Do you believe in psychics, extraterrestrial life, time travel, other universes?

[matheney2k]

Yep, with the numbers we are talking about, it's stuff we can't even imagine. We couldn't write down the number of planets out there in our whole lifetime.

Exactly. And people that want to think that we are the single planet in a universe with numbers are you are describing are sort of the definition of arrogance imho.

Hell didn't we just discover that Mars had water at one point? gtfo here of course there is life somewhere out there I don't need 8 graduate degrees to see that. The problem (in my uneducated opinion) is probably the same for them as it is for us: the distance is just too vast and we have no way of navigating, never mind even being able to actually cross such great distances. Every intelligent life form (assuming there are others at this point) all probably would think that they are the only ones out there too.

[Adam Jensen]

Shamelessly lifted from wikipedia. It is more of a thought experiment than a mathematical concept because of the issue I listed above. Lots of people say things like "oh the universe is big and therefore there is life in the universe" but that is irrelevant unless we know our the chances of own existence are not infinitesimally small. In fact, we do not know a lot of things about all the variables making the "the universe is very big" position just as bad as saying there is no life in the universe but us.

How is it bad?

Life as we know it occured on a planet comprised of fairly common rock, around a fairly common star. Granted, we know that in order for life to occur, many different conditions had to be just right. And granted, we don't know how rare life is, given we only have one sample size (Earth.) But with the enormous number of stars out there, it would have to be incredibly rare for it to have not happened anywhere else.

Winning the lottery is an incredibly low probability . . . until you buy all the lottery tickets.

And why wouldn't it happen anywhere else? The things that life is made from aren't exactly rare, there's nothing special about our end of the universe. Water, carbon, organic chemistry, these things are found all over the universe. If life only exists on earth, why?

Seems to me like there's a good chance there's life somewhere. And it's not like it'd be very visible. Even a civilization like ours would be near impossible to detect around other stars. And that's assuming that the life even has civilization or even resembles earth life at all.

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Exactly. And people that want to think that we are the single planet in a universe with numbers are you are describing are sort of the definition of arrogance imho.

Hell didn't we just discover that Mars had water at one point? gtfo here of course there is life somewhere out there I don't need 8 graduate degrees to see that. The problem (in my uneducated opinion) is probably the same for them as it is for us: the distance is just too vast and we have no way of navigating, never mind even being able to actually cross such great distances. Every intelligent life form (assuming there are others at this point) all probably would think that they are the only ones out there too.

We do not have a very good view of our universe.

We only have good quality of planets in our own solar system. We didn't even have good images of Pluto until New Horizons five years ago and Pluto is a "mere" five light hours away.

We can see some exoplanets, but only very large ones, and even those we don't see clearly. Rocky planets that would hold life like Earth has, barely register as a blip on the star's light and gravity (which is usually how we find them.) The galaxy could be teeming with life, maybe there's life in the vast majority of solar systems, and we wouldn't know. We don't have the technology at the moment.

We do know none of that life has tried to contact us. And maybe it can't. Or maybe it doesn't exist. Or maybe it has and the signal hasn't arrived yet. We just don't know.

But if I were a betting man, I'd assume that there is life out there on other planets, somewhere, because there's no reason why Earth would be unique.

[Zafire]

Psychics - No, absolutely not.

Extraterrestrial life - The probability is very high. Especially if you include things like bacteria or single cell organisms. So yes, I do.

Time Travel - Time Travel forward is already possible, albeit not instant. The closer to the speed of light we get, the more this become reality. So yes, I believe in time travel. If you want to talk about travel backwards, that's a different story. It's a topic for another thread, but to TLDR; I think it's possible but not something we will be able to do without being able to harness almost limitless amounts of energy. And even THEN, I think it will still be limited.

Other Universes - This ones tricky, so I'm on the fence. I'll say yes for now, until it's ever discovered what exactly happens in a supermassive black hole.

[aceperson]

Do i believe in psychics? potentially, but definitely not human psychics. I have seen no evidence that proves human psychics are real. though i've seen plenty of evidence of frauds and conmen in this field. There is currently a space-folding engine in development that is meant for long-term space travel so it's possible that telekinetic psychics could exist if they evolved properly. though that is a stretch.

Extraterrestrial life? absolutely. if our race can exist, there is no reason another can't exist. the sheer fact we exist gives precedent to another species existing somewhere.

