There are billions of galaxies in our universe, approximately 400 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy, each with an unknown number of planets. Is it possible that life exists outside our solar system? I had the honor of attending a lecture at the USF Sun Dome where the lecturer postulated on the basis of probable projections that, "it seems laughable arrogance for humans to pretend they are the only life and the only intelligence." He argued, the universe is probably "teeming with life" and that some of these intelligent life forms, are likely to have visited our solar system. "It is not out of the question that artifacts of these visits still exist. . . . " The lecturer admitted that we haven't found evidence of extraterrestrial life yet, however, "we're just at the very earliest stages of beginning." The lecturer, Carl Sagan, concluded, "I believe the extraordinary should be pursued. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
Erich von Daniken claims that he has found that evidence. He proposes that extraterrestrial aliens visited Earth in "prehistory and played a significant role in the development of humanity" (Feder, 205). |
