Under the tapestry of the night sky, humans have lived for thousands of years on Earth. What if humans were not the only beings that gazed into the cosmos? Many doubt the possibility that we humans are alone in the universe while many others deny the possibility of any other living being existing outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Others speculate that there is other life out there, though not intelligent; only being as advanced as bacteria.
When asked to defend the stance of other intelligent life, many are quick to point out how large, vast, and truly unknown our universe is.
“It’s like, ‘do you really think we’re the only planet containing life?’” asked MHS student Ava Thomas, an extraterrestrial believer. “The universe is so big and wide, there’s even been government confirmed reports of alien aircraft on our planet–which I would classify as pretty intelligent.”
As far back as 1977, NASA has sent records made of gold and copper into space; these are called The Sounds of Earth. The records contained music, our history, our sciences, recordings of greetings in 55 different languages and much more.
“Why would NASA do this if there wasn’t enough of a possibility of there being others out there?” MHS student Azura Beckett questioned.
Many also look at Earth as proof of other life’s existence. Many animals display intelligence and emotion, and so it’s deemed probable that this could develop off Earth. Another talking point is how tens of thousands of years ago another humanoid species, Neandrethols, occupied the earth alongside the homosapiens. The logic being that if two intelligent species could exist on Earth, then surely there is a higher possibility of it developing outside of our system.
Non-Believers, or skeptics, often think it’s childish or too far-fetched.
“Believing in Aliens was something I did when I was little,” said senior Ethan Flood. “Now I see these videos that claim that all these things [sightings] happened but they’re either obviously faked or something explainable.”
To many skeptics–and some believers–many testimonies are unreliable, many eye witness retellings can be influenced by misinterpretations or physiological factors, such motivated perception; you see/hear what you want or expect.
For some, their disbelief is rooted in religious reasoning, specifically for those who worship a singular God: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Although, many skeptics aren’t adverse to the idea of unintelligent life, such as microbes. Support for unintelligent life being able to withstand the elements off of our home planet is backed by an Earthly creature, Tardigrades, which are microorganisms that are able to survive the vacuum of space, although they do not thrive there.
The lack of undeniable evidence is the main weapon of choice when debating. As well as the Anthropic Principle, meaning that the conditions for life on Earth are so specific that the chance that these requirements are met somewhere else in the universe is extremely rare.
Overall, you can’t disprove a negative and you can’t currently undeniably prove the existence of aliens. For now, the debate remains opinion based and the true answer unknown.