Time travel? most likely not. time travel would likely involve bending physics way too far and possible break something. so either no one has invented it and thus isn't possible or research of the topic is outlawed once it becomes possible due to the potentially species ending calamity that might occur from a mistake.

Other universes? this one is vague. there is clearly other universes in our plane of existence so yes on that front. if you mean on a multi-versal scale, that's a hard call. there is an experiment that shows extremely small amounts of matter (like one molecule at a time small) pop in and out of existence in our universe. this implies there is something happened that could at least verify the existence of an opposite universe, if not a multi-verse.

[bloodkin]

Why did America's government spend millions on psychic programs and UFO research, like Project Blue Book, if they are such ludicrous subjects to most Americans today?

the murrican government, or more accurately the CIA, als dosed unknowing John doe's with LSD, with the predicted outcome of of nothing (operation midnight climax) as part of a mind control research project (Project MKUltra). They also routinely dosed agents with LSD without them knowing, which resulted in bad trips, psychosis and suicide of said agents. They were literally fucking about with drugs for shit 'n giggles, as no researcher worth their salt would do something so incredibly unprofessional and unethical. So I'd say that there are absolutely enough idiots in the us government (or any government for that matter) to investigate something that is a total waste of time and money.

[LedZeppelin]

psychics: no
extraterrestrial life: this already exists
time travel: yeah, forward in time lmao
other universes: yes

[Afrospinach]

Winning the lottery is an incredibly low probability . . . until you buy all the lottery tickets.

But this is exactly the point. In the lottery you know the odds. We do not know even remotely the odds in this case.

[Adam Jensen]

But this is exactly the point. In the lottery you know the odds. We do not know even remotely the odds in this case.

We don't know the odds, that's right.

But what we do know is, whatever the odds are, they'd have to be ridiculously low in order for Earth to be unique.

One planet out of between 10^22 to 10^24?

Maybe the odds are that low, but again, given that there's nothing about Earth's composition or the Sun's composition that's unique, why would it life, which arose from that composition, be unique?

[Syn20]

Psychics: No. People have been scheming and manipulating others into believing something since the dawn of the modern age, often to extort money from them (or something else of value).

ET life: Yes. For years, science pitched the idea to the general public that life could only exist with oxygen due to it's usage as a fuel for cells. That theory falls apart immediately if you don't assume that all living cells in the universe require oxygen, and could instead sustain themselves on other elements. I don't know whether I believe in highly intelligent life out there (i.e. human-level), but I do consider that it's likely some lower intelligence life forms exist. Simple life forms akin to amoeba most certainly exist somewhere - I base this on the simple fact that such forms exist in the extremes of our planet.

Time travel: I don't believe time is anything but a manmade construct, but without it, we can't say when something happened or will happen. Light may travel at a constant speed, but I don't believe that it holds a specific 'link' to time travel. For example, I don't believe that if you were able to travel faster than the speed of light, that you would actually be able to experience the past, nor do I think you'd be able to catapult yourself into the future. What has happened has happened, and I believe that time travel would ultimately require more than just exceeding the speed of light (which seems to be the common theory).

[Afrospinach]

Maybe the odds are that low, but again, given that there's nothing about Earth's composition or the Sun's composition that's unique, why would it life, which arose from that composition, be unique?

Given that we don't really know how life forms for sure, why do you assume that whatever is going here is even remotely likely?

If it was as straight forward as you say we would have a proper value for that drake equation.

[loras]

You don't need to take this entirely seriously. But just out of curiosity, do you personally believe in psychics, the possibility of extraterrestrial life, time travel, the existence of other alternate universes? During the Cold War, the Americans and Soviets spent millions on psychic espionage programs and trying to monitor potential signs of extraterrestrial life (there are even archives of their activities released online), and time travel and other universes also seem to be theoretically possible via science, though this remains highly controversial.

https://slate.com/technology/2017/03...s-in-1984.html

What do you personally think? Are there things in our reality which we cannot explain?

Psychics: Not "as advertised", but wouldn't be surprised if people could sense to some extent their environment using just their brain; eyes are just brain extensions too after all. So yeah, maybe some vague electro awareness or something, perhaps leading to a more complete "passive" perception; a sort of "spider sense" at its most dramatic, if toned down to reality.

