- UK Dark Wolf360
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- Noble Heroic Member
Posted by: Recon Number 54
Posted by: UK Dark Wolf360
Posted by: Recon Number 54
Right now, with 1 out of 8 planets in the solar system known to harbor life, we only have a single point of data and cannot draw many conclusions or inferences from it.
If however, life that is definitively shown to be non-terran and/or completely unrelated to Terran life (based on genetics or even using something other than DNA to replicate and carry information) within our solar system? Then the data shows (at least with a very small sample) that life has occurred independently on more than 1 location in this system alone?
That DRAMATICALLY influences two factors in the Drake Equation, both Ne and Fl.
The Drake Equation is pretty much useless, except for science fiction writers. The variables themselves within the equation should give multiple reasons why it's uselessness is self-explanatory. It is for sensationalists (especially exaggerated by the media) not real scientists such as astrobiologists and the like.
It provides a logical outline of the various factors and lays them out in a way that demonstrates just how much is not known and how profoundly the possibility can swing due to the uncertainty and the huge numbers involved.
Yes - key word being "uncertainty" in that response. The Drake Equation has so much uncertainty involved with it that it is rendered fairly useless - real astrobiologists wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, unless if they were making a public appearance (where sensationalism gets attention, of course).