Would aliens look like humans?

"If" aliens do exist, intelligent ones at least do you think they would look like humans?

I read something on the internet that basically says, there could be no intelligent race, besides human because they can’t be suitable to live. To me this sounds stupid because how on earth would we know what life is like on another planet light years away from us?

www.sacred-texts.com...


Tell me your guy’s opinions. This might be my imagination going, but couldn’t different life forms exist in any different shapes and sizes. Maybe even a plasma life form.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Well, since no other life form on Earth, which evolved under roughly the same set of circumstances we did, looks like us, I would have to say the answer to that would be no. They wouldnt.

yeah I tihnk they could like anything, so abstract we wouldn't everyone recognize as living beings. I think it's pretty arrogant of us to assume that they would have to look like humans, you are right different conditions would produce different results starting from the very first cell to evolve on that planet.

Though I suppose in a universe with infinite possibilities it is just as likely as any other ideas.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Advanced alien races have reached the planet Earth in numbers and
diversity. Some look exactly like us. - The Atlantians-
They Grays are small and humanoid. - See Alien Autopsy -
The Reptilians look nothing like us.

The original supernova that formed the nebula that allowed our sun and planets to form, had enough matter to form several star systems. So it stands to reason, at least in my mind, that given the same fundamental building blocks, any earth like planets in our vicinity will at least in someways have life that resembles earth based organisms.

But don't forget, our solar system formed with two planets like earth, Venus and us. Venus being our silicon counterpart, we won in the gravitational war for the habitable zone, so carbon life was allowed to dominate. But saying that carbon based life is the only life out there is a little like living among dinosaurs and claiming reptilian life is the only kind of life that can exist.

[edit on 14-1-2010 by JunoJive]

Biologically speaking...

I think its pretty likely that any kind of intelligent race would have developped some of the same features we have, such as working thumbs, the ability to stand and walk upright, speech, ect.

As for how they look physically...

If we take it as a fact that we evolved on this planet, without any design, influence, genetic manipulation, ect. (I personally believe that we HAVE been genetically modified somewhere along the path), there would be no way another species would be identical to us.

Different planets, atmospheres, biospheres; there are endless combination of natural factors that can affect evolutionary process.

However I do think that there are aliens out there who look very similar; if not identical to us. Lots of reports of the "Nordic" aliens and the "space brothers" from the 50's seem to suggest that if there are aliens visiting us, at least some of them look quite a bit like us.

I think some wouldn't, and some would actually be human themselves.

If we can "evolve" here, I'm sure it could happen on at least one of the zillions of other planets out there.

The Story of Valiant Thor always intrigued me! So maybe it's totally possible that they could be walking amongst as or even chatting on the forum and would never know about it! Even Charlie Halls Tall Whites seem capable of blending in with the general populace. So who knows.

I guess my love and imagination for star wars is getting between my reality. Maybe in another universe a foreign complex organism might exist.

Richard Dawkins seems to have a balanced view on this as reported here:

skepticblog.org...

"we can say that androids are fairly improbable, but not necessarily all that improbable!
(snip)
I agree with you that androids are rare, that is indeed suggested by the fact that they have only evolved once on Earth. I agree with you that science fiction, and the alien abduction subculture, have an unseemly eagerness to imagine androids, which you are right to denigrate. But I suspect that androids are not so very rare as to justify the statistical superlatives that you permitted yourself in the vignette. I have discussed such matters in the last chapter of The Ancestor’s Tale. I think Conway-Morris goes too far in one direction, and you go too far in the other." -Richard Dawkins

I'm sure he means the definition of android "resembling a human being" and not the the automaton definition I think of when I hear that term.

Or to rephrase in my own words, I think bipedal aliens that resemble us (like grays) are unlikely, but not impossible. If grays are real I would first guess them to be time travelers rather than aliens because if we keep evolving into smarter creatures, our brains will keep getting bigger, we may look like the grays eventually. They could be our great-great-great.... grandkids coming back in time to visit us.

[edit on 14-1-2010 by Arbitrageur]

To have a technology based race, I think that you'd have some features in common.

For example, fingers and a thumb make it easy for us to grip tools.
Hand eye coordination allow us to use tools.

