Why do so many people believe in aliens?

[Pet68]

I just do not understand it. There is precisely zero evidence for their existence, and yet people cling to the idea like their lives depend on them being out there somewhere. And if we made the assumption they existed in the first place, why would they go to so much effort and expend so many resources in order to visit us (and on a regular basis at that)? And they always look so human. What's the deal with that? One would think that being from an entirely different planet, with a very different biological and geological history, they wouldn't look anything like us at all.

[purplepoppy]

They want to belong to a special group who are in the know. It gives them a sense of power in a world they have none. If you look at most believer they tend to be "anti government" and the idea of aliens reinforces their idea the government is hiding stuff.

[NicholasRedone]

@purplepoppy I sure did for a long time, as light hearted. I just replaced it with politics inside 😔💠 lol 😆

[NoDecision]

I also did a question on this. I wondered if they were not actually aliens, but just us from our own future. They may be here protecting us so they will have a future to be in.

[deniz_9]

i love thisss🫶

[Pet68]

I'll have to look at that! :)

[NicholasRedone]

@NoDecision it's a bit of light hearted fun 😊☺️

[MisterWack]

No evidence? Evidence of alien life is Earth filled with fish, mammals, invertebrates, vertebrates, crustaceans, rodents, microorganisms, herbivores, carnivores, plants, etc. The fact that so much life variety could exist on the third planet from its star, filled with carbon & oxygen & water, and amino acids being the building block of life is truly remarkable isn’t it?

On the asteroid that humans punted at a rock adrift, to forever float toward the ever expanding void…. We collected samples that have amino acids unique to this planet we reside on. Though the fact amino acids were found on a random asteroid hints that the building blocks of life are actually more common than what we thought possible.

We are leaving out how we found numerous planets that fit Earth’s description across The Universe, providing more conclusive evidence that life is out there. Since life is foreign to us, it would automatically be alien life.

Do I believe flying saucers visit Earth and probe humans / abduct cattle? No.

Do I believe alien life is in The Universe aside from Planet Earth? Yes.

[MisterWack]

Is it possible alien life, if they were intelligent might make artificial satellites, artificial rockets, and artificial structures made from materials around them? Yes because we have done just that. Human beings are a good sample of ‘alien life’ to study.
When you question alien life, look no further than human beings.

[Pet68]

I don't care about what you believe. I only care about facts, evidence, and whether or not you have a convincing case for why I should accept the notion that there are aliens out there somewhere, and thus far I'm just not convinced.

[MisterWack]

@pet68 I did list evidence.
- The abundance of life thriving & different subgroups on land & sea & air
- The asteroid samples that showcased amino acids (building blocks of life) are more common in The Universe than previously thought
- Multiple planets that have similar conditions to Earth (3rd planet from star, vast water on its surface, and habitable atmosphere) and exist lightyears away
These are evidence to support alien life can survive and thrive in The Universe, isn’t just unique to Earth. We have yet to see an actual organism though it is crystal clear that there can be life in The Universe just by looking at ourselves & our accomplishments.

[EzraIsShy76028]

I mean with how weird the universe can be and all believing in aliens is not that weird, lol. Plus, have you seen how weird certain animals look, especially deep sea creatures? They do NOT look like they're from the same planet as us, LOL.

Also, in the grand scheme of things we know very little about the universe. For the most part we know very little about the universe beyond our own Solar System and some other things. And it's very unlikely we'll ever be able to explore the whole universe. So who knows who's out there?

There could exist things we probably couldn't even imagine. Like maybe there could be a race of creatures who could live on insanely cold or insanely hot planets with no trouble, and who don't even need to eat or drink or anything. Maybe creatures who even roam around on the planet without a physical body.

Writing it out like that it sounds kind of silly, but we don't know a lot about the universe, so theoretically it's not 100% impossible.

[DrPepper12]

"The physics of quantum mechanics, relativity theory, and string theory are mind-bending. Scientists have made remarkable strides in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; yet, some believe that the progress will stop before the completion of an all-inclusive physical theory.

The following adage suggests that the universe is beyond human comprehension.

Reality is not only stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we can suppose.

Nature is not only odder than we think, but odder than we can think.

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine; it is stranger than we can imagine.

Non-Baryonic matter being a great example!

Life, and Intelligent life, is all over the universe. The drake equation alone is enough proof for me. The fermi paradox however gives great pause.

We're so limited as meat bags of water, salts, elements & minerals.

Aliens haven't visited. When they do the 🌎🌍 will know it not just Jethro from Paducah KY

[Pet68]

"The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose" - J. B. S. Haldane
Yes, I agree with that sentiment at least. As for the rest of what you've written... nope. The Drake equation doesn't prove a thing! It isn't "proof", and was never meant as such.

