Stars as Alien Messengers?

[Richard Townsend]

Even the "supposed" plasma experiments in labs and their random equivalents in Earth's atmosphere are just pale imitators of some aspects of life. In the sun or other star they would be especially unstable, any tentative organizations would soon be disrupted. Astrophysical plasma in nebulas might fare developmentally better in some related Freeman Dyson type speculation context, but that's still very far-fetched. Even if a replicating pattern got started and endured, achieving any degree of progressive intelligence and technology within a matter medium like plasma seems an insurmountable challenge.

Plasma blobs hint at new form of life
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4174-plasma-blobs-hint-at-new-form-of-life/

Plasma events a form of pre-life in the thermosphere?
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=131506

Astrophysical plasma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysical_plasma

I’m not claiming plasma‑based life is likely or even physically feasible. I brought it up because speculative biology is a legitimate way to explore how far the concept of “life” can stretch. Science has a long history of asking what life might look like under radically different conditions. I’m not saying stars or plasmas actually host organisms - just using the idea to test the boundaries of what counts as life and what physics would allow.

 

[Olga]

I’m not claiming plasma‑based life is likely or even physically feasible. I brought it up because speculative biology is a legitimate way to explore how far the concept of “life” can stretch. Science has a long history of asking what life might look like under radically different conditions. I’m not saying stars or plasmas actually host organisms - just using the idea to test the boundaries of what counts as life and what physics would allow.

С чего кто то решил, будто только комбинация углеродных цепочек может считаться жизнью? В отличных от земных условиях тела могут иметь любую другую форму, и состоять из других элементов.

 

[Richard Townsend]

С чего кто то решил, будто только комбинация углеродных цепочек может считаться жизнью? В отличных от земных условиях тела могут иметь любую другую форму, и состоять из других элементов.

Life doesn’t have to be carbon‑based, but any alternative still has to satisfy the same basic requirements: stable structures, the ability to store information, and a way to replicate with variation. Carbon chemistry happens to meet those requirements extremely well. Other elements or states of matter are possible in theory, but they face much tougher physical constraints.

 

[Olga]

Life doesn’t have to be carbon‑based, but any alternative still has to satisfy the same basic requirements: stable structures, the ability to store information, and a way to replicate with variation. Carbon chemistry happens to meet those requirements extremely well. Other elements or states of matter are possible in theory, but they face much tougher physical constraints.

В земных условиях идеально соответствуют требованиям. На других планетах могут быть другие условия. Да и вообще, даже если взять земные условия - можно ли считать живым продвинутого робота с ИИ? Лет так через 50 или 100?

 

[exchemist]

I didn’t “cut off” anything, and I’m not trying to pass off anyone else’s words as my own. I’m just asking questions and taking part in the discussion like everyone else. If something I wrote sounded too polished for your taste, that wasn’t intentional.

Either way, I’m here to talk about the actual topic, not argue about writing style. If you want to address the question, great - if not, that’s fine too.

So what was the reason you abandoned, in mid-sentence, something "you" were starting to say about complex organics?

 

[Richard Townsend]

В земных условиях идеально соответствуют требованиям. На других планетах могут быть другие условия. Да и вообще, даже если взять земные условия - можно ли считать живым продвинутого робота с ИИ? Лет так через 50 или 100?

Different planets might allow different chemistries, sure - but whatever the form, it still has to store information and replicate. Carbon just happens to do that extremely well. And advanced AI wouldn’t be “alive” in the biological sense; it would be an engineered system, not a product of evolution.

 

[Richard Townsend]

So what was the reason you abandoned, in mid-sentence, something "you" were starting to say about complex organics?

I didn’t drop anything - I just moved on to the main point. Carbon works well for stable, information‑carrying structures, but that doesn’t mean other chemistries are impossible.

 

[Olga]

Different planets might allow different chemistries, sure - but whatever the form, it still has to store information and replicate. Carbon just happens to do that extremely well. And advanced AI wouldn’t be “alive” in the biological sense; it would be an engineered system, not a product of

Different planets might allow different chemistries, sure - but whatever the form, it still has to store information and replicate. Carbon just happens to do that extremely well. And advanced AI wouldn’t be “alive” in the biological sense; it would be an engineered system, not a product of evolution.

Компьютеры же хранят информацию, хотя и состоят из различных элементов.

Если человек со временем научится создавать себе искусственное тело (уже сейчас некоторые запчасти в теле научились менять), то что именно будет означать, что человек - это живое существо, а робот - нет?

 

[Richard Townsend]

Компьютеры же хранят информацию, хотя и состоят из различных элементов.

Если человек со временем научится создавать себе искусственное тело (уже сейчас некоторые запчасти в теле научились менять), то что именно будет означать, что человек - это живое существо, а робот - нет?

Interesting point. In my opinion, whatever life is based on, it’s still processing information, and it’s the information that’s truly ‘living.’

 

[Olga]

Interesting point. In my opinion, whatever life is based on, it’s still processing information, and it’s the information that’s truly ‘living.’

Информация, или тот, кто её обрабатывает? Причём делает это вполне определённым образом.

 

[Richard Townsend]

Информация, или тот, кто её обрабатывает? Причём делает это вполне определённым образом.

Well, perhaps we are drifting into philosophy, which I have no problem with, but we don’t want to upset the moderators, do we?

 

[Olga]

Well, perhaps we are drifting into philosophy, which I have no problem with, but we don’t want to upset the moderators, do we?

Я не вижу тут философию. Роботы с ИИ - это вполне себе реальное будущее.

 

[exchemist]

I didn’t drop anything - I just moved on to the main point. Carbon works well for stable, information‑carrying structures, but that doesn’t mean other chemistries are impossible.

Your post 6 ends with this part-sentence:

"For really complex organics (like in meteorites), "

Yet you say you "didn't drop anything".

 

[James R]

How likely is it that the first sign of alien life will be a whisper from a star, not a shout from a planet?

Unlikely.