BBC Focus Magazine

[Shadowwolf]

Our Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion planets, according to a detailed statistical study based on the detection of three planets located outside our solar system, called exoplanets.

The discovery, to be reported in the January 12 issue of Nature, was made by an international team of astronomers, including co-author Stephen Kane of NASA's Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.

The survey results show that our galaxy contains, on average, a minimum of one planet for every star. This means that it's likely there is a minimum of 1,500 planets within just 50 light-years of Earth.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/micro20120111.html

Now that is a lot of planets out there. Most will be uninhabitable - at least for life as we know it - hot / frozen rocks or gas giants but if even a tiny fraction could support similar life, how many civilisations might be pondering similar questions across the galaxy.

Of course will it matter how many there are? If we cannot get past this sub-light restriction in both travel and communications then we may never physically know and the presence of any other civilisations would be essentially immaterial beyond discovering that they are there.

[KingPhillip]

"Of course will it matter how many there are? If we cannot get past this sub-light restriction in both travel and communications then we may never physically know and the presence of any other civilisations would be essentially immaterial beyond discovering that they are there."

Yes, for the scientists dealing with the material world, they're left with searching for signs of intelligence.

For the philosophers, theologians and those willing to travel the metaphysical world, there will be a slew of questions begging for unscientific answers.

And maybe a merger of the two may provide the impetus to sail off across the 50 light years.

[Shadowwolf]

Yes, for the scientists dealing with the material world, they're left with searching for signs of intelligence.

Bit hard if there are these insurmountable distances. But even a signal of clear genesis in an intelligence akin to our own, sure it will show we are not alone but beyond that change in value from neutral to positive? If it is beyond a useful range - and this seems to be the case - then I wonder what's the difference? It would be interesting for a while but it would engender no real change in our existence from the time when we did not know.

As for the Harry Potterites, their apologias and abstractions have no place with science and never have, best left to themselves and their fictions.

[MikeG]

The moment we make contact, the church, and religion as we know it, will have a huge crisis on its hands. I would give it 3 more generations at most, before it collapses. Science however, will receive a huge boost. If we can establish contact, and create a common code for effective communication, the benefits may be enormous. We may only be able to contact each other over time spans of say 20 years per message, but over a span of 1000 years, these contacts may see us gain knowledge that would have required 10,000 years (or more).

[M Paul Lloyd]

I'm not so sure about that MikeG, I think a lot of people would find first contact quite worrying and as much as we try to avoid discussing religion on here I have to say I am astonished by its continued growth despite the advances in science which continue to show us the true nature of the universe.
Religion is not based on logic but rather belief so no amount of logical argument will undermine it.
Its best left to the theologians if you ask me?

[Shadowwolf]

The moment we make contact, the church, and religion as we know it, will have a huge crisis on its hands. I would give it 3 more generations at most, before it collapses.

I'd actually consider that highly unlikely as unfortunate as that is. For example, over 150 years ago Darwin produced his groundbreaking theory that did away with biblical genesis as a literal event and removed the need for a creator. Despite the solid science - which has only gotten better - and the cut to the foundation of associated beliefs, over 150 years later we're still stuck with a long outdated means of explaining the world around us. The discovery of intelligent life would likely not change anything for them, it would be accommodated or ignored via cheap excuses like evolution is; some also already have the leeway for including other civs as the Mormons do. I'm also unaware of any group explicitly stating as a pillar of the belief that there is only us and nothing else, thus there is much room for maneuver and convenient revelation can easily account for any difficulty. Then there are those folks Mr M mentions whose stock in trade is papering over the holes the ill thought out myths generate with "sophisticated" obfuscation and useless babble. They'll get around it one way or another and in a variety of ways without ever once questioning the basis for their belief.

Science however, will receive a huge boost.

I'm not even sure of this. For this to work without any form of ftl travel or communications, our friendly civ would have to be practically next door to us otherwise the gap would be too great to be useful. Even relatively close would take inordinate amounts of time, would be centuries alone just to get past the pleasantries.