FWIW: If intelligent life requires at least a half-dozen conditions with 1:10⁴ odds (right star, right planet, outer gas giants, et cetera), then the odds for intelligent life are 1:10²⁴. Compared to about 10¹¹ stars in our galaxy or about 10²² stars in the visible universe (assuming 10¹¹ galaxies). Intelligent life might be exceedingly rare.
But perhaps not. Certainly we have found no convincing evidence for such life. But we should consider intelligent life need not be space faring, need not employ the electromagnetic spectrum, need not even be technological. Mathematicians far greater than ours may exist who are indistinguishable from oysters living in marshes!
It’s a fanciful and much-loved vision from science fiction, but one has to pose the question: why would oysters develop consciousness, let alone higher mathematics? The best guess at why we developed it is that it helps us navigate and survive reality.
But mathematical octopuses, now we’re talking! Or at least advanced philosophers, anyway.
FWIW: If intelligent life requires at least a half-dozen conditions with 1:10⁴ odds (right star, right planet, outer gas giants, et cetera), then the odds for intelligent life are 1:10²⁴. Compared to about 10¹¹ stars in our galaxy or about 10²² stars in the visible universe (assuming 10¹¹ galaxies). Intelligent life might be exceedingly rare.
But perhaps not. Certainly we have found no convincing evidence for such life. But we should consider intelligent life need not be space faring, need not employ the electromagnetic spectrum, need not even be technological. Mathematicians far greater than ours may exist who are indistinguishable from oysters living in marshes!
It’s a fanciful and much-loved vision from science fiction, but one has to pose the question: why would oysters develop consciousness, let alone higher mathematics? The best guess at why we developed it is that it helps us navigate and survive reality.
But mathematical octopuses, now we’re talking! Or at least advanced philosophers, anyway.