Relax: You Don't Need to Worry About E,T, - Essay Example

You Don’t Need to Worry About E.T. Depending on your point of view, the prospect of life on other planets can either be exciting or disturbing; or possibly a little of both. Because the universe is so incredibly vast there seems to be a very good chance life exists somewhere out there. The possibility of not being alone in the universe is, to me, an exciting one. Even when we watch movies about alien invasions many of us are fascinated about the prospect of a visit from intelligent beings from outer space, even though they are typically portrayed as being hell bent on destroying humanity.

Yet as Jeffrey Kluger illustrates, while excitement over such a thing becoming a reality is fun for the imagination, the likelihood of aliens visiting our planet is absolutely zero. But why has Kluger come to such a definite conclusion? Kluger uses many facts to prove his position is accurate. He believes science shows there is a very small chance life exists on other planets. He also believes even if there is intelligent life on other planets, they would be too far away to get here. Additionally, a planet which has all the necessary conditions for life to exist will not necessarily produce living organisms, he points out.

Lastly, he says the most likely place to find alien life forms is right here on our planet and not thousands of light years away. So why does Kluger believe we will never see intelligent life from other planets? Simple, he is merely taking into account the current scientific evidence as well as mathematical probabilities of life existing and being able to travel an incredible distance to find us. While Kluger’s position amounts to buzz kill for extra terrestrial enthusiasts like me, his study leads him to a very certain conclusion.

But even though the probability of getting a visit from E.T. is next to zero, should we just say “problem solved” and drop the topic altogether? After all, just because something is said to be scientifically impossible people should not stop speculating, investigating, or imagining new possibilities.