The Puffer Forum

J-P wrote:Oh.. I am sure many biologists believe in aliens. How many top level ones do though?

I am sure that many do. The kind of intelligence that we once believed to be exclusive to humans is being discovered in other animals, most notably marine mammals. We're finding out more and more things about whales - their communication is so much more complex than we initially thought. They seem to experience emotions like humans do. They remember things just as clearly and for just as long. I bet that if whales had opposable thumbs, they'd have a fairly sophisticated system of life. With more millions of years, they might.

Besides, even if the kind of intelligence required to make contact really was so hard to come by, that's not to say that other planets wouldn't have had the same possibility of producing an "intelligent" species (quote marks for Flutter's benefit ). If our planet had a one-in-a-billion chance of developing humans, another planet might have the same chances, maybe lower, maybe higher. If there are other planets out there, then why should we assume our planet's situation to be unique?

Was that confusing? That was hard to get put down in a way that made logical sense to me...

Yea.. well the question is why? Crows are also intelligent and can do amazing things, have communication patters and can use tools to obtain food.. truly amazing things we would never have thought of until recently. We evolved this way because we had to ensure our species survived. Under different conditions in different places.. that need "may" not be necessary. Other changes over time may be necessary but "intelligence" as we understand it, is in all likeliness, not required to survive and thrive.

"We are chauvinistic about out brains, thinking them to be the goal of evolution. And that makes no sense, for reasons articulated over the years by Stephen Jay Gould. Fist, natural selection does nothing even close to striving for intelligence. The process is driven by difference in the survival and reproduction rates of replicating organisms in a particular environment. Over time the organisms acquire designs that adapt them for survival and reproduction in that environment, period; nothing nothing pulls them in any direction other than the success there and then..... The organisms reach an optimum and stay put, often for hundreds of millions of years.... Evolution is about ends not means; becoming smart is just one option.... Organisms don't evolve toward every imaginable advantage. If they did, every creature would be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

It is a tough argument... There are people trying to reverse engineer birds (emu) back into their dinosaur formation... tough call.

I agree that not all species need to have extremely complex thought processes to survive and thrive, but that's not a reason to rule out it ever happening to any other species.

I not saying it "can't" happen or that is hasn't already happened. Without being a biologist, astrophysicist, historian and a theoretical physicist, and a surgeon all rolled into one, there is no way we can hope to fully explain this topic. The pros disagree, and so will the layman. There will be an explanation some time someday, maybe not in our life time, but it will happen.

I just won't be surprised if it was some space fish that is hiding in our asteroid belt

I am positive that i my life time we will know. Scientist agree. Research planets in the goldie-locks zone.All are possible to have life. Just seeing the UFO's etc and tons of books n research. I am 1000% certain they are already here. Cloaked within our atmoshphere. Research "The Disclosure Project" those are all the highest ppl in govt including famous ones too pushing for disclosure. They all worked in the secret programs they have proof aswell and many storys and information to be heard. If you seriously think that we are alone or even that we havent been visited or even have any actual proof then you just haven't looked for it.

I admit there are some uncanny events that happened in our history.

1) Why all of a sudden and lowly creatures did we quickly become "educated"?
2) How did the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico (and later Cambodia)suddenly appear and so similar given there was no transportation and no external influence?
3) How did we go from nomadic to farmers in such a short period of time?

"If you seriously think that we are alone or even that we havent been visited or even have any actual proof then you just haven't looked for it."

or maybe we are too preoccupied paying our bills

Or, too busy thinking about how wonderful almond mocha ice cream is

In reality; thinking about how large the UNIVERSE is... how many planets and solar systems are out there, and... I find it to be a little overwhelming at times, and hard to wrap my head around. I'm eager for it all to come full circle, and for us to find out anything there IS already known. Not that I'm overly eager to have some war with aliens or something... I'm sure that if they wanted to destroy us; they'd have done it by now. If anything, I believe they are here to help us, observe us, monitor us... Who knows...

Maybe we are in THEIR aquarium...

Sea Monkeys...
...who wouldn't want to own their own ocean?

Not saying they are huge beings, like how I imagined as a little girl... Like I was a doll in someone's wee doll house...

More like... owning a zoo...
Monster Zoo Keepers..

Almond mocha? Have you ever tried Breyer's fat-free fudge brownie? Uh. May. Zing.

And, ah, are you a South Park person? 'Cause, the Sea Monkey thing reminded me of the Sea Men episode...

Evolution is extremely complicated yet can be quite simple if you understand it correctly. The VAST majority of people who think they understand it are incorrect. Authors, teachers, professors, etc. are all included.

I LOVE evolution and have been fortunate to take a few courses that were taught by evolutionary biologists. In taking those I realized that quite a bit of what I had been taught in high school and university was wrong. Evolution is very easily misunderstood and it's actually quite hard to find true information on it's complexities. I wish I could explain better and clear things up but my brain is dead today. Yesterday was very stressful and I'm still pretty dull...

LilGreenPuffer wrote:And, ah, are you a South Park person? 'Cause, the Sea Monkey thing reminded me of the Sea Men episode...

LMAO... that episode is hilarious. and the war at the end that kills them all

I like the one where they go "Craaab Peo-ple, Craaab Peo-ple, walk like craaabs, talk like craaabs."

Hey Swimz$ you got a new avatar -- very cool!

Hah thanks, I'm still not sure about it, its sooo different.

Lil' Swimz$ wrote:Hah thanks, I'm still not sure about it, its sooo different.

I liked it

pufferpuggirl wrote:

Lil' Swimz$ wrote:Hah thanks, I'm still not sure about it, its sooo different.

I liked it

My kid watches that cartoon all the time. I recognized those cartoon characters on your avatar Lil