[DrPepper12]

Of course it's not proof just some damn fine dart throwing at probability!

[TheSpaceGnome]

So people don't need to rely on beleifs here. its actually mathematically impossoble that aliens don't exist.

The universe is infinite in size, and the ingredients for life are mostly everywhere within our observable range.

The only logical conclusion is there are an infinite number of planets with life, and an infinite number of planets without life. And that the ones with life, would collectively have infinite numbers of every possible version of life.

So there are an infinite number of planets where humans evolved, and an infinite number of planets where some unknown alien species evolved, and an infinite number of planets where literally anything else evolved, imaginable by us or not.

There would also be an infinite number of proximity variables, so you would have places where lots of planets with life are next to eachother, and places where they are so far apart they will never meet, and everywhere in between.

It seems thus far that earth is too isolated from other planets with life to ever have other worldy visitors unfortunately.

[Pet68]

A couple of points.
1. Mathematically impossible? You don't seem to understand that due to the complete and utter lack of any evidence for their existence whatsoever, it could just as easily be "mathematically impossible" that they DO exist, if, for example, all of the essential requirements for intelligent life to arise in the first place simply aren't met. It's not enough for the universe to be incredibly huge; that's a necessary condition, but by no means a sufficient one. Other considerations need to be factored in as well, like the right type of star (approx. 70% of stars in our own galaxy are red dwarfs, which are not at all suitable for life to arise on any planets that may orbit them).
2. "The universe is infinite in size", you claim. Actually no, it isn't. It's finite, in both extent and age, and everything else you claim here is based upon that flawed assumption.

[TheSpaceGnome]

Your logic is flawed, and so you're wrong on all accounts.

If it were mathematically impossible for life to exist, you would not exist.

The math varifies that anything that can exist, exists in an infinite quantity.

Considering how varied life on earth has been, and how varied planets can be, the number of types of life would be infinite, and the number of locations would be as well, as well as the number of them within proximity to eachother.

Comparing quantities of types of stellar objects and their relative proximities to eachother is pointless, as all versions of either would exist in infinite amounts.

So there would be an infinite number of superclusters where that 70 percentile was true, and an infinite number of superclusters where its not, and of the "not" ones, there would be an infinite number of every other percentile. Aka all possibilities are 100% likely to exist an infinite number of times.

The universe is in fact infinite and there are logical reasons why "finite" as a concept is impossible do to the geometry of 3 dinensional space existing, as well as the paradoxical nature of a "begining" making it infinite in age as well. Any hypothesis contrary to this is objectively false. Any finite "edge" to the universe is also still the universe outside of said arbitrary edge, anything "before" the universe is also still just part of the universe, hence the word "universe" referring to "universal", or "all", as in "everything anywhere to have ever existed without exception".

Nothingness is also impossible.

[TheSpaceGnome]

Existing or not is like rolling dice, if you were to roll dice infinitely, it would land on every possible to land on number an infinite amount of times.

Now imagine that dice has so many sides that its impossible to count them all, and that there are infinite dice. Every outcome would repeat without end, but also without rythm, so there wouldn't be any predictability to it on large scales.

[Pet68]

Your original claim was that ALIENS not existing was "mathematically impossible", but now you've changed that to say that LIFE not existing isn't possible, thus shifting the goal-posts. I didn't say that alien life of any kind is somehow impossible, but I did question the sanity of those who believe that we're being visited by intelligent aliens in flying saucers. It's quite likely we'll eventually find microbial aliens that just sit there and do basically nothing apart from consume resources, but intelligent, space-faring species will be MUCH harder to find, and it's entirely possible we won't find any.

[Pet68]

"Nothingness is also impossible". - Another claim of yours for which you don't really provide much in the way of a substantive argument. "Nothing" is simply the absence of all there is and could possibly be, or is a word used to exclude possibilities (ex. Nothing can come back to life once it has died.).

[TheSpaceGnome]

You're failing to understand what I'm typing, or the implications of it, even when its spelled out for you very clearly. At this point I do not think you have comprehension capabilities good enough to continue this conversation.

That was not a shift in goal posts.
My advice is to re-read everything again.

[Pet68]

Of course, when all else fails just insult the person you disagree with. You're right, this conversation is going nowhere, because you're deliberately misrepresenting my position here.

[TheSpaceGnome]

I'm not misrepresenting your position, I'm calling you out for misrepresenting mine because you do not understand what you are reading. I gave you the option of re-reading it again as it already contains the valid answers, you just have to understand it to notice. Had you done that, and been successful, useful discourse could continue.

