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....what do you think the reaction would be?
It would be the most significant discovery in the entire history of mankind and yet part of thinks the vast majority of people would probably just shrug their shoulders and feel rather underwhelmed. I imagine the various religious groups would find a way of incorporating the news into their own existing frameworks (rather than the other way around) and quite a few might not even acknowledge the news. Would it change the course of politics; would we start to take our own existence more seriously than we do now and actually evolve our culture beyond the facile level we exist in now?
For me it would be the final nail in the coffin for religion.
For me it would be proof that Eastenders is watched by "life"
Hmmmmmm Enchilada....
Why do you say it would be the most significant discovery in human history? Scientists have long believed that life is out there and I don't think confirmation will have much of an effect.
Long believed with zero proof though. Proof changes everything. We're alone in the universe & Earth is unique vs life exists on other planets. It's just not as dramatic as finding sentient life out there.
It would also give a better understanding of creation of life. If life can come into existence just because of the right conditions, then that really is a problem for religions.
It'll be big news, but not as big as landing on the moon (if you believe that 😉 ).
How is it the "most significant discovery in the entire history of mankind"?
Unless you're a full on religious fruitloop it's just what you'd expect isn't it? Mildly interesting but utterly irrelevant.
TBH, I don't think religions will care, they have kept going despite the obvious for centuries, this discovery won't make one iota of difference to them.
Could open up the possibility of farming it, or growing some sort of algae or fungi like quorn off planet, could help with the food crisis.
In turn of we can grow a good amount of food off planet, we could then turn farm land on earth back into forest or whatever.
Alien bacteria could have medical benefits too.
That would be a pretty big deal.
Trump would nuke them
facts will not be getting in the way of religious belief as the evidence for evolution is overwhelming
life out there will not change their opinion and most folk think its the most likely outcome if not quite inevitable.
you are taking the piss arent you?Could open up the possibility of farming it, or growing some sort of algae or fungi like quorn off planet, could help with the food crisis.
Growing food on a planet a few million miles away is hardly a cost effective solution to a food shortage
I doubt anyone who follows Arab religions or watches Love Island will give a hoot.
Not many left to care I suspect.
It won't change mainstream religion, I reckon. There's still ample room for God in current scientific knowledge. It challenges the literal content of the Bible but that's been pretty heavily challenged over the years anyway.
Theres a food shortage?
Most significant discovery in history of mankind?
Really, it's entirely predictable and rather unsurprising, but you think it is more significant than:
- Rutherfords discovery of the structure of the atom,
- the ability to yield vast amounts of energy from them by breaking them apart
- Watson and Crick discovering DNA
- Darwin explaining evolution
- Galileo pointing out we weren't at the centre of the solar system
All of those turned on their head the conventional thinking, some of them especially the thinking of the church, but you think that confirming bacteria can grow in conditions we would expect bacteria to survive will rock the church to its core? Even if you find sentient life I am sure those who wish to will explain it as being God's work/design.
😯There's still ample room for God in current scientific knowledge.
Where is the great creator accounted for within modern scientific thinking?
What we have is ample room for the religious to continue to believe despite the evidence as their view is faith based and not fact based.
Trump will rename it Planet Trump and claim he owns it and it's part of his plan to make Global warming bigly irrelevant because everyone can stay in one of his hotels there.yourguitarhero - Member
Trump would nuke them
it was copernicus and On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies published mid 1500Galileo pointing out we weren't at the centre of the solar system
Most of the population would shrug and get on with their lives without giving it a second thought.
Although I suppose theres not much I could do. I already dont follow any religion so it wouldnt cast doubt on that and I cant personally go and have a look at the live so not sure what I could/would do differently?
Pales in to insignificance next to the invention of the bicycle
Junkyard - lazarus
Could open up the possibility of farming it, or growing some sort of algae or fungi like quorn off planet, could help with the food crisis.
you are taking the piss arent you?
Growing food on a planet a few million miles away is hardly a cost effective solution to a food shortage
/Sunday pedant mode
They're not planets.
/*
Genuinely I think most of the population would think "is that it?" For generations we've been told via movies and TV that aliens are little green men who are more technically advanced than us or at least vicious little bastards who'll eat you just for the sake of it.
Discovering bacterial life just highlights the 'problem' with finding intelligent life on other planets - it's not just distance, it's time - if another race visited earth just 1% of the history of Earth ago they wouldn't have found us and in another 1% we may be gone.
Junkyard, Copernicus suggested it, but it was Galileo that measured/proved it. Much like someone suggesting there might be bacteria on a distant moon, it's all just hypothesis until someone proves it.
Could open up the possibility of farming it, or growing some sort of algae or fungi like quorn off planet, could help with the food crisis.
