How many times have we lay down at night looking at the sky and wondered “what’s up there?” Since the dawn of time, humans have always wondered if we are the only inhabitants in the universe, and although there are many theories about green creatures pointing at us with their index finger, the question remains. Are we truly alone in the universe? This question is also at the heart of the scientific debate, but now, Science Advances has published a study that has left us speechless. What if the fact that intelligent life exists is not an extraordinary event but a logical result guided by the interaction of some organisms and happens naturally? Yes, as you read, this study proposes that, instead of considering humanity as the result of a series of fortunate improbabilities, we should see life as the logical culmination of a process governed by interaction. If this is true, the existence of advanced civilizations on other planets could be more common than we imagine… ready?
Intelligence and evolution
These scientists are fully aware that this approach is completely revolutionary. Jennifer Macalady, a professor at Penn State and co-author of the study, says that it is a very big change in the way we think about life.
For decades, the theory of “hard steps” (proposed by physicist Brandon Carter in 1983) has maintained that the evolution of complex life on Earth was an extremely improbable event, that it was fortuitous and conditioned by a series of difficult obstacles to overcome.
However, the new study refutes this theory by arguing that human intelligence is not the product of an accumulation of strokes of luck, but the direct consequence of the Earth reaching the right conditions at the right time. Wow, as if the planets had aligned to create intelligent life, something like that all the correct and concrete ingredients were there for this to happen.
Of course, this makes us think, what if there are other planets with the same ingredients? But what are the ingredients?
- The availability of nutrients.
- The temperature of the ocean.
- The salinity of the water.
- The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.
- Oxygen and extraterrestrial life
As you may have noticed, oxygen in the atmosphere is what has allowed life to develop. Those primitive organisms allowed the appearance of multicellular organisms and then more complex life forms (including us as intelligent beings). But of course, if everything happened on Earth, it could also happen on any planet with similar characteristics.
What do the researchers propose?
Easy, look for biosignatures on exoplanets. What? Wait! Look for chemical signals similar to those produced by our planet on other planets outside our solar system, something that could indicate that life has existed or that it can form on them. With what function? With the hope of understanding how intelligence can evolve on other worlds.
Is intelligence inevitable?
Although there are “deniers” of intelligence, the reflection that this research raises is very interesting: is evolution unique and unrepeatable or is it possible that similar processes have existed in other places in the galaxy? Because if it is a process that applies to Earth, it could be applied to other planets.
Closer to finding life?
If we understand complex life not as a rarity or as something random, but as the common result of evolution, then the chances of finding life outside increase considerably. Each planet evolves at a different speed, so the main thing would be to identify at what stage of their formation these planets are, perhaps by searching for “order” we can find places where more advanced civilizations have already been generated.
Now it seems that the scene from “E.T. phone home.” is closer to us and more real than ever!