A thread on why we're here

[SpatiallyAware]

It's amazing how drastically our viewpoints can change as we age. One distinct thing I've realized is that over the past few years, I find it more difficult to accept that we developed into such intelligent beings with absolutely no intervention.

I grew up essentially as an atheist. My parents went to church; I went as well, but once I became about 11 or 12 years old I realized that it just wasn't for me. I read up on different religions and the theories behind them, and decided religion was most likely simply designed to manipulate people way back when.

As I grew older, it dawned on me that many (most) people actually need religion. They need to be told right and wrong, and need to be able to look towards something after death.

..As I grew even older, it dawned on me that many religions have many odd senses of truth in them. It became easier for me to open up to the idea that the origins of religion were quite possibly created with honest, or even accurate assumptions.


However, one thing that has really stuck with me as of late is how incredibly rare our planet is. When I was younger, it was easy to accept that we are merely highly developed organisms that evolved on our own. However, we have now searched vast areas of our universe (and yes, of course, most of it has not been looked at) without finding anything even remotely similar to our solar system let alone our planet. I believe it was michio kaku who calculated the statistics behind us being a random event, and concluded it was statistically similar to a tornado hitting a junkyard and leaving behind a fully-fueled 747 ready for takeoff.

There are many failed 'attempts', but this is the only planet that is such a perfect distance from the sun, with the exact correct orbit angles, which had a moon perfectly impacted to allow for our amazingly perfect seasons. I find this an absolutely mind boggling coincidence.

On some level I'm searching for a new way to look at things. It's becoming tough for me to step back and look at us, as a species, and not feel like we're part of something much larger.


Why do you think we exist? I'm truly starting to consider the possibility that our universe was 'popped' in an attempt to create planets like ours, which would allow for intelligent life to grow on its own. It simply seems more likely to me than us being this 100% random thing, that just so happened to create such beautiful and intelligent beings.

 

[bfdd]

Why do apples from a tree exist?

 

[chris9641]

It's amazing how drastically our viewpoints can change as we age. One distinct thing I've realized is that over the past few years, I find it more difficult to accept that we developed into such intelligent beings with absolutely no intervention.

I grew up essentially as an atheist. My parents went to church; I went as well, but once I became about 11 or 12 years old I realized that it just wasn't for me. I read up on different religions and the theories behind them, and decided religion was most likely simply designed to manipulate people way back when.

As I grew older, it dawned on me that many (most) people actually need religion. They need to be told right and wrong, and need to be able to look towards something after death.

..As I grew even older, it dawned on me that many religions have many odd senses of truth in them. It became easier for me to open up to the idea that the origins of religion were quite possibly created with honest, or even accurate assumptions.


However, one thing that has really stuck with me as of late is how incredibly rare our planet is. When I was younger, it was easy to accept that we are merely highly developed organisms that evolved on our own. However, we have now searched vast areas of our universe (and yes, of course, most of it has not been looked at) without finding anything even remotely similar to our solar system let alone our planet. I believe it was michio kaku who calculated the statistics behind us being a random event, and concluded it was statistically similar to a tornado hitting a junkyard and leaving behind a fully-fueled 747 ready for takeoff.

There are many failed 'attempts', but this is the only planet that is such a perfect distance from the sun, with the exact correct orbit angles, which had a moon perfectly impacted to allow for our amazingly perfect seasons. I find this an absolutely mind boggling coincidence.

On some level I'm searching for a new way to look at things. It's becoming tough for me to step back and look at us, as a species, and not feel like we're part of something much larger.


Why do you think we exist? I'm truly starting to consider the possibility that our universe was 'popped' in an attempt to create planets like ours, which would allow for intelligent life to grow on its own. It simply seems more likely to me than us being this 100% random thing, that just so happened to create such beautiful and intelligent beings.

Check out the book in my sig... http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Perplexe.../dp/0060906111

Goes over much of what you bring up.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Title and post doesn't make sense

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I'm here because I like building computers, posting sarcastic bullshit in response to people's problems, 50 page jokes and scholarly debates about how treadmills can influence the aerodynamic properties of aircraft. Also beef, preferably stacked in the shape of engine parts.

And trolling religious threads.

 

[coldmeat]

You're assuming that our planet is the only type that can support life. You're also assuming that all life out there is similar to us.

 

[irishScott]

You're assuming that our planet is the only type that can support life. You're also assuming that all life out there is similar to us.

This. When you mention "(and yes, of course, most of it has not been looked at)" I don't think you truly comprehend the size of "most".

I'm willing to postulate that starts containing planets containing intelligent life are exceedingly rare, but even 1 in a billion means there are ~100 different species floating around our galaxy alone.

 

[Jaskalas]

Why do you think we exist?

God decided to play chicken with the cosmos. We are his vehicle, the end is our destiny. Enjoy the ride.

 

[GT1999]

Oooops.

 

[chris9641]

Why do apples from a tree exist?