Imagine the carbon footprint of your 'off world' Quorn snorkers!
At least a huge percentage of those emissions wouldn't affect Earth's ozone.
Work your way down the list of things that science has proven which religions ignore or distort. It's a pretty long list. This would be just another thing to ignore. Proof of intelligent life would be a game changer for many though.
There's many folk would suggest that microbial life on other planets/moons would be pretty bad news. It probably means that "life" is pretty common, and that there is possibly some event ahead of us that will destroy life on earth. (one of the reasons that perhaps there's no detectable complex life in the galaxy) Finding fossilised [i]complex[/i] life would be a end of days scenario.
Wasn't that God fella supposed to have created the universe? That would include anything living in it as well i reckon. Probably no apples on Europa so they havent evolved & disappointed him
- Rutherfords discovery of the structure of the atom,
- the ability to yield vast amounts of energy from them by breaking them apart
- Watson and Crick discovering DNA
- Darwin explaining evolution
- Galileo pointing out we weren't at the centre of the solar system
- Homer discovering a new meal time between breakfast and brunch
All the more reason for us to leave the europaean union and take back control from these faceless microbes
It'd be an ethical dilemma though- offworld colonisation is, on a long enough scale, inevitable and there'll be massive ecological/environmental considerations about that even on a lifeless world.
There's many folk would suggest that microbial life on other planets/moons would be pretty bad news. It probably means that "life" is pretty common, and that there is possibly some event ahead of us that will destroy life on earth. (one of the reasons that perhaps there's no detectable complex life in the galaxy) Finding fossilised complex life would be a end of days scenario.
This is basically the Fermi Paradox. There's a great exploration of it here, well worth a read: https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html
Blips of life is the way I see it. Statistically probably billions of billions of planets with intelligent life in the universe, but with near infinite scale and maybe infinite time, none of that life happen to exist at the same time, or if they do they're at impossible distances to detect each other. And then on the scale of things, they don't last more than a blink of the eye.
I watched an interesting programme on BBC4 last week called Aliens: The Big Think.
. I think it's available on catch-up.Professor Martin Rees discusses the modern search for extra-terrestrials, and the theory that our idea of alien life is all wrong: that it's not organic life we should look for out there, but machines.
Also mentioned in the program was Drakes equation and there's a program on BBC4 tonight (11.30pm) about that, as well.
geetee1972 - MemberIf we found microbial life on Europa or Enceladus....
....what do you think the reaction would be?
They need to evolve first ...
As they evolve they will follow the path that we took ...
They need to go through stages of evolution ...
They need to turn into eggs then maggots.
Maggots into pupa. From pupa emerge the first sign of intelligence but at this stage they are zombie like.
Finally, they stop evolving at zombie maggot stage like us.
Yes, welcome to the worthless world of beings ... they are in for a rough ride.
😆
You should take your own advice.
Cougar - Moderator
You should take your own advice.
Ask yourself this question.
Can you see evolution in yourself, us or human in general?
😛
I can't see evolution in myself because I'm in my 40s, not in my six million and forties.
In humans in general, I wonder sometimes.
As they evolve they will follow the path that we took ...
You cannot possibly know that. There are far too many environmental and chemical factors that decide in which direction evolution goes.
Although it would be a momentous discovery (and I for one would be very, very excited), would the discovery of non-sentient life elsewhere in the solar system change anything?
I doubt very much that it would render religion obsolete - look at the nut jobs who insist that dinosaurs are an invention of very wealthy paleontologists, or that such things are nothing more than a test of faith. Sooner or later, some arsehole would want to drill for the inevitable oil resulting from the deaths of billions of tiny carbon-based life.
Right now, I've a very dim view of humanity, collectively.
I doubt they will be very much different, as they still need to go through the stages of being born, aged, illness (assuming they have this stage) and death. 😛mikey74 - Member
As they evolve they will follow the path that we took ...
You cannot possibly know that. There are far too many environmental and chemical factors that decide in which direction evolution goes.
Apart from the basic chemical building blocks, it's unlikely they will be have any similar proteins or nucleic acid chains to earth life, so we probably can't eat them. However, they may be able to use us as a food source and we won't have any immunity or defences at all. Yum.
chewkw - MemberCan you see evolution in yourself
I think some of us are clearly a bit further along than others
How? Immune to diseases? 😛Northwind - Member
chewkw - Member
Can you see evolution in yourself
I think some of us are clearly a bit further along than others
How? Immune to diseases?
Well yes, some people are immune to certain diseases, by some random genetic mutation.
And you can see evolution in action with viruses, the common cold for example.. And why is there a new flu vaccine every year? 😉