A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
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Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#2Looks like an early version of the Drake equation, only with the number of stars with planets very low and the probability that a planet has life very (like really, really) high.
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#3> Dick writes: “This is a conclusion which is not merely probable, but absolutely certain, for the opposite opinion would rob the Deity of the most distinguishing attribute of his nature, by virtually denying him the perfection of infinite wisdom and intelligence.”
> For as bizarre as all this may seem, notice how scientific Dick was about his theory.
Very loose interpretation of "scientific".
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#4Looks like an early version of the Drake equation, only with the number of stars with planets very low and the probability that a planet has life very (like really, really) high.
As much as I enjoyed Neil Degrasse Tyson's Cosmos, I wish he would of scraped into some of these theories as well as the Drake equation. Although he did talk about William Herschel he failed to mention his theory about life on the sun.
Overall, very intriguing. Adding your mention of the Drake equation got me looking into it a bit, added some flavor to this article. Thank you.
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#5> In 1837
I'm pretty sure that in 200 years from now many of the current knowledge of the world will be ruled out as dumb and naive. Just give the guy a break.
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#6Looks like an early version of the Drake equation, only with the number of stars with planets very low and the probability that a planet has life very (like really, really) high.
The Drake equation involves making the same huge, and potentially wrong, assumptions that Thomas Dick made.
It is good that it gets us thinking about the potential for life and drives us to explore, but I suspect some of the calculations made at the SETI institute and such will be completely wrong.
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#7Looks like an early version of the Drake equation, only with the number of stars with planets very low and the probability that a planet has life very (like really, really) high.
The Drake equation involves making the same huge, and potentially wrong, assumptions that Thomas Dick made. It is good that it gets us thinking about the potential for life and drives us to explore, but I suspect some of the calculations made at the SETI institute and such will be completely wrong.
The drake equation is an illustrative relationship between assumptions about life and likelihood of it happening independently. If the assumptions are incorrect (as they likely are), it doesn't reduce the value of illustrating said relationship.
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#8> Dick writes: “This is a conclusion which is not merely probable, but absolutely certain, for the opposite opinion would rob the Deity of the most distinguishing attribute of his nature, by virtually denying him the perfection of infinite wisdom and intelligence.” > For as bizarre as all this may seem, notice how scientific Dick was about his theory. Very loose interpretation of "scientific".
It seems pretty ambitious to claim that you're wise and intelligent enough to be able to know what an infinitely wise and intelligent thing would want.
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#9> Dick writes: “This is a conclusion which is not merely probable, but absolutely certain, for the opposite opinion would rob the Deity of the most distinguishing attribute of his nature, by virtually denying him the perfection of infinite wisdom and intelligence.” > For as bizarre as all this may seem, notice how scientific Dick was about his theory. Very loose interpretation of "scientific".
It seems pretty ambitious to claim that you're wise and intelligent enough to be able to know what an infinitely wise and intelligent thing would want.
"Surely god would never disagree with me"
Re: A 19th Century Scientist Who Thought 22 Trillion Aliens Live in Our Solar System
#10> In 1837 I'm pretty sure that in 200 years from now many of the current knowledge of the world will be ruled out as dumb and naive. Just give the guy a break.
That's a fair point. We added "19th Century" to the title.