You can choose to call that out as an insult, but its really more like rejecting you for a job you aren't qualified to do (in this case, debating the odds of life on other worlds to create a thread for others to examine and contemplate).

I was very clear in my responses, and yet you cannot follow the logic line as evident by your responses. Further clearification would fall under redundancy, and based on your replies would still not result in you understanding.

There isn't anything I can to make you comprehend better, so my hands are tied.

[TheSpaceGnome]

But because you insist otherwise:

"Your original claim was that ALIENS not existing was "mathematically impossible""
As evident in my posts, thats obviously still the claim, and its a valid claim, as also evident if you understood what I was typing.

", but now you've changed that to say that LIFE not existing isn't possible"
Aliens are life, life on worlds besides us is what the term aliens refers to, it is impossible for there not to be infinite worlds with life, therefor aliens exist, I basically said all of this already, you being unable to follow is not my problem.

"thus shifting the goal-posts."
No, as clarfied AGAIN above.

"I didn't say that alien life of any kind is somehow impossible, but I did question the sanity of those who believe that we're being visited by intelligent aliens in flying saucers."
I made clear in my first post that I was aware of that, however your replies to my post say otherwise, where you try to misguidedly refute my claim that its impossible for aliens to not exist.

[TheSpaceGnome]

"It's quite likely we'll eventually find microbial aliens that just sit there and do basically nothing apart from consume resources, but intelligent, space-faring species will be MUCH harder to find, and it's entirely possible we won't find any."
I already stated its unlikely we will find any aliens do to how isolated earth is from other habitable worlds. But they do exist in infinite amounts and infinite variety. Also idea that simple microbial life is more likeky than complex organisms is misguided.

You have too many misconceptions.
This dialogue offers nothing to anyone reading it past the points I made 2 of my comments ago because its just arguing over who said what, which is why I did not want to continue it, but then you resorted to a character attack just because you don't like hearing the reality that you need to spend more timing thinking about what was already said rather than contunue the dialogue to a direction that doesn't help you or anyone else understand anything.

[TheSpaceGnome]

Note: when saying "2 comments ago" count the last 3 comments as 1, I had to chop it up do to a piss poor character limit on gag.

[fartingspinster]

I find the ones that believe in aliens so aggressively are the ones that dont believe in God or have a religion. I say that because its human nature to believe there is a power out there that is more intellectual and superior to us. We want to know someone out there in this chaotic world is in control 😂

So i believe its a substitute obsession for a superior creature. Some are nature obsessive and believe in auras/karma/manifesting/universal energy, others in religion, and some in aliens 😂

[strateguy632]

Well a few reasons as david and dom said here. 1, we know life is here , so based on that, life can and equaly did "evolve" on other planets.

2, stats, as paper encyclopedia used to write, before the mocking, very so MANY stars must have some other life like us, carbon or non carbon too!

3, EYEWITNESS plenty of witnesses of flying ships, is evidence, only challenged by mocking, not by reasons.

4, the fact you n others even USE mocking proves "no reason to reject" space alien or god. Proof itself That it is true but some agenda is a cover up.

5, your "zero evidence " is unacceptable, because lack of evidence doesn't show either way. I can't see protons using spectacles does that lack prove no protons? We just lack the tool. Equaly "zero evidence" no space aliens so can't claim none.

[RingOfFire]

I think it's more difficult to believe that there isn't other life in the vast universe then that there is. It's so gigantic and filled with planets and objects that it seems impossible that we are alone.

So in my view it's more logical to assume that there is other life out there than that there isn't.

Now whether they ever visited or recently visited Earth is another question. But I think it's perfectly logical to believe that there is life in the universe outside of planet Earth.

[Anonymous]

There are trillions of stars in our galaxy, and trillions of galaxies in a universe that spans 13 billion light years. For us to think we're the only intelligent life in all of that is beyond shortsighted.

That doesn't mean they've been to Earth, Katherine Freese says we are less than a blip on the outskirts of nowhere, and for intelligent life to have traveled here and stumbled across us would beat the greatest of odds. If beings had visited Earth, they would treat it as a toddler would an ant hill, a quick look of curiosity, possibly tripping over us and causing some accidental damage that could be catastrophic to us (ants just rebuild), and then disappearing as quickly as they came, not even remembering where we were.

[IslaTheWitch]

because people need to believe in something :D

is there any other intelligent species? the statistics say that the chances are high...

but... if they are able to fly to us... they must be much more intelligent and developed than we are... so they wouldn't act as stupid as those "aliens" :D

[FreyaRed]

"believe", others believe in Big Manitou others in Jehovah or Jesus. However possibility aliens exists is much higher than an omnipotent being is watching you and demands you pray everyday.