From the book in my sig:
"If we present, for the sake of argument, the theory of evolution in a most scientific formulation, we have to say something like this: "At a certain moment of time the temperature of the Earth was such that it became most favorable for the aggregation of carbon atoms and oxygen with the nitrogen-hydrogen combination, and that from random occurrences of large clusters molecules occurred which were most favorable structured for the coming about of life, and from that point it went on through vast stretches of time, until through processes of natural selection a being finally occurred which is capable of choosing love over hate and justice over injustice, of writing poetry like that of Dante, composing music like that of Mozart, and making drawings like those of Leonardo." Of course, such a view of cosmogenesis is crazy. And I do not at all mean crazy in the sense of slangy invective but rather in the technical meaning of psychotic. Indeed such a view has much in common with certain aspects of schizophrenic thinking." Karl Stern

I think the fallacy a lot of people fall into when we ask any "spiritual",for lack of a better word, questions=denying science.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

This. When you mention "(and yes, of course, most of it has not been looked at)" I don't think you truly comprehend the size of "most".

I'm willing to postulate that starts containing planets containing intelligent life are exceedingly rare, but even 1 in a billion means there are ~100 different species floating around our galaxy alone.

Sure... Let's say 1,000. It still points heavily towards intelligent beings not being a totally random event, or more accurately - here for no reason.

 

[SillyOReilly]

Why your existence culminated into this thread is why you should question yourself.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

You're assuming that our planet is the only type that can support life. You're also assuming that all life out there is similar to us.

I definitely am not, just that the planets that do support intelligent life (that's a big distinction) is not a random event - or again, didn't happen for no reason.

 

[MrMuppet]

Why do you think we exist?

Because otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I definitely am not, just that the planets that do support intelligent life (that's a big distinction) is not a random event - or again, didn't happen for no reason.

Why not? Why does the Universe need a purpose? Are you trying to find these answers simply to bolster your own knowledge or are you seeking external validation for your existence, since our being here without a purpose kind of makes us seem cosmically irrelevant?

 

[lxskllr]

I definitely am not, just that the planets that do support intelligent life (that's a big distinction) is not a random event - or again, didn't happen for no reason.

Why isn't it a random event? This planet only seems special cause you're here observing it. There's an incalculable number of planets in this universe that we have no idea about, and there's evidence of more than one universe which favors my particular hypothesis. Just because we can't see intelligent life from here doesn't mean it's especially rare. We can't see much of anything with real detail.

An ants world doesn't extend far past my counter top, but that doesn't mean I'm the only intelligent(? :^D ) life in the universe, or that I'm especially rare.

 

[jhu]

Because you touch yourself.

 

[rudeguy]

I'm not going to get started but here's one of my favorite quotes.

Christian Apologetic Norman Geisler was debating an atheist professor. They had went the usual rounds when Geisler asked the professor "if there is no God, then why are we here?"

That essentially ended the debate since the professor had no intelligent answer.

 

[MrMuppet]

There could be life even on Europa. Not human life perhaps, but evolution merely adapts life to the environment.

SpatiallyAware, since you appear to be drawing conclusions from that ratio, how much of the universe has been searched, in your opinion?

You can't derive a ratio, since we don't even know how vast the universe is. I would urge caution in drawing such conclusions from that line of logic.

Intelligent life is adapted life btw. The reason you think life is beautiful is because you've evolved that way.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I'm not going to get started but here's one of my favorite quotes.

Christian Apologetic Norman Geisler was debating an atheist professor. They had went the usual rounds when Geisler asked the professor "if there is no God, then why are we here?"

That essentially ended the debate since the professor had no intelligent answer.

Because some things simply exist as it is and needs no reason to do so?

 

[KeithTalent]

I definitely am not, just that the planets that do support intelligent life (that's a big distinction) is not a random event - or again, didn't happen for no reason.

It being a random event seems far more likely to me than assuming something created us and the entire world (plus the universe) around us. Of course I can't prove or disprove either theory, nor do I care what everyone else in the world believes, but to me the former seems to be a far more reasonable assumption than the latter.

KT

 

[Dumac]

However, one thing that has really stuck with me as of late is how incredibly rare our planet is

This is a poor argument. The conditions our planet is in isn't even that rare, considering the size of the Universe. We just lack any competent means of exploring the universe.

While most definitely other planets in similar condition to Earth exists, we'll never visit them. We probably won't ever even visit the closest spiral galaxy.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

It being a random event seems far more likely to me than assuming something created us and the entire world (plus the universe) around us. Of course I can't prove or disprove either theory, nor do I care what everyone else in the world believes, but to me the former seems to be a far more reasonable assumption than the latter.

KT

If you had to come up with some reason, what would it be?

I'm starting to feel like if you stand back and look at things, it's obvious that we are the reason. Perhaps to allow for vessels to house souls, I don't know, but something this impressive isn't here 'just because'.

 

[Dumac]

I'm not going to get started but here's one of my favorite quotes.

Christian Apologetic Norman Geisler was debating an atheist professor. They had went the usual rounds when Geisler asked the professor "if there is no God, then why are we here?"

That essentially ended the debate since the professor had no intelligent answer.

There is no reason why.

What a loaded question. This is the ace up your sleeve?

 

[Dumac]

If you had to come up with some reason, what would it be?

I'm starting to feel like if you stand back and look at things, it's obvious that we are the reason. Perhaps to allow for vessels to house souls, I don't know, but something this impressive isn't here 'just because'.

Maybe you are only being vain by considering yourself so impressive. We are a mere speck in the grander scheme of things, and our actions have almost no widespread influence.