Extraterrestrial

Alien life: 'it's human conceit to think that we are alone', scientist claims

By T.K. Randall
March 18, 2025 ·  18 comments

How likely is it that we are alone in the universe ? Image Credit: CC BY 3.0 Stewart Duff, CSIRO Throughout human history, there has always been an overwhelming tendency for us to believe that the Earth is a special and unique place that is situated at the center of the universe.

Over the centuries, however, astronomical observations and advances in scientific understanding have made it increasingly clear to us that our planet is in fact not the center of our solar system and that neither our solar system or even our galaxy are special and do not lie at the center of the cosmos.

Today, we are left with one last claim to uniqueness in that our planet is home to the only known example of life anywhere in the universe.

According to British space scientist Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, however, it is little more than human conceit to suggest that our species is alone in the vastness of space."The fact we only know what approximately 6% of the universe is made of at this stage is a bit embarrassing," she said.

"It's that sense of wonder and exploration, and the sense that there's so much more to discover."

In truth, she is most likely correct - the odds that we are the only life forms in a universe comprised of many billions of stars and planets are infinitesimally small.

Whether or not we will ever come into contact with alien life ourselves, however, is another matter entirely.

Source: The Guardian | Comments (18)

Tags: Alien, Extraterrestrial