Rare Earth, My Version.

For many years, I had to wonder why there had not been any proven alien visitations. After all, for well over half a century there have been claims of alien sightings, abductions etc. I had long assumed aliens probably existed and also figured they might be too far away, or not in an advanced state of development. In the year 2000, a book was written called "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon In The Universe". The book was written by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee. It became the basis for what has since come to be known as the rare Earth hypothesis.

I wasn't aware of this book till probably 2010 and never read it. However, when I saw the title, I knew what it would be about. I had already written and illustrated a Graphic Novel (GN) which I'd completed in 2006. That GN touched upon my take of the rare Earth hypothesis. The first assumption I made about Earthlike worlds is that they orbit Sunlike stars. This because at this point, it's all we know. We cannot begin investigations into worlds orbiting other star types that are not yet known to have Earth analogues.

This illustration shows how an Earthlike planet could orbit either star of the Alpha Centauri system. It's orbit would probably be more elliptical, but not so much as to have the planet be attracted by one or the other parent star.

 

This image was intended to illustrate what an actual exo-planet might look like as photographed through an enormously powerful telescope. The above image came from my GN, "Human Space Flight and Beyond". I did HSFB from 2000-2003.

 

This exo-world is a moon of a larger gas giant. Such a planet is pretty popular to imagine. I had to come up with what I thought would be a more logical way to designate unnamed planets. Current naming conventions would have the host planet named Tau Ceti b. The above image also came from my GN, "Human Space Flight and Beyond". The artifact was just a plot device to illustrate how UFO proponents will suggest a computer imaging artifact might in reality, be a sign of alien intelligence.

For the purpose of this blog, an Earthlike world can be a rocky planet with an atmosphere. By that definition, Venus and Mars are Earthlike. But we know those worlds do not support Human Level Intelligent (HLI) beings. An Earth analog would be a planet very much like Earth but not necessarily populated with HLI beings. This type of world may be fairly common and could be found orbiting other types of stars such as red dwarf stars.

However, one should start investigations of Earth analogs first because as previously mentioned, they are all we know as far as life giving planets. It would appear that all Earth analogues should have HLI beings. But the reality may well be that many don't. Some may orbit young stars and may still be in their early developmental stages for example. Life may be in the microbial or dinosaur stage assuming it even develops in the same glacial and sequential manner that it did on Earth. A sun like star like Tau Ceti could have advanced HLI beings due to the age of the star. Tau Ceti being older than the sun by over a billion years. Or maybe HLI beings on an Earthlike world orbiting Tau Ceti, has long since vanished for a variety of reasons.

What I imagined an image of an Earthlike exo-planet might appear like in a telescope like Hubble or the ESO complex at the Paranal observatory. This was the first image of Destin as shown in my GN, "Human Space Flight and Beyond".

My version of the rare earth hypothesis works like this. There could be hundreds of thousands of pre HLI being populated worlds out there meaning dinosaurs, animals, human like predecessors etc. Then out of that there could be a thousand or so planets populated by Pre Radio Capable HLI beings. Pre radio capable beings ranging from stone age to radio capability. Then a hundred or so early space exploration capable HLI beings followed by fifty or so stellar system exploration capable HLI beings and finally, one to five Interstellar exploration capable HLI beings. The least advanced interstellar travel capable beings can only explore a few local stars while the most advanced can explore virtually the entire galaxy. The latter could be present in only one of every ten or even hundred galaxies.

To further break down the number of potential HLI beings, I use this example. An example consisting of 3 possibilities:

1.....Earth is the only life bearing world in the entire known Universe perhaps because it is the very first.

2.....HLI beings are rare in the extreme.

3.....There are Spocks, Yoda's and neelixe's running around out there just in our galaxy alone, that is HLI life is as common as sci fi media and UFO proponents suggest. To answer each of the 3 possibilities, I do so in this way:

1.....This is highly unlikely given there are much older galaxies with earth analogs long since gone. It is also highly unlikely Earth is the only life bearing world. But it is possible and if life should be discovered outside Earth, number 1 will become a moot point.

2.....This is my personal pick due to the fact we have yet to detect HLI presence in nearby star systems via the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program. In addition, no credible evidence of HLI alien beings has been presented thus far. This does not mean HLI beings have not visited, they could have visited when dinosaurs existed. We would never know they were ever here if that were the case.

3.....A galaxy teeming with HLI beings. