Re: [asa] [ASA] Life on Mars

Merv wrote:

> To think that we could be alone in the galaxy (let alone the
> universe) is a rather staggering thought rather akin to thinking
> ourselves the center of it. Of course the negative proposition can
> never be proved until every corner is explored (so either we do meet new
> life, or we will be left wondering...) Faith goes on either way, and
> scientific (evolutionary) thought will assimilate either future as
> well. My how adaptable it all is!
>
>

Hmm, there are days I wonder if there is intelligent life on
this planet, but that's a different issue.

One thing that God has to always teach us about is our ego
and our pride. Our notion of being special fits with that.
But if we find we are really alone, that is also rather
scary wouldn't you say? Who is out there to even remember
us? There's that old song "I will tell Jesus, all of my
problems, he is a kind, compassionate man", but when I
was playing that song recently, I was reflecting about
how I frequently go to other people, and only when I really
feel alone, do I finally turn to Jesus.

Anyway, to get to the point,
it depends a lot on what parameters are in the Drake equation.
Carl Sagan's take was that you would find it something like every
50 to 100 stars. Hugh Ross' figures say basically never.

It is clear by now that Sagan's view was far too optimistic.
Within the Milky Way galaxy, the bands have been thoroughly
scanned and there is no sign of a signal. There may be microbes
somewhere within the Milky Way galaxy, or maybe civilizations
without communications technology, but otherwise, the chances
of finding intelligent life look slim.

There is one interesting point that Hugh Ross has raised. That
pollen and spores could radiate out from the earth. It was never
developed, but my impression is a kind of reverse panspermia
argument: that any life found on Mars actually originated on
earth. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panspermia)
It seems unlikely that spores would survive the cosmic
rays without serious degradation, and the intensity of such a
source falls off as 1/r^2, so at most, it might impact Mars,
but I still find something curiously intriguing about the idea.

So another thing it could raise is where did the life come from.
I'm not so persuaded that life is inevitable, as some populist
have tried to assert, but I don't have a definite idea how
likely or unlikely it is. It does look increasingly like it
is not in this solar system, but I could still be wrong.

by Grace we proceed,
Wayne

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Received on Sun Jan 7 18:26:40 2007