Faith in Extra-Terrestrial Life

I do not have "zero evidence" for my opinion.
Unfortunately, the only thing you seem to allow as evidence is capturing ET.
.

NoCoPilot wrote:

I choose not to believe in the unprovable.

Really? How about this:

NoCoPilot wrote:

Mars is dead.  
It always has been, and always will be.

_Howard wrote:

NoCoPilot wrote:

I choose not to believe in the unprovable.

Really? How about this:

NoCoPilot wrote:

Mars is dead.  
It always has been, and always will be.

Fair enough. Here's my reasoning.

I think we're agreed that Mars is currently lifeless. And unless something radically changes in the future, it's likely to stay that way. I guess we could terraform it, by lowering the thermonuclear devices into the ice stored in the underground caverns, but unless you have three boobs you don't really see that happening.

As to the past -- well, we don't know yet whether at some point Mars had an atmosphere and liquid water. I guess it's possible it did -- some scientists think they see channels cut into the rock, which to them are more real than Percival Lowell's canals, which he mapped so extensively (maybe the Martians only died out in 1910?) -- and it's pretty evident at this point that if there WAS water and atmosphere at some point in the distant past, whatever life that environment engendered is long gone, leaving no obvious traces (except perhaps PAHs which can just as easily [and more simply] be explained non-biologically). So, if life existed in the past, we probably won't ever be able to prove it. Therefore, people can choose to believe that life existed on Mars millions of years ago -- but absent any proof, that belief is... well, I don't know what you want to call it. I have my own word for belief in the absence of evidence.

Occam's razor again. If faced with a choice between "previous life on Mars but no remaining evidence" and "no evidence quod erat demonstrandum no life" I'll choose the latter.

_Howard wrote:

I do not have "zero evidence" for my opinion.

Are you willing to share?

_Howard wrote:

But what are your reasons for believing that it probably does not exist? You've never offered that. You've just said that we haven't yet found it, therefore it doesn't exist.

What I said was this:

NoCoPilot wrote:

Everything you said about Earth not being special is right -- except the extrapolation from that that life must be ubiquitous on every Earth-like planet. In my admittedly conjectural (unprovable) assertion, Earth *is* elevated above all the other Earth-like planets because I happen to believe -- without proof -- that life is very very unlikely. I mean, we haven't found it anywhere off-planet yet, which is compelling evidence, but it's not "proof." And we have not been able, despite decades of trying, to animate non-living matter in the best of laboratory conditions -- compelling evidence, but not "proof."

IOW, life isn't something that happens every time you get the raw ingredients. Not even if you have ideal conditions and lots of time. It's just not the default state.