ORIGINAL: keith

ORIGINAL: space_cowboy
Despite having a strong background in science, I disagree with the scientific method as a means for proving or disproving the existence of other life in the galaxy. Just because you cannot prove something does not mean you have disproved it.

No, it hasn't been disproved, but it hasn't been "proven". I don't have a problem with using rigorous scientific method to prove that life exists elsewhere... but I do have a problem with the notion that science must go forth to prove that life exists elsewhere to begin with! SETI? Is this serious? Trying to find water on Mars? Come on now... there's plenty of evidence on this planet (in the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East, everywhere...) that we have been visited by intelligent life from elsewhere, for whatever reasons. Evidence that can be provided, substantiated, supported, etc. by persons in the military, commercial airline pilots, police officers, scientists, etc. Why don't we apply all that time, money, and rigor to sifting through all of those billions of bits of evidence? No need to build hugenormous radio telescopes or launch billion dollar rovers...

To me the whole "scientific pursuit of extraterrestrial life" is a ruse... something to keep us busy, and effectively mislead us at the same time... while all the "kooks" blog about their salacious affairs with hot alien babes... It doesn't add up!!! Where we should be asking questions and applying investigative rigor, there is a big hole (as if on purpose... hmmm ).

Regarding galaxies, stars, grains of sand, etc.... if you think about the numbers it seems absurd to consider our planet around our sun at this present age of the universe as the only point in space and time involving life forms. It seems statistically impossible. So that leaves you with "something" having made the conscious decision to make the universe that way on purpose -- i.e., that earth and sun is a special, singular case. But then you have to wonder -- why do we need all that other stuff out there, then? If we are the center of our own existence, or "the only existence that matters", why have the other 10^22 stars? Clearly, they don't add anything to the equation. Seems like a waste of time and energy to create all that extra stuff that nobody will ever know or care about...