Aliens?

Aardvark wrote:The problem is that in order for intelligence to be useful they have to be able to build tools. This would require dexterous and non-dexterous limbs, dexterous to make tools, non-dextrous to move about. Now while it is possible that intelligent life would evolve in an aquatic environment, and therefore not develop a torso, on land it is a more efficient way to move.

Again you are basing your argument as if life could only evolve in earth like conditions by DNA based organisms in a liquid environment.

And as for the needing tools to be useful, I doubt a lion or other highly intelligent predator without tools would agree.

Intelligence is of no use if you do not use tools. By Evolutionary theory you lose what you do not use so if they did not have dexterous and non-dexterous limbs then they would not be intelligent. Without tools all you can do is eat, sleep, & shit, you do not need intelligence for this.

Aardvark wrote:Intelligence is of no use if you do not use tools. By Evolutionary theory you lose what you do not use so if they did not have dexterous and non-dexterous limbs then they would not be intelligent. Without tools all you can do is eat, sleep, & shit, you do not need intelligence for this.

Umm ok? So the african hunting dog who uses intelligence to coordinate pack behavior and hunting techniques without so much as picking up a stick to use as a tool is not a display of useful intelligence? And that is still on OUR planet.

Can the dog talk, in a language that can be deciphered and that we can speak back in? No? Then that's instinctual intelligence, not sentient intelligence.

Aardvark wrote:Can the dog talk, in a language that can be deciphered and that we can speak back in? No? Then that's instinctual intelligence, not sentient intelligence.

How the hell do you know what its barking or growling signals to other dogs? You really think they coordinate all that complex movement without some sort of communication? This was not a discussion about sentient intelligence. And describe sentience? Because I can name THREE animals on this planet which can recognize themselves in a mirror and are aware that they are individuals.

Back on the subject of sentience, who is to say a limb is required to manipulate something in the enivironment? Ever hear of a symbiosis? Maybe there is an intelligent creature which merely resembles a jelly, but can use a form of communication to manipulate some lesser creature or creatures to do its will? Could go on and on, again read carl sagan. Not going to argue his points when they are written down.

In the end, its all speculation and we can only rely on intelligence and logic to speculate what they would look like or appear as or even if they exist at all (remember as ludicrous as some of you think, this planet may be the only planet harboring life in the entire galaxy, if not universe.)

i feel special

oh and yeah, octopuses and variants are next in line to inherit Earth's sentient intelligent being,

Champion wrote:

Master CoG wrote:actually living is consisting of both.. hydrogen and nitrogen? I forgot what makes something organic... it's consisting of 2 chemicals... either oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and/or carbon... forgot xD

Thats a narrow minded way of thinking. Who is to say something not carbon based could not be "living?"

Our definition of living. It's a word and if u want to know if somethings "living", our definition states it must hav two certain chemicals to be biotic

You wil lfind out that, that is probably gonna be one of the easiest scientific theories to collapse once it is proven wrong. There is nothing limiting life. We have not found anything that limits interactive molecular structures from being made of something else.

Dray The Fingerless wrote:You wil lfind out that, that is probably gonna be one of the easiest scientific theories to collapse once it is proven wrong. There is nothing limiting life. We have not found anything that limits interactive molecular structures from being made of something else.

True and scientists can only classify and make definitions based on what we know, at least usable applications of such.

I'm not saying there's no other possibility, but there is a likelihood that we may come across one of more sentient aliens with a humanoid shape. Look at all the shapes our own Evolution carried us through to end up like this, intelligence could have developed in any other body, but it developed in this one first, that tends to speak to the fact that a humanoid shape is better suited to take advantage of intelligence.

I would agree with you aard, except the environments of each planet is different, what good are opposable thumbs underwater? But if it were a dry planet, and the predators were not as much of a threat, that is, it wasn't some figure against something like a T-rex, then a humanoid shape probably would develop.

oh and btw, now that this got started, i'm put out my belief, i don't think aliens exist >< oh well, lol.

The essence of life is too difficult to understand to positively say that there is an alien species out there. I'd accept little microbic alien things, but stuff like us, intelligent, by our standards? probly not.

Champion wrote:The majority of creatures in mass effect were torso based, limbed creatures. I dont think mass effect is a good example. Sorry.

Nothing to be sorry about, it is difference in opinions. I beat the game 100% few times, I said what I think based on my own experience with the game. How big space is, it is big chance to have similar things as in Mass Effect game. I am not saying that all life forms needs to be humanoids, or to have head, I am saying it is possible for both, Mass Effect shows both, I saw it shows both, but emphasis is on humanoid creatures, some of them are even mix such is Asari.

MiB.