1. Why / how are we here?
2. Are we alone?
Earth is a cosmic marvel. Our studies which peaked from the 1500-1600's with Galileo to collective scientific research today proves that it is. Random events of surprising coincidence produced natures greatest development to date, intellect. Intellect which is yet to be found in any species on Earth or beyond. This begs the question I pose in this article. Seeing as we're an exceptionally random product of nature and not an evolutionary inevitability, are we the ONLY product of our kind?
To find intellect elsewhere would mean we will need to consider our evolution foremost and use it as a basis for actuality. To seek intelligent life in the cosmos based purely on natural uninterrupted evolution would be crass. Based on Earth's natural processes the longest reigning life is Cyanobacteria, outliving the 'Great Dying' where 90% of Earth's species were culled during the Permian - Triassic Extinction, which we all should be familiar with as grade 8 biology. This gave rise to the remaining 10% to take advantage of conditions and flourish into what would eventually become 'us'. Had this exo-Earth event not taken place, you would not be reading this article. Were historical incidents any different we would not be here today with the ability to question our present solitude.
As much as I'd love science to find intelligent life on an exo-planet which may or may not have formulated uninterrupted, my prognosis is this: We are the pinnacle of nature's ability to produce intelligent life.
What if nature specifically intended to produce a life form so advanced that it would with time realize the vastness of its (nature's) universe, this life form will build technological marvels to view creations billions of light years from whence it was borne, build technological marvels through its ability to manipulate its surrounding to travel to these observed creations and populate the universe one solar system at a time.
By estimation our star, the Sun, will make Earth uninhabitable within the next 500million - 1billion year's time. Everything we know as it is will cease to exist. We've only been around for a mere 200,000 years (50,000 behaviorally), but only 'peaked' in the last 500 years with technology booms through pioneers such as Da Vinci, Galileo, Tesla, Planck, Marconi, Bell. Today we have collective brilliance, where institutes are the new pioneers of research and development. It leaves a salivating thought of the prospect of the next 500 years.
As a species we have grown in leaps and bounds. Our petty squabbles over geo-politics and 'sub-species' classification/discrimination are centuries old, but we are slowly outgrowing this innate animal and subconsciously embracing collective enlightenment. The only reason why it may not seem possible right now, is because it won't happen in its entirety in our lifetime. We still have a long path ahead of us before our humanity peaks, foremost of which will be our internal 'GPS' to become something more through the use of our innate curiosity to solve problems collectively. Problems that overshadows OUR problems, problems affecting us all. Collectively we can work arduously to answer the riddles of the cosmos and source the means to find and colonize the next habitable 'Earth' nature has produced for us. We could produce unthinkable technological means to aid our campaigns, well within our expiration date of 499,997,987 year's time.
Ironically when we do, albeit it 100 generations from now, WE will be the alien species to the local microbial life forms on Planet X, the same alien species we seek today but will possibly never find.
