In this edition of Troy’s Truth Booth, Troy sits down with Mom to make his passionate case for extraterrestrial life, armed with logic, astronomical odds, and a healthy dose of skepticism about human exceptionalism.

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Question: Do you think there is life on other planets?

Mom: So you think there’s life on other planets—not necessarily in our solar system, but somewhere out there?

Troy: Absolutely. I mean, just logically speaking, which I do a lot of, it doesn’t make much sense for there not to be other life out there. As the universe is infinitely expanding, there’s a higher chance—actually, there’s a lower chance that there’s not life than there is life out there.

Mom: Well, what’s your proof?

Troy: No proof. It’s all speculation.

But here’s the thing—speculation that we’re the only intelligent living beings in the universe? That’s also speculation, and there’s no proof for that either. And I’d argue our position is more speculative for a few reasons.

The Technology Gap

First, we don’t have the technology to intercept what we might perceive as deep space signals—almost like cosmic broadcasts. We have no way of exploring deep, deep space. We can’t even get people to Mars yet, and that’s not very far in cosmic terms. The distance we’d probably have to go to find other life? It’s like comparing a walk around the block to running a marathon.

A History of Human Arrogance

We’ve already proven wrong the idea that we thought we were special before. Remember when we believed Earth was the center of the universe? That everything, including the sun and all the planets, revolved around us? Galileo proved that wrong a long time ago.

We had it completely backwards—we thought we were the center, with the sun and other planets orbiting us, when actually we’re just another planet orbiting the sun. I feel it’d be pretty easy to prove we’re wrong about this new aspect of thinking we’re alone, too.

The WOW Signal Mystery

There are already some theories and evidence out there. Have you heard of the WOW signal? It was a message we basically received from deep space that, when translated, came out as the word “WOW” with an exclamation point. Now, I might be getting some details wrong, but it’s fascinating.

Background: The “Wow! Signal” that Troy mentioned was a strong radio signal detected in 1977 that lasted 72 seconds. While unexplained, it hasn’t been detected again despite continued monitoring, and most scientists don’t consider it definitive evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Mom: But you have no proof.

Troy: There’s no proof, no.

Mom: Yet you’re 100% certain there’s life out there?

Troy: If someone can prove me wrong somehow—prove that there’s absolutely nothing out there, no bacteria, no anything—then maybe I’ll reconsider. But we’ve already found multiple planets that would be suitable places for humans to relocate to if we ever need to or can. Places with water, sustainable atmospheres, the right conditions for life.

Mom: Just because we can’t go to those planets doesn’t necessarily mean other people are living in those environments.

Troy: True. And there’s also a good chance that these other potential species are a lot more intelligent than us and a lot more progressive in terms of technology.

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The Bottom Line

While concrete proof remains elusive, the mathematical probability, combined with our track record of cosmic humility lessons, suggests we shouldn’t be so quick to assume we’re alone. The universe is vast, conditions for life exist elsewhere, and our technology is still in its infancy when it comes to deep space exploration.

Sometimes the most logical position is admitting that in an infinite universe, the odds of Earth being a singular miracle seem far less likely than life being a cosmic constant we simply haven’t detected yet.

What do you think? Are we alone, or is the universe teeming with life we haven’t found yet? Share your thoughts and join the conversation at Troy’s Truth Booth.