It's materialization and rationalization attempt of something unknown.

[Pet68]

The question isn't about God though.

[NicholasRedone]

Much like my left handed American in Bill Clinton and or Barack Obama, didn't Bill once say "to the former president "I'm embarrassed to say , I did look a little into it, the aliens, Roswell, a little" or words like that - interview a decade ago 😂

[NicholasRedone]

And Barack made a public joke once about "there may be some (other) folks on the way" lol aliens spaceship lol 🚀 👾👽

[NicholasRedone]

Google these lol 😆 they're true from my memory of the news reports quoting or footage where they say it, lol 😆 even hilariously

[Pet68]

You trust politicians to tell us the truth for once in their lives, and about something so important?

[Nikki1989]

Zero evidence?

There is evidence going far back to biblical times. Whether you take any of it seriously is totally your call. I think most people have something in the sky they can't explain. I know I have, along with about 50 other people who also witnessed it. Likewise, I am not saying it was aliens, but it certainly wasn't a plane or anything similar.

[SofaKingsMart]

Human arrogance suggests the entire universe was made just for us on this tiny little ball.
I don’t know any people who “cling to the idea like their lives depend on them being out…” Generally, that’s more of a religious position than it is for those who believe we are not alone in the universe.

[Pet68]

I didn't say the universe was made just for us, so I don't know why you're raving on about that.

[SofaKingsMart]

@pet68
Raving?
🤦🏻‍♀️

[Pet68]

Okay, speaking then. "Raving" was maybe an inappropriate word to use in this particular instance.

[exitseven]

There are some things in the universe that cannot be explained using our common frame of reference and there are some things that exist that we cannot perceive with our senses. The explanation that they are space aliens is just as plausible as anything else.

[DomInDraper]

Why do so many people not believe in aliens?

Do people really think that in a universe as huge as our own, somehow Earth was the only planet to develop life?
That seems damned crazy to me. I feel like you'd have to be highly religious, in a religion whose cosmology disallowed for aliens, in order to believe that.

[Pet68]

Nope, not religious at all. The most appropriate response to a complete lack of evidence is to reserve judgement. I don't believe in the existence of aliens because I've yet to come across any compelling reasons to think they're actually out there. It's that simple.

[DomInDraper]

Consider these points:
We know life emerged at least once under certain conditions (Earth)
The observable universe contains hundreds of billions to trillions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions to trillions of planets.
Many of these planets exist in habitable zones with similar conditions to Earth
The same physical and chemical laws apply throughout the universe

To me, it seems like this is a very compelling reason indeed.
Because you basically have two choices:
1. Either aliens exist somewhere in the universe, or
2. There is something so special about Earth that life could only ever evolve here

The latter of those two is a far more extraordinary claim, and as such requires far more evidence to support it than the other hypothesis (that Earth isn't special, and life off of Earth exists). What reason do you have for thinking Earth is special? Maybe you know something that I don't.

[AviatorTom]

Based on probability, considering the vast number of stars in the universe, and the number of planets similar to Earth, it's reasonable to assume that we humans are not alone in the universe, and that aliens exist.

Whether aliens have visited Earth is indeterminate, though there are several things that we cannot reasonably explain.

[NicholasRedone]

@AviatorTom it's like that 50-50 coin toss about or any flip (lol) 🙃 😋 😈 "bout an afterlife or any deities out there 🌌🌌 it's really big in the night sky 🌃🌃🌃 I just look up or out my window at night and sometimes think "hard to argue there's lots of space out there up there - crikey"

[Fromdusktilldawn]

I believe there are aliens, your assumption relies more on aliens visiting earth, ufos and aéé that area 51 stories, which is a complete different story. Alien life is very plausible, though intelligent and very advanced alien life, capable of interstellar travel is much more complicated

[Pet68]

Yes, I wouldn't be at all surprised if one day we found the alien equivalent to microbes on some planet somewhere (like Mars), but the type of aliens that so many people claim to have encountered are just silly.

[Nikodemus]

By "believe in aliens" I take it that you mean the idea that an extraterrestrial civilisation for which interstellar/intergalactic travel is trivial has visited and or is currently showing up for a select few even if they are not making their presence obvious?

[Pet68]

That's basically it, yes.

[Nikodemus]

I agree with you then. Also, some people conflate unidentified aerial phenomena with aliens

[OneViewpoint]

For the same reason people believe in "Gods". Stupidity and fears. At least the alien believers have some evidence to back up their belief that intelligent life may have developed elsewhere. The God cult has no such evidence.

