empathy or morality basically possess a gene that we tried to evolve out of thousands and thousands of years ago. One of the most survivalist instincts we have is to keep evolving for the better, so devolving is an absolute nightmare to most of us.
Now that you know what ET looks like, sounds pretty reasonable to me, did E.O. Wilson also say 150 to 200 species per day are going extinct on earth? I'm curious how he counted them.
Old and wise! I would have liked him as a teacher in collage.
What do you get when you combine the Rock and E.T.?
A rocket
I expect humans would as unsuccessful meaningfully communicating with an alien as we are communicating with a grasshopper.
A lot of hate in the video, but I agree with every premise. Wilson is telling us characteristics of ET that are capable of advanced civilization, not simply an intelligent species such as dolphins, octopods, etc. as mentioned below.
BigThink: cut this video into two parts 1st being about ET 2nd being about social success
Well, as far as our understanding goes, it's selfishness that leads to altruism. Group selection is not the consensus nowadays, the closest thing you get is kin selection, where we find explanations for why altruism is the result of "selfish" units of selection.
What this guy says in a few minutes = what 23 Rogan guests say over 5 years. Thank you.
This is really good for putting our evolution in perspective but not to say that ET must be like that
One thing he left out is other dimensions that may have beings so highly advanced they don’t need technology they can just go in and out of dimensions with their body.
I always loved the phrase "life as we know it". I used to wonder why can't a life form be based on light. Especially since all matter is energy anyway. Even if this planet has been visited, would we be able to recognize each other as life?
There should be a scientific inquiry, for perhaps a doctoral thesis, to show that Armenians are truly a more evolved human species. There was an excellent scientific study a while back about a muslim Turkish family who did indeed still walk on their knuckles that was shut down by the Turkish government because of the scientific implications.
According to National Geographic Genographic Project tracing human migrations, Armenians and their DNA markers were in the so-called Anatolian region more accurately the Western Armenian Highlands 80,000 to 40,000 years ago. There are also more DNA analysis coming out showing that Armenians were the progenitors of ancient Greece through the mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA markers. Moreover, these DNA results debunk almost all of the propositions on CZcams and books on the topic of the origins of the Neolithic temples at Portasar (or in gibberish, Gobekli Tepe). Furthermore, according to National Geographic Genographic Project, Armenian DNA through the Y chromosome has a direct link to Pharaoh Akhenaten and his son King Tut; thus, directly linked to all the Pharaohs of Egypt, which proves that Armenians were the progenitors of Ancient Egypt as well. Yet, most British museums hold out ancient Armenian artifacts of gods and goddesses as derived from "Ancient Turkey" without mentioning the Armenian origins. Clearly, there was no Ancient Turkey as it is a country of only 100 years.
Armenians should name their new evolved species separate and apart from the more primitive hominids remaining on the planet that have a hard time understanding their place on the evolutionary ladder.
Awesome stuff … thank you … !
Food for thought, as humans we tend to interpret the existence of life in terms we can relate with "corpororeal beings." Life could evolve in the form of : gas, spiritual, or even a thought. Just saying.
I promise you this, whatever is out there, is NOTHING like us. Whatever is out there is impossible to imagine by definition.
But if they manage to achieve space travel, it is on the biological bases that he mention.
"whatever is out there, is NOTHING like us."
I can't see how you can be so sure they'd be nothing like us, conditions may differ but the laws of physics are the same after all. There are optimum ways of doing some things (convergent evolution).
There's many theories that say that intelligent life will actually be a lot like us in many ways. Standing upright, two arms and two legs, fingers that can manipulate things.
And every reported abduction and alien sighting has been this way too, which I know many don't believe in those, but I do.
I think it's logical for this to be a likely possibility.
Wilson, I like most of your argument but... Group Selection isn't all that cemented in science, it's extremely hard to prove. Instead of having a lifetime of selection, you have the time of selection over a whole life span of a culture. This can mean thousands of years, especially with humans. So it's hard to actually argue for group selection.
Existentialist Dasein I'm actually interested in listening to what counter points you have to group selection. I usually hear the extreme amount of time and the quick change of cultures as being the prime suspect for group selection being wrong or rather hard to prove.
On the other hand, the idea, what if certain aspects of a culture does help it survive better compared to one that doesn't?
Could you sum up the biggest point against group selection that you have? I'm genuinely interested to hear about it.
Great talk
Assumptions, but with logic. Nevertheless, we (mass society) really don't know yet. I'm not expert but would argue a couple of his points. Such as, they may not need padded fingertips if they can move things with their mind. But overall, I really appreciate his thoughts and information.
fascinating
The claw thing was the only issue I had with his model. I couldn't help but think of how well macaws manipulate small objects, including seeds, as well as how they groom one another. Obviously, they'd have to be sensitive claws, not the kind you use for rending and tearing prey animals. Still, I don't see fleshy manipulators as a requirement for intelligent, pro-social animals.
I never understood why we're so obssessed with the Goldilocks Zone. Lifeforms out there may not be carbon-based like us. They may be silicon-based and have no primary need for water. You don't need water if you're a crystal being or a lifeform extracting minerals/ nutrients from rock. Perhaps oxygen is lethal to them, if they breathe at all, and they would much prefer breathing in an atmosphere of ammonium or tiny rock particles. I just think it limits the scope when you say "This is how life is where we are, thus life must also follow these basic steps all over the universe". It's a very big place with room for variation, to say the least.
