The audience has been exposed to a wide variety of visually striking other cultures as a result of international cinema. Leeloo from The Fifth Element, Neytiri from Avatar, and the humanoid lizard from the movie Signs have all been depicted on screen, in addition to the humanoid from Steven Spielberg’s film ET.
But what do they seem like when you encounter them in real life? The scientific community has come up with various explanations that are quite reasonable for this topic.
Researchers claim that the laws of the universe severely limit the kind of things that may exist in the universe. Charles Cockell, an astrobiologist and professor at the University of Edinburgh, outlines three guidelines in his book titled “The Equations of Living: How Physics Shapes Evolution.” These guidelines are mandatory for all forms of life and cannot be broken under any circumstances.
Everywhere on Earth, the same physical laws govern everything. For example, the gravitational pull may be felt across the solar system as well as in the cosmos beyond it.
The conditions that must be met in any given location before organic molecules may form are always the same. When exposed to high temperatures, organic molecules on Earth and other planetary systems begin to disintegrate, and when exposed to low temperatures, they cease to function.
Everywhere else in the galaxy, there will be life, and it will employ the same components. Carbon, the most important chemical component for the origin of life, is most easily transported by water, which is why water is the finest medium for its transportation.
In all seriousness, what does this entail? It is common knowledge that matter is capable of existing in three distinct aggregation states, namely the solid, the liquid, and the gaseous phases. In addition, the laws of aerodynamics must be followed by extraterrestrials since they reside in gas.
The same manner pterodactyls did, paper airplanes, sparrows, and daonflies followed these guidelines. The aliens must have an extended, streamlined bodily form if the brothers in question are aquatic since they are susceptible to the principles of hydrodynamics and hydrostatics (the law of Archimedes in particular).
Living on a hard surface necessitates the use of limbs (paws, legs, and arms) to decrease friction. Alternately, move like a snake, which can survive without limbs. As a result, the aliens’ structural similarities to Earth’s population are plausible.
Can we expect sensory organs in aliens? According to Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the Technical University of Berlin, head of the German Astrobiological Society, it relies on the surroundings.
If there is no way to transmit sound waves, who needs ears? Almost all living things on our planet have evolved light-sensitive organs; vision may take many different forms, from the intricate fly eye to the stereo vision of a person. However, if aliens dwell in environments where light cannot enter, they could not require eyes.
The majority of experts concur that if humans make contact with alien intelligence, we will have to deal with predators. Additionally, there aren’t any known instances of intelligent plants or fungus on Earth.
It just doesn’t make sense for a stationary creature to increase its pace of responses and use energy to keep its metabolism at a high level. Although the human brain only makes up 2% of the body’s bulk and uses 25% of its energy, the intellect is nonetheless a costly pleasure.
One cannot afford such a luxury for everyone. Only when a living thing needs to get food or avoid becoming food does the brain start to pay off.
So why aren’t aliens able to be descended from herbivores? The truth is that compared to other animal diets, plant foods are less energizing. Because they would spend a lot of time consuming low-calorie plant foods, intelligent herbivores would find it challenging to grow intelligent. From this perspective, carnivorous animals have significantly more time between meals.
There is also a definite hierarchy among the predators: if the lion must be smarter than the antelope, then the wolf must be smarter than the lion as he hunts in a pack and must learn to work well with his fellow hunters.
Therefore, it is most likely that the aliens we will encounter were once a pack of predators (unless, of course, we are the only species in the universe). Because of this, a lot of scientists are skeptical about efforts to make contact with alien intelligence.
It is doubtful that visitors from the area will be mirror images of ourselves, though. The tuning that is popular in our solar system—a huge head, a nose over the mouth—is probably unimportant elsewhere in the cosmos.
Some inventors choose the other path, even on Earth. Dr. Dirk Schulze-Makuch recalled that, for instance, neurons in octopuses are dispersed throughout the body, including the tentacles, and that only a small portion of the brain is located in the head.
Birds have developed a highly helpful trait in an effort to minimize their flying mass: their brains are packed with neurons far more densely than those of humans. By relying on an apparently trustworthy measure like the head to body weight ratio, we undervalue their intellect.
The New Caledonian crows, meanwhile, possess the ability to not only utilize tools but also to make them from scratch. They are not less intelligent than primates, either.
Finally, aliens could not merely be a product of nature but also a result of a technological symbiosis.
According to Dirk Schulze-Makuch, “people have already integrated technological gadgets like pacemakers, contact lenses, and other prostheses into their bodies.”
“Aliens are more than capable of going one step farther and transforming into cyborgs.
They can, for instance, put the brain inside of an electronic-mechanical shell to get beyond the natural restrictions on the longevity of biological bodies.
And if you asked me to describe the appearance of aliens, I would suggest that the most sophisticated ones would be entirely automated.