geniusgrunt

geniusgrunt t1_iya8a08 wrote

Technically I don't think it's possible to prove we are alone, the universe is just too vast. If we keep searching for centuries and don't see or hear anything, I think we can logically place some constraints on the prevalence of ET across the cosmos ie. rare to the point of one civ per galaxy or local group or something. We are nowhere near that, however.

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geniusgrunt t1_itvu0k9 wrote

You'll likely find this book interesting, mind you I haven't read it yet but I've heard good things:

https://www.amazon.ca/American-Cosmic-Ufos-Religion-Technology/dp/019069288X

>More than half of American adults and more than seventy-five percent of young Americans believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life. This level of belief rivals that of belief in God. American Cosmic examines the mechanisms at work behind the thriving belief system in extraterrestrial life, a system that is changing and even supplanting traditional religions. Over the course of a six-year ethnographic study, D.W. Pasulka interviewed successful and influential scientists, professionals, and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who believe in extraterrestrial intelligence, thereby disproving the common misconception that only fringe members of society believe in UFOs. She argues that widespread belief in aliens is due to a number of factors including their ubiquity in modern media like The X-Files, which can influence memory, and the believability lent to that media by the search for planets that might support life. American Cosmic explores the intriguing question of how people interpret unexplainable experiences, and argues that the media is replacing religion as a cultural authority that offers believers answers about non-human intelligent life.

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