seagull
Well-Known Member
No, actually, it is NOT ridiculous. In the past few years, it is appearing more and more probable that the elements to net HIGHER life forms includes having just the right amount of solar radiation. Too low and you don't get the mutations required, and too high and the higher life forms don't survive.
In turns out that one of the key elements for life on Earth is the moon. Having a single moon that is that large keeps the interior of the planet molten and moving, which in turn creates our magnetic fields. Those fields shield us just enough to make it all work.
When this factor is accounted for, rather than having thousands of worlds that could sustain life in our galaxy, you end up with the probability of there being a small handful at most, and maybe no others.
Even that aside, you are making the assumption that a species that is much more evolved than we are is also aware of us (our radio waves haven't travelled a hundred light years yet, so that leaves precious few stars in range to have noticed us), then they'd also have to have the techology to reach us (how long does it take to get here, or do you think they have found away around the speed of light problem?), and then, have the audacity to think they'd even be interested!
If you're going with that sort of theory, the odds are actually a lot higher that man, in some future date, is able to figure out time travel, so people are coming back to watch and record actual events to correct their known history, etc!
