If you’ve ever seen a sci-fi movie like the Star Wars or Star Trek series, you noticed the abundance of aliens.  From humanoids like Vulcans, to more bizarre creatures like Ewoks, aliens always add spice to the films.  It’s not easy to make a good space-faring movie without a few aliens!

But how likely is it that if another species (or many, in the case of Star Wars) of aliens contacts us, they will have a human oid form?  Well, some scientists think it is as high as eighty percent, yet many take the other side.  I will try to summarize both arguments:

Argument 1: Why Aliens Will Most Likely Be Like Humans 

To evolve, creatures have to be fit for their habitat. When put under selective pressure, only the slightly faster, more agile, or generally better fit ones will survive.  So over time, fitness determines the evolution of species. In our (human) case, we happens to be just fit enough to survive, while also being smart, but intelligence doesn’t have to be paired with being fit.  Take the jellyfish for example.  It found its own way to survive, while at the same time, appearing about as smart as a floating plastic bag.  Yet to contact us, most likely the most clever creature on the planet will be needed.

So, we can expect two things. The first creatures to reach us will likely be fit and smart.  Scientists have discussed three specific factors that contribute to evolutionary intelligence: opposable thumbs, spoken language, and a decently-sized brain.  Thumbs, to work, write, build, and do a lot of other important things; a language, to communicate; and a big brain, to hold all the information you get from having a language and knowing how to use thumbs.

thumbs-up

 

Being fit is another thing entirely. The creature may have to be able to move relatively fast, which would require two legs, four legs or wings to fly.  But, on earth, wings have only evolved on different paths, birds and bats.  So, out of all the types of limbs, wings may not be high on the list.  Four legs, on the other hand, is more likely, because it evolved many times.  Still, two legs are arguably the most efficient, since then you have two “legs” left over to evolve into arms.

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Also, to be able to tell where everything around you is, you need your senses. Unless the creature has developed a different way of seeing or hearing like echolocation, they will most likely have ears, eyes, a mouth and a nose.  Again, echolocation is relatively rare on earth, (e.g., with bats and dolphins), so could be less likely on other inhabited planets as well.  To hold all those senses, you need a face, with a back and a front. Most all animals have that, plus it just seems logical.

z1_flounder

 

So, this is what we’ve got so far: a 2 or 4 legged animal with a back and a front. A face with eyes, a nose, a mouth and ears help determine which is which. It has thumbs which it uses to build, write using its language, and do many other things. Also, to hold information, it has a big brain which makes it’s head very prominent at the top. Sounds like anyone you know?

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Argument 2: There is No Chance That Aliens Are Humanoid

On the other side of the case, there are the mathematicians and lots of scientists. They say that earth had a unique turn of events starting with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Then, there happend to be a decently smart creature now called “monkeys”, which because of their environmental particulars, evolved into us, human beings.  Everything happening just like that, they say, is absurdly unlikely.  

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Whether the alien is humanoid or not, we still have to take into account how likely it is for an alien to contact us at all, seeing that they haven’t for the 250,000 years of humanity.  Why they haven’t is a problem called Fermi’s Paradox. Here are some solutions scientists have come up over time:

  • They just prefer to stay at home.
  • Their civilizations die out before they get a chance.
  • We’re too far away and it would cost them a fortune.
  • They do, but they keep it a secret.
  • Earth is too far or too close to the sun.
  • This is just my thought, but if they look at us from a really strong telescope, they will be seeing us as we were a very long time ago. Even if they are in our next door neighbor galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, they would be seeing “us” two and a half million years ago. One look at our human ancestors and their basic stone tools and the aliens might have ruled us out.  And we certainly weren’t broadcasting any TV shows for them to watch back at home!

 

Even though aliens haven’t contacted us yet, we are almost completely sure they are out there somewhere. In fact, Dr. Frank Drake, head of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), estimates 10 – 100,000 intelligent civilizations in just in the MILKY WAY ALONE. We are certainly not alone, according to Dr. Drake. It wouldn’t really make sense if we were alone, if you think about it. Here we are, in a oasis of life, with thousands and thousands of species of animals and plants. Can all those other planets be completely be inhabitable? Not likely. So if you meet an alien, whether it is humanoid or not, tell it hi for me.

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