So, I think that there is a logical argument for the shape of our bodies which would lead me to believe that the shape would be useful on other worlds as well.

Originally posted by Wildbob77
To have a technology based race, I think that you'd have some features in common.

For example, fingers and a thumb make it easy for us to grip tools.
Hand eye coordination allow us to use tools.

So, I think that there is a logical argument for the shape of our bodies which would lead me to believe that the shape would be useful on other worlds as well.

Yes that's why I said it's not impossible for something to evolve like us, but I still think it unlikely. For example, an elephant's trunk is very versatile, it can grab great big things like logs with the trunk,but it also has a prehensile or gripping tip that can grab small things like peanuts, or maybe tools.

I think it's a common myth you need an opposable thumb to grip things, there are other gripping mechanisms that can evolve like the elephant's trunk which has no fingers or thumbs at all.

[edit on 14-1-2010 by Arbitrageur]

Unless we follow that theory of humans being the descendants of aliens, we cannot be certain that they do look like us since they were not exposed to the exact same settings and cirumstances that we, as humans, were exposed to.

Originally posted by Eurisko2012
Advanced alien races have reached the planet Earth in numbers and
diversity. Some look exactly like us. - The Atlantians-
They Grays are small and humanoid. - See Alien Autopsy -
The Reptilians look nothing like us.

You sound so sure of this.

Do you have something to back this up other than "because you say so"?

When did they reach our planet and if the "atlantians" look exactly like us how do you know they are atlantians?

PLEASE don't say you are an alien.

YES....

....many alien races are indistinguishable from homo-sapiens......

...in fact... they are too......


....and they visit here ..... and they do walk among us......


...... and you will never know !

reply to post by Maddogkull

Would aliens look like humans?

I did this back in college (circa, late 70s), for a paper on evolution. my basic premise was that on a world (planet or moon) with a similar atmosphere and offering similar ingredients for life, there is no reason why a bi-pedal, human-type life form would not arise.

It is our ability to manipulate with our hands and invent with our minds, that set us aside from those other species around us. And given that we are not a specifically, genetically engineered race, then there is no reason why such a successful design would not develop in a similar environment.

Anyway, I got a B for my paper because my teacher thought I was reaching beyond my ability to interpret.

Convergent Evolution

Has happened hundreds of times through earths vast history... why not across the stars?.

Sure they may not be exactly identical to us, but if a 'design' works im sure it pops up alot, simply because it works the best. Complex enough to get the job done, but simple enough not to have any real draw backs.

Yes some Aliens will look like Humans, or near human... many will be humanoid and a good number will be totally alien. Heres hoping we can get along with all of em, regardless of the exterior appearances

And yes i used the word 'will' rather than would... its only a matter of time before we meet someone from out there. Might be ages but it will happen eventually.

Originally posted by redoubt

Anyway, I got a B for my paper because my teacher thought I was reaching beyond my ability to interpret.

What an ass of a teacher... "I think your being to smart for your age... naughty naughty!", hows that for encouragement in the education system.

[edit on 14-1-2010 by BigfootNZ]

reply to post by BigfootNZ

"I think your being to smart for your age... naughty naughty!", hows that for encouragement in the education system.

Yeah, pretty much what it was too. I actually talked him out of a C by sitting late one day and entertaining his wooden head with the concept, lol.

He thought I was smoking too much pot.

I once saw a documentary on the Discovery channel(couldn't track it down, my apologies)wherein they mentioned a rising theory that basically stated; give any species enough time, and they will evolve into a quasai-humanoid form. As in a being with head, arms, legs, and torso.

I also recall them saying that even a cold-blooded animal would ultimately evolve into a humanoid. Their reasoning was that 'humanoid' is the most efficient in terms of mental and physical processes, and that because evolution always chooses the most beneficial attributes, in the end, it should all end up in the same place.

So if humanoid is the best evolution can do(so far) here on earth, it is likely that evolution on other planets would run the same course, choosing the best attributes to be passed on, and eventually ending up humanoid as well.

I would also think that the more similar other planets are to earth, the more likely it would be that aliens would look closer to the way we do. They would possibly even be able to "pass" for one of us.

Originally posted by radarloveguy

...... and you will never know !

But you do of course!

hmmm, I smell BS.