If we finally move out into the galaxy and we find aliens that are human!

[Moontanman]

If we finally move out into the galaxy in a big way and we find aliens everywhere that are just like us in the same way the aliens of Star Trek are for the most part human what would this tell us about life and the universe?

[Moontanman]

BTW, this is not idle speculation, if UFO reports are to be believed most of not the supposed aliens resemble us rather closely and even mix their genetic material with ours. While I am skeptical of most if not all the reports of humanoid aliens if they are indeed accurate it should say something profound about our universe.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by Moontanman

If we finally move out into the galaxy in a big way and we find aliens everywhere that are just like us in the same way the aliens of Star Trek are for the most part human what would this tell us about life and the universe?

An interesting question!

To be specific, I think the STrek universe “humanoid races” – andorians, humans, klingons, romulans, vulcans, etc – are characterized by 2 key features:

• They can interbreed. The STrek cannon is vague on whether this can be accomplished without artificial aids – the usual, old-fashioned baby-making way – or requires some sort of advanced genetic engineering and/or artificial fertilization techniques
• They’re significantly anatomically and physiologically different. Andorians have antennae, klingons have more organs and bones than other races, romulans and vulcans have copper-based blood

Another feature, less remarked about by STrek fandom, but pretty remarkable, is that all of the races can safely eat at least some of the plants and animals on their various planets, and be poisoned, allergic, etc. to others. The commonness of life in the fictional Star Trek universe includes not only the humanoids, but entire planet ecosystems.

If we were to explore other star system – via radio communication, unmanned spacecraft, manned spacecraft, or some other means – and found this sort of biology, it would tell us, as best I can imagine, a few possibilities:

1. Some unknown underlying property of physical nature causes all roughly Earthlike planets to abiogenically produce nearly identical ecosystems.
2. All of the roughly Earthlike planets in part of all of the galaxy have been panspermicaly “seeded” with biological precursors that cause them to produce nearly identical ecosystems.
3. All of the human-like races and their earth-like planet’s ecosystems come from a single planet. All Earthlike planets in all or part of the galaxy were colonized. Their original ecosystems, if present, were replaced with artificially introduced earth-like system – that is, they were “terraformed”.

That the closest living relatives of H.Sapiens, the great apes, are much more dissimilar from us than the various STrek races would strongly suggest possibility #3, and that Earth is the single original planet.

Originally Posted by Moontanman

BTW, this is not idle speculation, if UFO reports are to be believed most of not the supposed aliens resemble us rather closely and even mix their genetic material with ours. While I am skeptical of most if not all the reports of humanoid aliens if they are indeed accurate it should say something profound about our universe.

While it’s fun and interesting (at least to me an thousands of STrek fans), IMHO this is all pretty wild speculation, however, as there’s no scientific evidence to suggest that our galaxy resembles the fictional one of Star Trek. Despite the sizable number of people who believe in reports of human-like aliens, there’s absolutely no scientific evidence supporting them – no physical evidence available to multiple credible scientists and science institutes.

Even if extraterrestrial life exists and shares no common ancestors with terrestrial life, it’s possible that a human-like civilization may commonly have humanoid body plans (4 limbs, bipedal, binocular vision, etc), because it’s possible that the body plan is among the most likely to permit human-like intelligence and civilization. This too, however, is very speculative. Until we actually have data about life on other Earthlike – or even nearby un-Earthlike bodies, such as Mars, or some of the great moons of the Sol systems’s giant planets – speculate is all we can do. I'm optimistic that such data will be available in the next few decades.

[Galapagos]

Good thread moon, and good points Craig.

-Perhaps the humanoid form is one that will result in relative success in many different environments. It could just be a really great design that is hit upon again and again in our universe, regardless of biochemistry/environment

-If their genetic code is at all similar to ours, then perhaps historic contingencies in mutation starting very early on the phylogenetic scale result in the humanoid form being inevitable, and then it just always out-performs everything else.

[Moontanman]

[quote]

Originally Posted by CraigD

An interesting question!

To be specific, I think the STrek universe “humanoid races” – andorians, humans, klingons, romulans, vulcans, etc – are characterized by 2 key features:

• They can interbreed. The STrek cannon is vague on whether this can be accomplished without artificial aids – the usual, old-fashioned baby-making way – or requires some sort of advanced genetic engineering and/or artificial fertilization techniques
• They’re significantly anatomically and physiologically different. Andorians have antennae, klingons have more organs and bones than other races, romulans and vulcans have copper-based blood

Another feature, less remarked about by STrek fandom, but pretty remarkable, is that all of the races can safely eat at least some of the plants and animals on their various planets, and be poisoned, allergic, etc. to others. The commonness of life in the fictional Star Trek universe includes not only the humanoids, but entire planet ecosystems.

Star Trek is a wonderful vehicle of the imagination. through it we can see many parts of ourselves that would be obscured at least but become transparent when viewed as existing in an alien.

If we were to explore other star system – via radio communication, unmanned spacecraft, manned spacecraft, or some other means – and found this sort of biology, it would tell us, as best I can imagine, a few possibilities:

1. Some unknown underlying property of physical nature causes all roughly Earthlike planets to abiogenically produce nearly identical ecosystems.

1. I honestly think if this were true we would have to consider the idea of a God to be much more likely at the very least.
   
   

   All of the roughly Earthlike planets in part of all of the galaxy have been panspermicaly “seeded” with biological precursors that cause them to produce nearly identical ecosystems.

   This is part of the STtNG cannon, Piccard found out about a race called the preservers that has seeded the galaxy billions of years ago. In the real world highly unlikely but still possible.
   
   
   

   All of the human-like races and their earth-like planet’s ecosystems come from a single planet. All Earthlike planets in all or part of the galaxy were colonized. Their original ecosystems, if present, were replaced with artificially introduced earth-like system – that is, they were “terraformed”.

   This the premise of a novel I am working on but that aside I can see us doing this if we go out into the galaxy and find life no where at all, why wouldn't we want to spread Earth life around the galaxy?
   
   

That the closest living relatives of H.Sapiens, the great apes, are much more dissimilar from us than the various STrek races would strongly suggest possibility #3, and that Earth is the single original planet. While it’s fun and interesting (at least to me an thousands of STrek fans), IMHO this is all pretty wild speculation, however, as there’s no scientific evidence to suggest that our galaxy resembles the fictional one of Star Trek. Despite the sizable number of people who believe in reports of human-like aliens, there’s absolutely no scientific evidence supporting them – no physical evidence available to multiple credible scientists and science institutes.

Of course this is wild speculation but sometimes such mind games can result in unique and great ideas.

Even if extraterrestrial life exists and shares no common ancestors with terrestrial life, it’s possible that a human-like civilization may commonly have humanoid body plans (4 limbs, bipedal, binocular vision, etc), because it’s possible that the body plan is among the most likely to permit human-like intelligence and civilization. This too, however, is very speculative. Until we actually have data about life on other Earthlike – or even nearby un-Earthlike bodies, such as Mars, or some of the great moons of the Sol systems’s giant planets – speculate is all we can do. I'm optimistic that such data will be available in the next few decades.

There is a school of thought that says that in the same way that Plesiosaurus, sharks, fish and whales have the same basic shape even though they are not related in any but the most remote way, an alien intelligence might be humanoid because that shape is best suited for an intelligent tool using species. of course we will not know until we meet one but my money is on a centaur shape.

[GAHD]

that we are the galaxy's equivalent of slack-jawed hillbillies.

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by GAHD

that we are the galaxy's equivalent of slack-jawed hillbillies.

Hey dude, I resemble that remark!