Extraterrestrial life: Pretty much guaranteed. Advanced / intelligent? Dunno about that. People do not seem to want to consider that perhaps technology itself has a hard limit forever preventing true space exploration, thus dooming all advanced species to slowly dying out in their cradles.

Time travel: Seems extremely unlikely to the point of being impossible, though it might also "just" be inconsequential in that altering the past just creates a new branch of reality in a multiverse, making time immutable while still allowing time travel.

Other universes: Seems as likely as not, but it really depends on what you mean with this. Visitable? Perceivable? Conceivable? The answers vary, but honestly i'd regard all of them as being inconsequent to our universe and thus to our reality.

Other things we cannot explain (Ever?): Definitely, perhaps knowledge itself may prove limited in the future (moreso than the quantummechanical bullshit); we just don't know, and will likely continue to not know things until the of humanity is extinguished.

Ghosts: GHOSTS!

[RCA]

Psychics, no that cold/hot reading techniques. ETs, maybe the size of the universe is vast but it’s probably extremely rare require the perfect conditions. Time travel, well yea but only forward as it’s linear, as proven with the atomic clock in space. Other universes who knows honestly but it makes you wonder where all that light and matter goes in a black, aka the unproven white hole.

The skies and universe is staggering if you stop to think about it and just to think we’re just a small specks traveling along on this blue marble.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Psychics? Probably the one I have the hardest time believing. But I don't see a reason to fight hard against it. Just seems like the type of thing human nature would have taken much more advantage of if it actually was something people had.

ETs? Please.. if we are the only life in the whole universe than we got problems because it means life itself is more likely a mistake and the universe will probably be correcting that mistake sooner rather than later.

Time travel? I let a few moments pass for this one.. and I remember I was here.. in this room.. like a few moments ago.. I have indeed travelled through time. The easiest one to see actually happening.

Other universes? It just seems like the way of things. You have planets in solar systems. Then solar systems in galaxies. Galaxies in the universe. Why not universes in something else. The thing about this one is that it probably really doesn't matter to much. I mean lets be real.. we struggle with our planet so to go this big at this point right or wrong just seems pointless.

[Thelxi]

Psychics: I think some people are ultra-perceptive and can cold read or play therapist to others. It's a discipline of deception though, nothing more.

Extraterrestrial Life: Of course, duh. It's simply stupid to assume that Earth is the only planet in the universe to spawn life.

Time Travel: Of course not, but yeah time is a complex concept. There are some interesting thing there, but no going back to the 80s kinda thing.

Other Universes: No.

[Zenfoldor]

Probably not on Earth, but probably.

[Poppincaps]

Psychics: I have prophetic dreams semi-regularly, so the idea that we could one day harness our brain power to see glimpses of the future doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me. That being said I don't think the people who claim to be psychic are truly psychic.

ETs: The likelihood that Earth is the only planet in existence that has life on it is extraordinarily unlikely. No clue on what form that life takes though.

Time Travel: You could probably travel forward in time, but not backwards.

Universes: Hmm maybe. I don't think we really know enough about our own universe to make any conclusions on that.

[Hellobolis]

psychics is easy. all you need is a biological radio transmitter/receiver. that's telepathy right there.

[munkeyinorbit]

Psychics: I have prophetic dreams semi-regularly, so the idea that we could one day harness our brain power to see glimpses of the future doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me. That being said I don't think the people who claim to be psychic are truly psychic.

Dreams are just your brain processing the information that you have. Predicting the future is using probability to pick the right result. No one can predict the future every time because you have to know the exact position of every particle in the universe. "Maybe" people who can predict the future are more sensitive and sense more data so they have more info to work with. But connecting this with prophetic dreams I like to use the analogy "a broken clock is right twice a day". If you are good at remembering dreams sometimes it will seem like you dreamt of the future.

[Powerogue]

I believe people claiming to be psychics exist, their methods of con artistry are well known, I believe that's very likely but we'll never realistically encounter them even with science fiction technology like lightspeed space travel, I'm doing it forward right now at a fixed rate, and I'll let a professional take the last question:

[Beatman]

Out of the top of my head:

Time travel (forwards, not backwards) has already been proven to be possible.

The existence of extraterrestrial life has been mathematically "proven".

Other universes - idk what the scientific consensus on this is and I am too lazy to google it.

Psychics = charlatanism