What is our place in the universe?

Mankind had been asking this question for as long as humans have been here. However, in ancient times when humans didn't realize that our planet is just a spec in a humongous universe they accepted the fact that their universe was only what they could see past their noses.

Now, we know better. I've already discussed where our location is in the universe. We're roughly in the middle someplace, but the middle is also a big place. If you are unfamiliar with what the elements of the universe are, a very good web site has lots of answers: casswww.ucsd.edu/archive/physics/ph7/lecture/chapter01.pdf

Instead of dwelling on our physical location, I would rather discuss what we are relative to the rest of the universe. This is a difficult question because we know so little about what's out there in the universe. Are we the only intelligent species wondering what why we're here?

We now know that there are billions of Earth-like planets in our Milky Way Galaxy, but we have no idea if they are habitable to a species like ours. The detriment to finding out what sort of life is on these planets is their extreme distances from us. It's unlikely that we'll be going to these planets anytime soon to find out what's on them. Our only hope is that we could make contact with them by radio waves or laser light.

I feel that mankind's only chance to survive into the distant future is to travel out from Earth and colonize other planets. With this in mind, one could wonder why other aliens haven't done the same thing. There are, of course, those who believe aliens have come to Earth and have settled here. Unfortunately, there is no proof for this, but it is possible.

Personally, I'm not sure that we would even know that an alien species we would encounter was intelligent. All we know about intelligence is in us. As I've said before, dolphins and whales may be as intelligent as we are but we can't communicate with them to find out. Their brains, although large, are different than outs. This could be what we would discover in aliens.

I believe that we are ignorant when it comes to understanding intelligence. Some animals could be intelligent but we have no idea what they are thinking. Our pets, cats and dogs, are more intelligent than we think. They have learned to adapt to our ways and even have what appears to be empathy and love for us. We just can't communicate with them, at least not in the same way that we communicate with one another. This is probably the one facet of intelligence that we take for granted. Communication is our main method of establishing contact and understanding one another. Animals have different methods of communicating, methods that we don't understand well, but rest assured, they do communicate within their species.

Another way that we measure intelligence is the self-awareness test. Apes and monkeys can tell that that it's their image in a mirror. Elephants and dolphins can do the same. However, dogs and cats can't. I'm not sure that this is a valid test. Does a dog really understand what a mirror is? (More about this in an upcoming post) Did an early Homo species understand that it was his image he was seeing in still water? We humans have the advantage being familiar with a mirror. What the heck does a dolphin need a mirror for? Would an alien need a mirror like we do?

You have to wonder if our cats and dogs contemplate about what they are and what's out there in the big wide world. We have no idea what they're actually thinking. We just assume that they're dumb animals. This sort of discrimination is also applied to people who have autism or Down's syndrome. Some think that people like that are stupid because they can't communicate in a way that they're familiar, but it doesn't mean that they're not intelligent. I for one would never disparage or dishonor anyone with a physical or mental challenge. They deserve the same respect that all of us do.

Humans equate intelligence with the development of civilization and technology. That's because it's what we have done. Does that mean that aliens have to do the same thing for us to label them intelligent? Could aliens that live on an ocean world still acquire intelligence, enough so to use reason and imagine what's out in the universe? Those are questions that we will need to answer if we do go out into the galaxy.

When you get right down to it, we all want to have a purpose for living here on this planet of ours. The world wants to use us for its purpose, but all of us must come to grips with what we think our purpose is. This introspective thought helps us determine our own personal place in the universe. Why are we here and what legacy will we leave when we're gone?

Maybe our place in the universe is unique. Maybe we're unique as intelligent species go. We just don't know. Hopefully, we will find out before we disappear as a species. We need to get our butts out there and find out what the heck is going on.

Thanks for reading.