Is anyone out there?

With the discovery of more and more earth like extra-solar planets many newspapers and magazines are musing whether there is life on other planets within  our galaxy or even life on Mars or satellites within our own solar system.

http://press.nationalgeographic.com/files/2014/06/July-2014-Highlights_final.pdf

It is worth reading this article in the National Geographic magazine. According to the Drake equations there are probably many planets which are inhabited by civilised beings who are capable of thought and making advanced tools.

I agree that there are probably thousands if not millions of planets and satellites which support life. However, being intelligent is probably a rare phenomenon. Of the millions of species which have inhabited our own planet few of have developed any form of intelligence: primates are classic examples but whales and related species show some signs of intelligence as do elephants.

The only species which have shown any form of advanced intelligence, communication and forward planning are members of the Homo genus.

The survival of most species on our planet does not depend upon intelligence at all. Most animals can rely upon instinct or autonomic behaviour to survive. Plants, fungi and microbes can survive even without a nervous system. Viruses, if they are alive, can survive perfectly well by using other organisms to ensure their longevity.

It can be argued that human beings  are not the most successful creatures on the planet at all and that in terms of numbers and distribution, cockroaches, rats, grass and microbes are much more successful.

In terms of longevity, Homo Sapiens Sapiens has only been on the planet for around 250,00 years and we were preceded by Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis who originated perhaps 250,000 years earlier if only to die out 30,000 years ago.

It is quite possible that advanced intelligence does not supply the gift of longevity: Homo Erectus and Homo Heidelbergensis died out long ago and their obvious mental capabilities did nothing to help them survive in the long run.

Our own survival might possibly be at stake if we do not learn to use our intelligence wisely. We could quite easily destroy ourselves or our civilisation as the result of nuclear or biological warfare, pollution and climate change. If "advanced beings" on other planets behave like us there could be very few civilisations who have survived long enough to develop the ability to communicate with us.

We could be one of the few species which is capable of thought within a galaxy which is probably teeming with life. It looks as if we shall have to go out and actively find extra terrestrial life rather than wait for it to come to us. It would be a shame if we became extinct as a result of our own actions before we could "shake hands" with a fellow intelligent being from another planet.