What magazine was there an article about the scarcity of life and the hope that we don't find life on Mars?

Question

I read this article and it was about how we really don't want to find life on Mars because that would then imply that life is relatively common in the universe. And since we've never been contacted by another species it would also imply that there is some major hurdle that life cannot overcome and thus we are more likely to be doomed in terms of our future prospects and interplanetary travel. I think there might have been a name for the event, the hurdle that we can't get past.

On the other hand, the article stated, if we don't find life right here in our own backyard, then perhaps it's simply exceedingly rare that life arises out of the elements of the universe and we therefore have a much more positive outlook since we've already done the hard part.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? What magazine and issue was it? Who wrote it?

Answer 1

There is life on other planets. We just haven't found it. I think its a given that at one time life was on Mars.

But - the Earth's destruction is indeed, inevitable. The Earth and it's population will all be gone at some point. Whether it's in 5 billion years - when the sun becomes a red giant and swallows us up in fire, or a huge comet killing us like the dinosaurs. But in my opinion, in 5 billion years, man-kind will have already destroyed itself.

Fact: The USA has enough nuclear power to blow up the Earth - TWICE.

Answer 2

Sounds totally bass-ackward to me. If no life is found on Mars, we're back to square one, debating the 'probability' of life being there somewhere, Fermi's paradox, Drake's equation, and all that other hypothetical stuff. If life is found on Mars, it's only a question of when, and not if, we're contacted by intelligent life. The debating can end. We've only been around 4 million years (humankind) and that is a blip in time.

I think you're speaking of the light barrier. Worst case scenario, I'm sure some civilization can figure out a way to send cryogenically preserved life-forms on a fully automated spaceship at sub-light speed.

Answer 3

scientific american?