Because God isn't real and the universe isn't designed to support life, that's just an accident of chemistry and opportunity.
That said, it is a bit of statistical certainty imo. What isn't certain is that it's intelligent and conscious, that FTL travel is possible, or that it's within a million light years of us. Hell, the most reasonable (imo) hypothetical numbers of the Drake equation aren't even that great for there being intelligent life within our species lifetime in the Milky Way, and that's with assumptions like "all planets capable of supporting life do."
Existence or absence of alien life has no reason to impact how little or how much space is out there. The universe is big ^[citation^ ^needed]^ so odds are pretty good that there is, was, or will be life somewhere other than here.
The question is not whether life exists "out there" the question relates to how common it is for complex life to noticeably emerge. Statistically it's almost impossible for a universe the size of ours to NOT have it emerge multiple times. It doesn't matter worth a damn if we're the only sapient organisms in our observable light-cone.
Explosions, particularly "biggest ever in the history of time" in a vacuum tend to be quite large. :)
The big bang was SO big that light itself hasn't yet reached us from the edges of it.
I'd like to think there ARE (or at least were, or WILL BE) alien worlds filled with life, but the honest answer is they'd be so impossibly far away that even Star Trek future engines could never reach them, and time's so vast that they're likely to already have gone extinct or shot off in to space in the opposite direction.
If there were intelligent life elsewhere and they see our broadcasts they're not likely to be friendly to "the evil psychopath humans" if we'd ever meet!
The question assumes a purpose or reason other than "because that's just the way it is". If the universe was created or built the question is reasonable, but if it wasn't then it really doesn't have a deeper answer.
For all we know all that space is what it took to get life started here. Maybe the universe engine needs objects at those locations. Maybe the universe never asked you how big she was in the first place.
An anectode if I may, I remember watching an interview with Christopher Hitchens, where he was talking about how he was on a school nature walk as a child and the teacher opined that the trees where a shade of green because god wanted them to be pleasant to the human eye. He remembered thinking to himself, well, that's complete bullshit.
This sounds like you're suggesting an explanation is needed that suits you as to why nature is ?
Space is so big because it has to be, it can't be anything else or it would be that.
It seems highly unlikely Earth has the only life, the universe is so big it really is beyond our primate brains comprehension.
16 Comments
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 19 pts · 2d
Because God isn't real and the universe isn't designed to support life, that's just an accident of chemistry and opportunity.
That said, it is a bit of statistical certainty imo. What isn't certain is that it's intelligent and conscious, that FTL travel is possible, or that it's within a million light years of us. Hell, the most reasonable (imo) hypothetical numbers of the Drake equation aren't even that great for there being intelligent life within our species lifetime in the Milky Way, and that's with assumptions like "all planets capable of supporting life do."
betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 2d
Existence or absence of alien life has no reason to impact how little or how much space is out there. The universe is big ^[citation^ ^needed]^ so odds are pretty good that there is, was, or will be life somewhere other than here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation are worth a read in case you're not already familiar. Drake equation is focused on our galaxy but the same line of reasoning ought to apply more broadly.
grillgamesh@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 2d
I lol'd. gg man, I needed that laugh.
betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
Shamelessly ripping off a bit from Randall Munroe but it entertains me too.
GreenBeard@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 2d
The question is not whether life exists "out there" the question relates to how common it is for complex life to noticeably emerge. Statistically it's almost impossible for a universe the size of ours to NOT have it emerge multiple times. It doesn't matter worth a damn if we're the only sapient organisms in our observable light-cone.
Reygle@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 3d
Explosions, particularly "biggest ever in the history of time" in a vacuum tend to be quite large. :)
The big bang was SO big that light itself hasn't yet reached us from the edges of it.
I'd like to think there ARE (or at least were, or WILL BE) alien worlds filled with life, but the honest answer is they'd be so impossibly far away that even Star Trek future engines could never reach them, and time's so vast that they're likely to already have gone extinct or shot off in to space in the opposite direction.
If there were intelligent life elsewhere and they see our broadcasts they're not likely to be friendly to "the evil psychopath humans" if we'd ever meet!
(But I'd like to be wrong)
tate@lemmy.sdf.org · 9 pts · 3d
I like this take. A lot. But I can't just pass by here and not point out that
Reygle@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d
We can be friends ;)
Nighed@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 2d
Also, due to the expansion of the universe, there will be places where the light will never reach us because the universe is expanding too fast.
neo2478@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 2d
Because apparently we need more space for data centers.
jadesom222@aussie.zone · 6 pts · 3d
The question assumes a purpose or reason other than "because that's just the way it is". If the universe was created or built the question is reasonable, but if it wasn't then it really doesn't have a deeper answer.
the_q@piefed.social · 5 pts · 3d
For activities.
Drbreen@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 2d
The question assumes that space itself is conscious and decided itself to have a lot of space for only us humans.
There is no why.
Sanctus@anarchist.nexus · 3 pts · 3d
For all we know all that space is what it took to get life started here. Maybe the universe engine needs objects at those locations. Maybe the universe never asked you how big she was in the first place.
We will never know.
Patnou@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3d
Lol. I would make a fat joke but going to leave it there.
hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 2d
An anectode if I may, I remember watching an interview with Christopher Hitchens, where he was talking about how he was on a school nature walk as a child and the teacher opined that the trees where a shade of green because god wanted them to be pleasant to the human eye. He remembered thinking to himself, well, that's complete bullshit.
This sounds like you're suggesting an explanation is needed that suits you as to why nature is ?
Space is so big because it has to be, it can't be anything else or it would be that.
It seems highly unlikely Earth has the only life, the universe is so big it really is beyond our primate brains comprehension.