Are we alone in the Universe?

here is a perfect discussion of the topic from the head of astrophysics at oxford, the second question "sounds like a game of words" is perfect for the point i am making:

"ESA: Is the Universe finite or infinite?

Joseph Silk: We don't know. The expanding Universe theory says that the Universe could expand forever [that corresponds to a 'flat' Universe]. And that is probably the model of the Universe that we feel closest to now. But it could also be finite, because it could be that the Universe has a very large volume now, but finite, and that that volume will increase, so only in the infinite future will it actually be infinite.


ESA: It sounds like a game of words, is it?

Joseph Silk: No. We do not know whether the Universe is finite or not. To give you an example, imagine the geometry of the Universe in two dimensions as a plane. It is flat, and a plane is normally infinite. But you can take a sheet of paper [an 'infinite' sheet of paper] and you can roll it up and make a cylinder, and you can roll the cylinder again and make a torus [like the shape of a doughnut]. The surface of the torus is also spatially flat, but it is finite. So you have two possibilities for a flat Universe: one infinite, like a plane, and one finite, like a torus, which is also flat."

http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMR53T1VED_people_0_iv.html

 

Damn. So that means if I get in my space rocket and shoot into space and never stray from the straight line I could eventually end up back where I started? I kinda hope the universe is finite now, that would be cool.

 

my dad used to have a ford torus.

 

I have to admit, that made me chuckle.

 

Tell your dad it's an older model space rocket. Emphasis on the model.

 

To go off on yet another tangent... From an evolutionary standpoint, would it really be such a good thing if other intelligent life did exist - especially if they were more advanced than us? Throughout Earth's history, the rise of one superior species has often come at the downfall of another's.

My astronomy professor used to call this the Santa Claus test. Tons of people see Santa Claus at the mall every year, that doesn't mean that the guy with flying reindeer really exists.

Jesus was birthed by a human woman. That would make him at least half human. I'm not sure how we would measure alien-ness though. Is it like being black, where even if you are half & half you are still considered black?

 

Would you not consider the possibility that the universe is infinite merely by our inability to accurately measure the end? Isn't an infinite number immeasurable by nature? Whether the universe is expanding or not, it only matters if the end is beyond our measure, therefor it must be infinite.

If the building blocks of life have an infinite number of possibilities(immeasurable), and are combined with the circumstances to produce life(intelligent or otherwise) that should also be infinite by our inability to measure the universe, it cannot be proven (given our limited measurements) that intelligent life does not exist. Science is more about disproving theories, then it is about proving theories. It took hundreds of experiments to finally come up with a workable light bulb. Science proved the others did not work, as well as the one way it did. It is a process of elimination. It may be that life does not exist elsewhere, but our inability to prove it, lends to the very real possibility that is does exist.

 

obviously with all these abductions and asians with cameras. hell now, for the last 10 years you've never been to one place on earth where there hasnt been at least half the people with some sort of picture taking or recording device where surely there would be undeniable proof.

yet all we get is photoshopped images or frisbees in the air still. same with ghosts/apparitions.

all these kooks have been exposed for not having actual proof at least within the last decade. Much longer actually but im giving them the benefit of the doubt to adapt and learn the technology. I think my parents still have a blinking 12:00 on a vcr somewhere. But everyone has a recording device of some sort and carries one in some form or the other most times. if they have a semi-modern cell that would be all the time.

i dont think theres any life out there. not intelligent anyhow.

 

again you are playing with definitions. just because we cant measure something doesnt mean it goes on forever. it may be literally immeasurable, by us, right now, but it still could have finite measure. at one point the width of the ocean was immeasurable.

our ability to see out in the universe is limited by time, it takes forever for light to get here. at any given time we can see futher than ever, because light from further away is reaching earth, expanding the distance we can see. some places are so far away the light hasnt made it here, but it will.

not proving the negative doesnt prove much of anything. you cannot prove i am not god. that is a non-conclusion.

i dunno, what if they were so smart they didnt need to compete with us, we were just like amusements to them. i wouldnt mind. maybe they could give us all kinds of tips and technology. they might teach us how to download our brains into the matrix and life forever.

really? i always thought of mary as a vessel for a child she didnt create. a surrogate, god planted a fully independent jesus in her. i am not sure. your logic leads me to think jesus was only half god, maybe blessed with half the magical powers as god. i wonder if you were his great grandson and were only 1/16 god or something, would your powers be diminished. is 1/16 omnipotent still omnipotent? or would you struggle to turn water into wine. try to walk on water but cant, maybe only can walk on jello or whatever.