The Grand Scale Of Things...

It hit me the other day that given in the grand scale of things, and that even in the tiny amount of time this planet has been around, and that within that humans have been around for such a tiny blip, 'modern' humans even less, that we have a narrow and tiny understanding of things. Along with that feeling came some sort of realisation that, "Of course aliens have been visiting and probably still are." Anyone else get this?

a reply to: taoistguy

No. That seems like a rather illogical conclusion, to me....

a reply to: taoistguy
I don't believe that the age of the universe or the number of stars in the universe compel aliens to exist.
It may be that humanoid beings, in the universe, can only exist if they are given a start in evolution by spiritual beings/God. I don't believe that life just gets started by physical means alone, it is, I think, a physical and spiritual process and life will only evolve when spiritual beings bring it about. Most of the universe may be devoid of biological life - but not completely empty of it.

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance
a reply to: taoistguy

No. That seems like a rather illogical conclusion, to me....

Yes, it's not 'logical' cos that is a flawed human construct.

originally posted by: EnPassant
a reply to: taoistguy
I don't believe that the age of the universe or the number of stars in the universe compel aliens to exist.
It may be that humanoid beings, in the universe, can only exist if they are given a start in evolution by spiritual beings/God. I don't believe that life just gets started by physical means alone, it is, I think, a physical and spiritual process and life will only evolve when spiritual beings bring it about. Most of the universe may be devoid of biological life - but not completely empty of it.

I don't make much difference in the ultimate reality between 'physical' and 'spiritual', but just by thinking in terms of physical, there is a lot has happened we don't know cos we weren't around, and at present our understanding of the greater reality is so very small and incomplete.

originally posted by: taoistguy

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance
a reply to: taoistguy

No. That seems like a rather illogical conclusion, to me....

Yes, it's not 'logical' cos that is a flawed human construct.

I can go with that, anyway...Shusss, AdmireTheDistance is really an alien, and just trying to throw you off the scent since he's here...he's probably a cousin of Spock, or ol' skeptic Overboard.
BTW, if anyone mentions about no aliens and only God, watch them as well, God can only be an alien any which way.

originally posted by: smurfy

originally posted by: taoistguy

originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance
a reply to: taoistguy

No. That seems like a rather illogical conclusion, to me....

Yes, it's not 'logical' cos that is a flawed human construct.

I can go with that, anyway...Shusss, AdmireTheDistance is really an alien, and just trying to throw you off the scent since he's here...he's probably a cousin of Spock, or ol' skeptic Overboard.

BTW, if anyone mentions about no aliens and only God, watch them as well, God can only be an alien any which way.

Well, yes, if god does exist she will be an alien in the sense of not of this earth, but not an alien in the sense of another being living on some planet like us.

originally posted by: taoistguy
Along with that feeling came some sort of realisation that, "Of course aliens have been visiting and probably still are." Anyone else get this?

I get kind of the opposite feeling. Which is, given the absolutely unfathomable size and age of the universe, if there are any "aliens" out there they are so far away and so incomprehensibly different from us that they are for all practical purposes imaginary.

a reply to: taoistguy

Anyone else get this?

No, but thank you for asking.

originally posted by: EnPassant
I don't believe that life just gets started by physical means alone, it is, I think, a physical and spiritual process and life will only evolve when spiritual beings bring it about.

That reminds me a bit of Rupert Sheldrake and his notion of "morphic resonance." Physical forms come into existence as resonant patterns from both the past and the future. As far as spiritual beings go, maybe it's us. Maybe we're the ones dreaming and imagining and somewhere out there billions of light years away the forms of those thoughts manage to manifest themselves as real things. So we play God every time we dream.

a reply to: taoistguy

Along with that feeling came some sort of realisation that, "Of course aliens have been visiting and probably still are." Anyone else get this?

I get that from time to time but I have learned how to suppress the feeling and cover it up with complete and absolute denial which usually results in self-flagellation. Then I lock myself in my room and chant "aliens are not real, aliens are not real" then I come here and call people names.

Actually, I totally relate to that feeling.

originally posted by: ZetaRediculian
a reply to: taoistguy

Along with that feeling came some sort of realisation that, "Of course aliens have been visiting and probably still are." Anyone else get this?

I get that from time to time but I have learned how to suppress the feeling and cover it up with complete and absolute denial which usually results in self-flagellation. Then I lock myself in my room and chant "aliens are not real, aliens are not real" then I come here and call people names.

Actually, I totally relate to that feeling.

Not a good idea to go into denial. And neither is self abuse. I would go see a doctor.

a reply to: taoistguy

I think the age and size of the universe may make it likely that aliens exist.

However, the idea that humans have only been around for a fleeting moment (for example, if the history of the Earth was a 24-hr day, humans only came on the scene at 23:58 (11:58 PM), or 0.004% of the history of Earth) just makes it seem more likely that humans on Earth may not have been visited by aliens.

As you say, human existence on earth is just a quick "blip" in the history of the universe -- and the physical Earth itself is just like a tiny mote of dust compared to the size of the universe. That short amount of time humans have existed on this tiny bit of near nothingness makes it very possible that aliens have not had the time to find humans on this tiny speck of a world.

Oh, certainly the Universe has life in it other than us...

My own opinion, of course.

But why do we insist upon thinking that there are many, many who are more advanced??

That doesn't necessarily follow. Someone has to be first...why couldn't it be us?

originally posted by: smurfy
Shusss, AdmireTheDistance is really an alien, and just trying to throw you off the scent since he's here...he's probably a cousin of Spock, or ol' skeptic Overboard.

What the hell, man? You weren't supposed to tell everyone! Sheesh!

a reply to: taoistguy

Apparently not only visiting but involved. Some say in fact part of the early landscape......they are not really "aliens".

a reply to: taoistguy

Only the arrogance of man would assume we are the only intelligent beings in this vast universe.

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

― Arthur C. Clarke

a reply to: taoistguy

Yes, I understand where you're coming from, absolutely. We're infants, only just now taking our first steps. Infants in a universe that's more vast than we can imagine. If you could count 1 star per second, it would take over 5,000 years to count every star in our Milky Way galaxy. Our sun is a single second in there... 1 second dangling in the midst of 5,000 years. The phrase "drop in the bucket" doesn't even come close to describing it. It's more like drop in a million buckets. OF COURSE alien life exists.

originally posted by: taoistguy
It hit me the other day that given in the grand scale of things, and that even in the tiny amount of time this planet has been around, and that within that humans have been around for such a tiny blip, 'modern' humans even less, that we have a narrow and tiny understanding of things. Along with that feeling came some sort of realisation that, "Of course aliens have been visiting and probably still are." Anyone else get this?

Or, the sheer grand scale of things means there's millions of alien civs in the galaxy, and we're ranked #265,478 on the average alien travel bucket list.

I believe "they're" out there, and I believe someone else is or has been here, but I also believe the sheer scale works against us being visited from afar.

originally posted by: taoistguy
It hit me the other day that given in the grand scale of things, and that even in the tiny amount of time this planet has been around, and that within that humans have been around for such a tiny blip, 'modern' humans even less, that we have a narrow and tiny understanding of things. Along with that feeling came some sort of realisation that, "Of course aliens have been visiting and probably still are." Anyone else get this?

I'd argue that if extraterrestrial beings A) exist and B) have visited earth, then it seems reasonable that we would have at least some form of hard evidence by now, either in the form of pictures, videos, or physical forensic. Since such evidence has not yet presented itself, it seems most rational and logical to be a bit skeptical that we have been visited.