The right to reply

Gui · July 19, 2011

In response to the science argument in this thread – argument which began with this post

JBO said:

But our statistical sampling is so small as to be completely meaningless, is the problem. It is, to be specific, ONE datum.
A single datum is not adequate to base ANY theory on, nor to establish any form of statistical trend.

It's not a statistical argument, or a scientific one. It's anthropocentrism masquerading as a proven theory.

No: it is the only scientifical way we have to seriously conceive life in the universe.

You're missing a few digits there. A few billion of them, at least.
Application of logic trumps a complete absence of evidence for anthropocentrism.

But anthropocentrism is the only serious way to conceive the world which surrounds us, simply because we don't know any others.

You can of course let your imagination run, but it will only be your imagination and despite thinking in the most logical and reasonnable way it will still remain your imagination...

The overall human form, however, is not a reasonable argument. We KNOW it's not the only form capable of manipulation of the environment. Octopi and cuttlefish being the most obviously "alien" contenders, as well as the closest runner-up.
Those damned cephalopod tentacle monsters do more with their environment than monkeys and gorillas, which kind of puts a hole in the whole "primates are best" theory right off.

Yet, they failed to take the dominant place on our planet, because their limbs are too weak to carve stones into flints, and they can't forge metal because water extinguishes fire; and I didn't evoke their lack of sociability: they don't live in groups like cetaceans do, and they can't profit of the teachings of the ones of their kind. Even on a planet without emerged lands, where primates couldn't exist and therefore couldn't evolve into the dominant specie, we can't say for sure octopi and cuttlefish would become the rulers of such a world – if such world can exist, because we don't know anything on this point either.