UncleHoot <jer### [at] questsoftwarecom> wrote:
> I remember my high school chemistry teacher once taking the time to mention 
> "how improbable we are".  When you consider everything from getting ANY type 
> of life started in the first place, right up until the point where sentient 
> life develops, it really makes you think.  I've even heard it said that 
> without the moon, there is no chance that humans would have developed, since 
> it has often protected us from asteroid impact.  Every time organisms 
> started evolving to a certain level, BANG!

  It has also been hypothesized that without Jupiter there would probably
be no life on Earth because Jupiter has cleared the solar system from most
of the dangerous asteroids. OTOH, another study contradicts this and claims
it has no effect (and may, in fact, be the opposite, that Jupiter might
actually cause us *more* danger than less, but we have just been lucky
so far).

  Even if the Moon has helped the formation of life in some way, it doesn't
mean that life would be impossible without it. Even if the danger of
total destruction is greater, life can still get lucky. If not on this
planet, on one of the trillions and trillions of other planets out there
(this is the anthropic principle).

> Anyway, yes.  There are so many things to consider that it really makes you 
> wonder if we actually are alone in the universe.

  My take: If there is life in the Universe (which happens to be the case),
some of that life must have been the first one to form. Well, we might just
be that first, don't you think?

  The anthropic principle can also be applied in this case: The first
intelligent life to form will inevitably wonder why they don't detect
any other intelligent life. The answer is pretty obvious: Because they
are the first, and there is no other intelligent life yet.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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