We’ve heard about the concept of life forms existing on a remote planet and have visited us numerous times already. We’ve heard numerous people speaking about UFOs and how they have been abducted by strange creatures that look nothing like we can see on Earth. Maybe they’re just hoaxes and the result of human imagination going berserk; maybe they aren’t. What’s for sure is that humanity has always had a strong fascination for the concept of alien life, even though we’re not even entirely sure that there are such things as extraterrestrial beings.
To realize how strong the fascination of humanity with alien life is, it’s enough to take a short look at the cinema industry, literature, and even music. A lot of those forms of art speak about the possibility of alien life existing somewhere out there and getting into contact with us. There are numerous successful movies about aliens, such as “Independence Day” from 1996, “Arrival” from 2016, the “Alien” series with Sigourney Weaver, and a lot more. It’s impossible to pick an absolute best, but we can indeed try to figure out why humanity is so obsessed with the idea of alien life existing somewhere out there.
We cannot comply with the idea that we might be alone in the Universe
In recent decades, scientists have understood a lot about the Universe, and one absolute certainty is that it’s larger than we may ever be able to even imagine. Only the observable Universe spans 93 billion light-years in diameter, which means that the entire Universe can be even much larger than that. Therefore, the idea that we may be the only intelligent life forms in such a huge Universe is pretty depressing, and it was only a matter of time until people started to wonder if there is life beyond our planet.
Even the basic human need to believe in a higher power can be the cause for the fascination of humanity with the idea of extraterrestrial life. A lot of those who are enthusiastic about aliens believe that an encounter with them could only be beneficial for us. They are confident that extraterrestrial life forms might be willing to share with us the secrets of the Universe, their advanced technology, and more. But is that really true? Could aliens really be friends with us? Perhaps nobody can say for sure.
Ultimately, whether we are alone in the Universe or not, both scenarios can be equally frightening.
The world needs a savior
You don’t need to be the reincarnation of Tesla to realize that our society has a lot of problems: crime, corruption, poverty, diseases, natural disasters, and more. Our planet is far from being a safe place, and humans cannot solve those problems all the time, regardless of how hard they try. As a result, humans often place their hope in an external figure who will eventually take them to a better place after death. We’re obviously talking about religion at first, but the belief in highly intelligent alien civilizations can also qualify. Some people believe that by using their super-advanced technology, aliens could save our world from its numerous flaws and shortcomings. But perhaps the million-dollar question is this: would a highly intelligent alien species be willing to invest time, effort, and resources in a planet such as Earth?
Ultimately, we all need to be realistic and say that, in many cases, the fascination with the idea of alien life can only have financial incentives at its core: making movies or writing books about aliens can certainly be a profitable business.
Tommy’s hobby has always been playing video games. He enjoys competing in video games tournaments and writing about his experience. It’s not a big surprise that he mostly covers the latest trends from the gaming industry.