Comments on: Which is more likely to be real, Ghosts or Martians? https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/ Sat, 06 Jul 2013 01:58:36 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 By: Peter_Pig https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494996 Sat, 06 Jul 2013 01:58:36 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494996 … or, at least, if it is red by conviction.

Great blog by a great teacher. Cheers!

]]> By: Alan https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494995 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 09:27:09 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494995 Re #13: Indeed bacteria have been found on Earth that feed directly on the Earth’s crust with no need for sunlight or oxygen. Further more these kind of rock eating bacteria were amongst the earliest forms of life on earth (clay is thought to be an important ingredient for aboigenesis, clay only forms in the presence of water).
The lines of evidence you bring up however all have some level of doubt associated with them. So whilst I agree there is a strong likelihood of finding rock munching bugs on Mars we have so far failed to find the proverbial “smoking gun”.
I also think the oceans of Europa and a handful of other ice moons whizzing around the gas giants are likely teaming with life but again, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, which in the case of microbial martians and Europan eels hasn’t materialized (yet).

I’m too old to see them explore those oceans but I would like send a probe to the surface and find out whether all that red stuff ozzing out of the ice cracks is red algae or red dirt.

]]> By: Claire Evans https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494994 Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:57:00 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494994 Great piece, Greg!

]]> By: jane https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494993 Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:55:51 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494993 One of NASA’s spacecraft in the 1970s had a test on board that was supposed to detect only actively metabolizing, i.e., extant, life in the soil. According to previously agreed criteria, the results were positive. The planned publicity was buried for political reasons on the excuse that a less sensitive test – later proven to be worthless because it could not find life in some harsh Terran environments – was negative. We have Martian meteorites that contain what look like fossile bacteria. We are now hearing that the bedrock of our planet can be permeated with bacteria to at least several miles down. This is an environment that was never before thought to be habitable. Is it so unlikely that previously existing Martian bacteria managed to evolve to hang on there as the climate worsened?

]]> By: Joffan https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494992 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:28:18 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494992 @bks… and, indeed, what you mean by “ghost” and “Martian”. All part of the fun.

]]> By: bks https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494991 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:57:06 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494991 I think ghosts are more real than Martians. When I dream I often have conversations with people in my family who died some time ago. My only contact with Martians is in movies and books. It all depends on what you mean by real.

–bks

]]> By: Glendon https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494990 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:35:11 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494990 Being a resident of Florida, it’s hard not to believe in ghosts. There is so much haunted history associated with this state, especially in the St. Augustine area.

A lot of cool places to visit in Florida can be found here: http://FloridaFringeTourism.com

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494989 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:30:24 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494989 I will be reposting my Real Ghost Story soon. For Halloween, of course.

]]> By: CherryBombSim https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494988 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:27:13 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494988 30 some years ago, when I was actually planning to be a planetary scientist, I would have said that the chance for life on Mars was nil. Ever. Now my wild guess is a 50% chance of life there at some time, with a 50% chance it is still around.

The new mission is utterly awesome for geology. I am eating it up.

My squirrels made a serious effort to convince me that ghosts exist, but they failed because I am marginally smarter than them.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2012/09/30/which-is-more-likely-to-be-real-ghosts-or-martians/#comment-494987 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:35:27 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=13565#comment-494987 I know that, I know that! For the same reason some of us worship Pangolins!

]]>