Do you believe in aliens from other planets?

[RFS62]

Ya know, I'll bet fish who are caught and returned are a lot like people who are abducted by space aliens.

You're swimming along, minding your own business, hanging out with your fish buddies, and lo and behold, a big fat juicy worm.

So, you do what any fish would do, you chomp down on it. And "HEY.... Whoa!!!!" .... up you go to the mother ship. And they prod you, and photograph you, and pass you around to the other aliens, and finally after scaring you half to death, they return you to the place they took you from.

And then you tell your fish buddies what happened, and they're all like "yeah, sure" and they talk about you behind your back and now you're that crazy fish who believes in life above the water, and stuff.

[Red Leader]

Of course you don't. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones flashed that thingy in your face.

As long as I don't end up looking like these kids, I don't care about any "flashy thingies"

[SunDeck]

I don't believe in aliens from other planets, but I do believe in aliens from this planet.

[RFS62]

Wow, so far 81% of people responding to this poll believe in aliens from other planets. That's almost exactly the percentage of people who were happy with the moves the Reds made in the offseason!!!

Coincidence, I think not!!!

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

I most definitely believe that there is life somewhere other than planet Earth. In fact, I believe that there are civilizations that range from the exceptionally advanced to the pitifully inept. We on Earth, having been around for the blink of an eye, probably fall closer to the latter example.

If extraterrestrial life does exist, why would they want to contact us? What, exactly, can we offer to them? If they are able to contact/visit us, it can be assumed that they are FAR more technologically advanced than us. So what's in it for them to dial us up? Perhaps there is a network of advanced civilizations out there and they keep in contact with one another, sharing advances and ideas. If they're keeping a passive eye on Earth what would they see?

They would see a history of violent wars and a cavalier disregard for our planet. For thousands of years we have been killing each other. If peaceful civilizations exist outside of our solar system, what would make them think that we wouldn't try to conquer/kill them too, if given the chance?

Our history doesn't lie, and lately (in the last century at least) it's being beamed to the universe via radio and television waves which roam space and serve as a billboard for Earth -- assuming they are being detected. What will other civilizations think of our humanity when they watch the Nazis rage through Europe, the Columbine and Oklahoma City tragedies, or 9/11? What will they think of our technology when our most advanced ship (at the time) runs full-speed into an iceberg and sinks? What will they think of our intelligence when they witness what we're doing to the world's rainforests? What will they think of our civilization when some of our most charismatic leaders are targets for murder -- Russian czars, Martin Luther King, JFK, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan?

Why, again, would they want to contact us?

I have another theory, which fits in well with War of the Worlds now in theaters. What if Earth turns out to be one of the richest planets in the universe in terms of natural resourses and physical beauty? And what if some alien creatures have been observing our human history and see the utter destruction we have reaped on our own planet. Would they consider Earth too valuable to be "wasted" on such a hopeless civilization as ours? Could they be planning an invasion to rid Earth of its harmful inhabitants so that the rest of the universe may be able to enjoy what's left of a truly remarkable planet?

What if we, as humans, were able to observe another Earth-like planet with limitless resourses and life-sustaining qualities but it was infested with destructive, insignificant cockroach-type creatures that were relatively new to that planet. And, if we had the technology to wipe out those worthless creatures and return that planet to its original beauty while reaping the bounties of its resourses, would we do it? Eventually. Probably. Why can't that happen to us?

[wheels]

I think we'll all know the answer to these questions soon enough.

[GIK]

Ya know, I'll bet fish who are caught and returned are a lot like people who are abducted by space aliens.

You're swimming along, minding your own business, hanging out with your fish buddies, and lo and behold, a big fat juicy worm.

So, you do what any fish would do, you chomp down on it. And "HEY.... Whoa!!!!" .... up you go to the mother ship. And they prod you, and photograph you, and pass you around to the other aliens, and finally after scaring you half to death, they return you to the place they took you from.

And then you tell your fish buddies what happened, and they're all like "yeah, sure" and they talk about you behind your back and now you're that crazy fish who believes in life above the water, and stuff.

[Johnny Footstool]

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise not only battles creatures from outer space in his latest film "War of the Worlds," he also believes aliens exist, he told a German newspaper on Wednesday.

Of course Cruise believes in aliens. That's one of the basic tenets of Scientology -- Earth was a slave colony founded by some ancient alien overlord.

[pedro]

Of course Cruise believes in aliens. That's one of the basic tenets of Scientology -- Earth was a slave colony founded by some ancient alien overlord.

I wish they would suck the aliens out of my brain without me having to give them 10% of my money.

Guess I'll just have to live with them. (for now)

[Yachtzee]

It's hubris of the highest kind to think we are the most intelligent species in this infinite universe.

Well, if you would just consult the guide, you would know that humans are only the third most intellegent species on earth.

http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/

[TeamCasey]

There's already evidence of bacterial life on Mars.

[RedsBaron]

Adam Dunn hit a sacrifice fly, so anything must be possible.

[RFS62]

Of course Cruise believes in aliens. That's one of the basic tenets of Scientology -- Earth was a slave colony founded by some ancient alien overlord.

Ya know, that explains a lot. I may have to look into this Scientology stuff.

[MrCinatit]

there are billions upon billions of stars in our galaxy. there are billions upon billions of galaxies in our universe.
yeah i watched Cosmos.
anyway, with so many planetary systems out there, the chances of life NOT being out there are staggering. on Earth, we have found life thriving in locations we long thought impossible - the depths of the ocean, near volcanoes, in puddles of acid.
if life can exist in those circomstances here, it is unthinkable to me that it could not exist out there. it is also quite possible that life could evolve into something intelligent.
my problem with the traditional "space alien" views is they all look too much like us. two arms. two legs. two eyes. a mouth. the torso.
an intelligent lifeform which has evolved in a completely independent location from our own will look nothing like us...i doubt we can imagine what life on another planet will look like. in fact, when we first encounter another intelligent life form, there is a chance we might not even be able to identify it as a life form.

so...in summary...yes, i do believe there is life out there. however, i do not believe we have been visited as of yet.

[macro]

Why is it that when the potential for life in other places is discussed on TV or whatever, they very often rule out certain locations as uninhabitable? I've heard them say things like "it's too hot", "it's too cold", "its gasses are poisonous", etc. My question has always been "So, what if their bodies are equipped to like temperatures of 500 degrees? What if those "poison" gasses suit their "lungs" just fine? Why is the definition of what is fit for life always based on the assumption that the rules of earth apply everywhere?

I have a theory about the potential for alien visitors. It's based on an episode of The Twilight Zone. (Okay, stop laughing or rolling your eyes - I'm being serious here. Keep in mind that I'm no physics expert, though.)

In this episode of the Rod Serling classic, human space travelers arrive on another planet and find that everything and everybody looks pretty much like Earth. Thing is, nobody or nothing appears to be moving. They later discover that everything is, in fact, in motion, but it's going so slowly that they can't detect the movement, much as we don't see the movement of hands on a clock. As best I remember, the people on this planet didn't know that their visitors were there, because the humans were moving so fast in relation to how fast those people's brains detected and processed speed, much like we can't see a bullet when it's shot from a gun.

So, is it possible that people are visiting right now, and we just cant see them because they're so fast in relation to what our brains can process and our eyes can see? Or do I need to stop taking Rod Serling so seriously?