>>16887238>>16887249>>16887254The answer is probably.
First off, extraterrestrial bacteria has been confirmed, and the origins of life are inferred by observation in space exploration and lab tests to be caused by space dust settling on fertile planets. So that means in a literal sense that 'aliens' are real and confirmed, though they're single-cellular.
Considering that life, as Jeff Goldblum said it, finds a way, planets with ideal conditions for life probably have life, and with any luck may develop down any number of evolution paths.
The recipe for sapient, human-level or higher life involves, according to some evolutionary psychologists, multiple events that cause massive planet-wide extinction without destroying the planet entirely.
So somewhere out there, out of all the planets that can support life and have life and have the right conditions to favor intelligence over simplicity through selective genetic pressure, we might have rivals. But if they don't exist, they aren't here.
No telling what level these potential others would be at, or how closely they would resemble us psychologically (they would certainly not resemble us physically. That WOULD be entirely too coincidental.)
Then, if we assume they are sophisticated enough to travel in to space, we have many other considerations:
Can they travel at FTL speeds? If not, then they aren't here.
Are they aware of us? Our radioelectric pollution into deep space was at an all time high around the 50s and 60s, but even then our signals aren't nearly as loud or long lasting as most folks assume. Even at fairly high levels of sophistication, stumbling on Earth's telecommunications frequencies would require some luck. If they aren't aware of us, they aren't here.
Then if they exist, and they are aware of us, and they have the capacity to travel in some way that defies Relativistic physics (or can achieve fast Relative speeds and are really, really patient and started a long, long time ago), why come here?
