Could an Alien Underwater Life Evolve?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the potential for alien underwater life to evolve into complex forms and the possibility of an underwater alien civilization. Participants consider various biological, technological, and environmental factors that could influence such evolution.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the lack of fire could hinder the development of a civilization, while others propose that intelligence might still arise without it.
  • There is speculation about the adaptability of intelligent creatures, with some arguing that they could follow a different evolutionary path.
  • One participant mentions the possibility of using underwater volcanic vents as a heat source, though this would be challenging.
  • Another viewpoint emphasizes the broad definition of civilization, suggesting that a unique culture could exist even without advanced technology.
  • Concerns are raised about the limitations of our understanding of both the universe and our oceans, with some asserting that alien technologies could be vastly different from our own.
  • There is a discussion about the potential for alien life forms to develop unique religions or cultures based on their underwater environment.
  • Some participants note that other liquid environments, such as seas of mercury, could also harbor life.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no clear consensus on whether an underwater alien civilization could exist or what form it might take. The discussion remains unresolved, with multiple competing ideas presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the complexity of defining civilization and the various environmental factors that could influence the evolution of alien life. There are also references to the limitations of current knowledge regarding both extraterrestrial life and our own oceans.

Gold Barz
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Could an alien underwater life evolve into a complex life? could there be an underwater alien civilization?
 
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Gold Barz said:
Could an alien underwater life evolve into a complex life? could there be an underwater alien civilization?

I can't think of anything specifically forbidding it, but that's more of a biology question.
 
Without fire, that would surely slow them down
 
They would probably not sing much. After watching American Idol, I doubt they would qualify as a life form... at least not one of interest.
 
An alien underwater life is likely to crawl to solid ground and become us.
 
Yeah, without fire it seems unlikely a civilization could arise. Intelligence could exist, but probably not a civilization. Unless you can think of a way to build a rocket from scratch underwater.
 
Interesting question. Reminds me of the move abyss
 
Entropy said:
Yeah, without fire it seems unlikely a civilization could arise. Intelligence could exist, but probably not a civilization. Unless you can think of a way to build a rocket from scratch underwater.

A civilization as we know it certainly wouldn't exist, but it's not obvious to me that they couldn't just follow a different path. Intelligent creatures are extremely versatile, as humans have so elegantly (or not so elegantly) shown.
 
I 100% agree
 
  • #10
On the other hand, there is nothing to say we could not someday return to the sea, as did the whales.
 
  • #11
They do know more about the rest of the universe than what they know in our own waters. Fact.

You have a far fetched sounding theorey, but a smart one. An alien is an alien, and its technologies are alien to ours. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm quite ready to accept that our world isn't that significant (technologically - It's just not possible with all the other galaxies out there, that we are the only life forms with the only technology) And if aliens do exist, according to those *not fake* videos, their technology is so far beyond ours, we don't even have an idea on how their technology works in the slightest.
 
  • #12
Gold Barz said:
Without fire, that would surely slow them down

Well they could use underwater volcanic vents. Would be pretty tricky however.
 
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  • #13
the answer really depends on how broadly you are willing to define civilization. if you simply mean a group of organism which have a unique culture, as is standardly accepted, then yes. if, however, you are referring to a civilization that has reached a technological level such as ours, then the answer is somewhat more unclear. it would be difficult to build cohesive structures and vehicles without fire, as you pointed out. their developmentary (is that a word?) scale would certainly be very different from our own, as they would need to develop some manner to get around it. given that they could overcome this problem, however, I see no reason why not. the conquest of land might end up being just as big an enterprise for them as the exploration of space is for us. it could take thousands of years exploring the land before they would even realize that there are other celestial bodies. it would certainly be interesting to see what kind of religion (if any) might develop among such creatures, living in such a different environment from our own, although i suppose that would be true of any extraterrestrial species.

also remember that many other liquid "seas" could exist (seas of mercury?)
 
  • #14
Paul Wilson said:
They do know more about the rest of the universe than what they know in our own waters. Fact.

I think this is rather pathetic that we know more about the universe we inhabit than we do our own oceans.

Paul Wilson said:
You have a far fetched sounding theorey, but a smart one. An alien is an alien, and its technologies are alien to ours. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm quite ready to accept that our world isn't that significant (technologically - It's just not possible with all the other galaxies out there, that we are the only life forms with the only technology) And if aliens do exist, according to those *not fake* videos, their technology is so far beyond ours, we don't even have an idea on how their technology works in the slightest.


This is true. I definitely think it is something to think about. I'm suddenly reminded of a joke my chemistry teacher told us...its rather gross though. If any of you want to know about it PM me.

Its is possible that there could be alien form of life below our oceans. As far as the fire comment, they may not even necessarliy need it. Especially if they are fully adapted to living in the ocean. There are other forms of heat under the ocean. Like those, I think they might be underwater volcanos, that heat the ocean water to aver 357 degrees C! The water doesn't boil because of the depth pressure. There are biological organisms that we have discovered in the past ten years or so that we never even know about. Wild stuff.
 

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