Why are only Americans interested in hunt for alien life?

Who said anything about the probabilities being the same? The evidence for life that is not on Earth is zero at the moment as is the evidence for ghosts.

How can that not be clear? I think life is abundant in the universe. I don't think there are ghosts. However, the evidence for both is the same. Yes, there is "evidence" for life here on Earth (do you think I don't realize that?) but that isn't what we were discussing.

It is possible for there to be life on every planet in the universe and unless it is able to communicate electromagnetically we will most likely not detect it unless/until we are able to go to other solar systems and since the closest one is over 4 light years away it is quite possible that humans will never get there.

Of course it is possible that they will but the odds are probably less than 50/50 IMO.

 

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And obtaining evidence for life elsewhere is exceedingly low but it is there so try.

Resuscitation of someone dragged from the ice and not breathing is low but it is there so try.

Obtaining evidence for ghost is non existent.

Resuscitation of a skeleton dragged from the ice is non existent.

Ghost has well and truly left the building. No point in trying.

Humpty Dumpty not going for a long time.

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Someone can try all they want to. Life is about prioritizing finite resources (money, time, manpower). I think this particular endeavor is way down the list (as in at the bottom).

You could drop one gain of sand in the ocean and then spend resources to try to find that grain of sand. You are very unlikely to be able to find it. Most any other project is going to be a better use of resources.

We have no evidence that life exists other than on Earth. If we found microbial evidence of life on Mars there still may be little reason to pursue something like SETI because there is no little chance for success even if life is everywhere.

There is another reason. To me, it's unlikely for something like SETI to work but if there was life that could contact us in that manner, we haven't been able to do find in the years that SETI has been trying. The fact that they haven't been able to find anything is even more indication that SETI isn't the effective way to search for life.

 

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The reasons you believe ETL to exist obviously would be the near infinite extent and content of the Universe, and the fact that "the stuff of life" being everywhere we look. This may not be direct evidence, but it certainly is reason why you, myself and most scientists accept that we are probably not alone.
The search for ETL was always going to be difficult and probably will continue to be due to those two formidable barriers of time and distance involved. A footnote I must add is that many now believe that the discovery of ETL is not too far away.
It's also rather indicative when musing, to realise that only a short time ago, we also had no evidence of any extrasolar planets.

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I don't believe we have enough ghost stories and reports to even consider them, plus of course it is entirely an unscientific concept.

 

Yes, I agree that's why the probabilities are different. The evidence is the same.

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I don't have any problem with people looking for ETL. I just don't think it's going to work with current technology if it hasn't work up to this point. Given the types of life and the distances involved I can't think we can find it anytime soon.

Planets are a different matter entirely IMO. We couldn't tell if there was life on the Moon (from here) if it wasn't evolved life using electromagnetic waves. Someone can probably prove me wrong here

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but you get my point.

 

Not so.

There is a legal saying

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Example

CSI check a crime scene, find nothing.

In court and in the dock tell the court nothing found.

Absence of evidence.

Later the crime scene clean up crew find a ear stud under the bed.

Evidence not absent.

Just not found.

Humpty Dumpty not found Poe.

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Until that ear stud was found the evidence was the same as for ghosts. You have to find it for it to be meaningful.

Of course we expect that there is life somewhere and we don't expect to find ghosts.

Let's just cut to the chase...using current methods isn't working and isn't likely to work (since it hasn't yet and just due to the methodology).

Unless or until there is a more effective way to do the searching it's not particularly useful to search. There are better ways to use the funds, manpower, time. I'm not against searching if that's what someone wants to do however.

 

Hasn't worked yet....true.

Unknown.

Work with what you have.

Suspects used to be identified by

• Phrenology
• Line ups
• Finger prints
• DNA

And you can go back (may be not as far as Phrenology)

Perhaps aliens, or us, are at different stages.

My hopes are on recoverable DNA which shows different rungs on the ladder.

A cell showing chromosomes would be chocolate iceing on the cake.

No lumps on Humpty. Smooooh all over.
Poe who is a single lump

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Nothing is "known" but it is a fair statement to make that it is "unlikely".