I understand the scientific A to B progress and point of reference, but beware it does not become a straightjacket.
I totally expected to see Hillary and Barracks pictures as aliens
That being said we'd better find them 1st before they find us 1st. Because if they're anything like Humans we'll be in trouble.
could you tell me which movies if any would best describe these aliens?
x files eddy vabluht case
Fascinating talk, but I'm confused; are humans eusocial? i thought it was just ants, bees & mole-rats at a push.
I hope the rest of the aliens out there don’t look as old as this one
This is right up my alley. Worldbuilding 100%
The title is a misnomer. Alien life could take any number of forms. He's talking about alien life, evolved and intelligent enough to enable CONTACT...assuming Physics allows it. To that end, I still think his analysis is rather ego-centric, but in a universe this size, I'm sure SOME planet SOMEWHERE would prove him right.
Romans 1:22
“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,”
Very very interesting
What if aliens built robots, who then outlived their creators (which I'd have to say is a fairly likely scenario). Then the aliens would not be the product of natural evolution, but an adaptation from whatever their original function would have been. Or, aliens might have cybernetic enhancements like tractor beams and hover fields which render things like arms and legs obsolete.
In your dreams
Ooh, I like.
We, as practical example, are biological robots, with the only function to improve and reproduce. If we make machines that can do the same, mechanical or biological, it may be calleded "alive" too.
*****
There are 7 seasons of Star Trek (TNG) that discuss this exact thing...
Maybe the aliens already made themself synthetic. There is really no reason to stay organic, I think any sufficiently advanced species will become synthetic, even humans.
Technology does not define intelligence but it does measure just "how" intelligent a species is when pitted against other groups.
The stereotypical alien's large head, reduced sensory organs (compared to us), and thin bones seem to suggest natural selection at work for millennia in low or no gravity.
Talk about the large numbers all you want but we just don't know how rare multicellular life let alone intelligent life is to evolve.
Maybe Douglas Adams was right about the dolphins after all...
Thanks from Denmark
The problem with Wilson's theories concerning the likelihood that ET must follow a predictable pattern of near human evolution lies in the very first comment: that any ET with technological capacity must have evolved on land. Professor Wilson slowly outlines his theory such that at each step of the way, the end product will be human or near human in appearance. To him, there is no other outcome. Unfortunately, the only planet from which he derives his theory is Earth. It is entirely possible for life to evolve from a non-carbon based source. If humanity manages to survive for the next 100,000 years as human and has visited or colonized our galaxy, we will likely by then know whether Professor Wilson was right. Until then I hesitate to develop a Grand Theory with only one item as its starting point.
If you think aliens have to have soft and pulpy finger tips to develop advanced intelligence, you are not thinking BIG.
Correction galaxy has 100 billion stars not 100 million as stated.
Here is why he is wrong about needing fire for advanced life /technology.
As our scientist are beginning to realize nanotechnology has more potential than fire based tech. If a Species could work with materials on the nano scale effectively they could surpass our current tech level.
I think there is alien life out there, but how come we haven't seen it. The universe/galaxy should be teaming with life (Fermi paradox).
I'll just leave this here:
Fermi paradox
The Fermi Paradox specifically applies to the likelihood of finding other humans in our galaxy. Life doesn't have to exist on an Earth-clone planet, life in the universe is a 500 billion+ (# of visible other galaxies) greater likelihood than life in the milky way, life may have existed before or after our current radio-based technology. They may not have a radio bubble yet, or they my not have a radio bubble anymore. They may live in gas giants not water worlds. They may live in another galaxy. As for 'why haven't they expanded to Earth yet?' - plenty of reasons. Maybe they aren't Expansionists, they never expanded, or they became a virtual race without physical needs. Maybe Earth has no strategic value to them. Maybe they are or have been here and we're just not sophisticated enough to detect them. Maybe rather than colonizing every planet in in the galaxy, they devoted more effort to going to other galaxies. Maybe something wiped them out before they fully expanded.
The Fermi Paradox is not at all a valid rebuttal of life in the universe. Fermi was specifically proposing why we aren't detecting Alien TV channels, and it was just an off the cuff conversation in a lunch room one day.
The fermi paradox also makes a few assumptions that arent in evidence. Mainly that an advanced society would expand indefinitely. Not even the roman empire expanded indefinitely. The distances are likely too great to maintain a functioning civilization. Imagine having a colony with a 100,000 year communication delay. You send a message and get a reply 200,000 years later.
Ther Fermi Paradox is ridiculous. Why would anyone assume we would be able to see evidence of intelligent life out there? The universe is way too big and we have no idea what to even look for.
Very interesting!
This guy is a cool gentleman, I'd love to sit down with him and have a Scotch, see where the conversation goes.
Anyone, who has any common sense, should know - based on the size of the observable Universe - that there are billions of galaxies. Each of those contain anywhere between 100 million to 500 million stars. Approximately 10% of those are yellow dwarfs like our own Sun and each one of those has planets residing within its habitable zone. If even 1% of those has liquid water, just imagine how many planets harbor life. The Drake Equation attempts to estimate this. We are NOT alone. We are just too far apart.