Was watching an episode of Ancient Aliens on H2 yesterday and it piqued my curiosity enough to do a little digging. There are some who debunk everything the series offers as proof of alien visitation in the past.
Personally for me, when I look to the stars, I’m not conceited enough to believe that among the thousands of spots of light spread across the night sky, representing a very small fraction of what can be seen with the naked eye, that we are alone in the universe. With that thought in mind here is something to consider.
Many people cannot wrap their minds around the concept of time beyond the measure of a human life, which is but a brief twinkle, a nanosecond if you will, when compared to the immensity of cosmic time.
Current estimates place the age of the Universe at around 13.75 billion years. The Earth, by comparison has only been around for 4.54 billion of those years meaning the Universe was 9.21 billion years old when the Earth, and the solar system it inhabits, first formed.
Allowing sufficient time to cool to support life, say it was 4.6 billion years after the big bang before the first single cell organisms could have conceivably formed on earth like planets. A point in time over 9 billion years ago. Life on Earth has had 4.54 billion years to develop into the intelligent beings of today. What’s to say intelligent alien life wasn’t standing at the point we currently find ourselves, when the Earth first formed? Giving them a 4.5 billion year head start on humans.
Granted some alien societies would not have survived beyond the nuclear age. We ourselves face the possibility of extinction as a direct result of our nuclear proliferation. I’m sorry, but while others may disagree with me, there are some nations and leaders who should never possess such capabilities. Iran being the first that comes to mind.
But at the same time we face unlimited potential. Given time I’m confident electricity can be generated in a safe, low cost, manner that protects what natural resources we have. Just as I’m confident many alien societies faced the same hurdles we do now when the Earth was but a spinning ball of mud and gas vapors whipping around a newly formed star.
Those that didn’t succeed perished. But not all of them would have fallen to extinction. Some would have realized the potential we now face. Some would have overcome their internal bickering to become a single species united in a common goal. Be it a life of leisure, or one of exploration. Some would have chosen to live their lives in eternal comfort, focusing on their concept of beauty and the arts.
Others would have followed their curiosity to the stars in vehicles capable of reaching across the vast expanses of time and space. Quite possibly visiting our world at a time when man viewed these visitors from the stars as gods.
Could it be the legends of the past were inspired by these otherworldly visitors?
Are the creations of H.P. Lovecraft, and Clarke Ashton Smith, mere imaginings, or did they come to these same conclusions?
Everything should be taken with a grain of salt and much of the proof presented on the program is in the eye of the beholder. But the cosmic timeline is indisputable, opening a possibility, no matter how slim it may be.
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