[strateguy632]

Very ignorant. About god, as you say on other issues, just do a search! "God evidence" you will see evidence.

[Pet68]

The "alien believers" don't have any evidence whatsoever for what they believe in. At least those who believe in God admit that one must have a certain amount of faith in the idea, and that you won't find God via the usual methods.

[OneViewpoint]

@strateguy632 ,

No, you won't see any evidence of a God at all, let alone the God you believe in. What you'll see is "believers" bending reality to justify their beliefs.

[Staximus]

There's billions of stars in our galaxy alone, and a million more galaxies. We're not the only living thing in the whole universe. Whether aliens have been here or not remains to be seen. It's a lot more possible than the existence of God.

[Pet68]

You can't say for sure that we're not the only living thing in the whole universe, because that scenario is still possible, however unlikely it may be.

[MemeSupreme]

bc of how big the universe so there has to be at least some out there we'll never meet

literally our brains cannot comprehend how big it is

[FunkyMonkee]

Because they exist!! DUUUHH!!! You REALLY THINK THIS is the ONLY planet in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE that has intelligent life on it?

[Pet68]

Prove they exist. Where's the evidence?

[FunkyMonkee]

Prove they don't. There's LOADS of evidence that they do!

[Pet68]

If there's "loads of evidence", then why didn't you provide any of it? The burden of evidence lies with the claimant, not the sceptic, so no, I don't have to try to prove they don't exist, but you certainly have to provide evidence that they do.

[FunkyMonkee]

I didn't have a camera with me when I saw them.
Well? YOU claimed they didn't exist!! I see no proof of this.

[iCuddleU]

humans simply cannot be the only intelligent life forms in the universe, sure intelligent life may be exceedingly rare in the cosmos, but I would hate to imagine a universe of just hateful human begins destroying each other.

[David318578]

With the billions and billions of planets out there the chance of this planet being the only one in the universe that has life is ridiculous

[Pet68]

We don't know how many planets are out there, but even if you're right about their number ("billions and billions" - channeling Carl Sagan?), that fact, on its own, isn't enough. You also need to have other things be just right as well, like the type of star, the type of planet, the distance of that planet from its star, and so on.

[Friendlybro79]

Because one time I was walking outside and saw something I couldn't explain and because I can't explain means no one can, and it's an alien lol. That's the logic I think people subscribe to.

[lightbulb27]

It's fun and it's possible. It's a stretch.

[slatyb]

Why do they believe in homeopathy, astrology, reiki, God?

[SmokinAces2000]

It’s more realistic to believe that there are aliens then to believe that in an infinite universe we are the only intelligent life

[joehypo1]

The universe be pretty big hard to believe that we are the only planet with life

[deniz_9]

i dont really believe in them but it’d be so cool if they were 😭

[NoDecision]

The question is, would they be hostile or helpful?

[deniz_9]

@NoDecision i feel like theydd be hostile😭

[NoDecision]

Seems to be more movies on hostile aliens than beneficial ones. Those being ET, the Extraterrestrial, The Day the Earth Stood Still for a couple of examples. I think Orson Wells started this with his Invasion from Mars radio broadcast.

[Hellraiser1984]

Why believe in a magical carpenter who was tortured to death by his father?

[Pet68]

I don't. Do you?

[Hellraiser1984]

Nope.

[kaucky1]

They use fairy dust to make them look human but human is a made up word look at the ears aliens been walking amongst us for thousands of years

[In_Trance]

for the same reason people believe anything else is real. Like Jesus, American politics, and professional sports

[NoDecision]

Funny, I have heard it said In_Trance was alien to this site. 😅🤣😂

[Anonymous]

Because the Universe is too large too be almost "empty".

[Elena85]

Perhaps they been on LSD I hear it’s pretty powerful stuff.

[douride2]

WHAT? You mean aliens aren't real?

[beefcakebradybatson]

Because they exist !!!

[Pet68]

Prove it.

[lorenzomichael]

Because they’re stupid

[GAGsucksballs89170]

Because they're uneducated

[jled44]

Because they are real

[Pet68]

Prove it.

[rebelkid]

Because Aliens exist

[Pet68]

Prove it.

[rebelkid]

Can you prove that they do not exist? Think about it, we can not possibly be the ONLY life form in this endless solar system

[Pet68]

I don't have to. The burden of providing the evidence lies with the one making the claim, not the sceptic.

[Pet68]

Endless solar system? I think you meant universe, and yes, it is certainly possible we're entirely alone.

[rebelkid]

Yeah I feel you. But I have always had this strong feeling that we are not alone. And yes I meant Universe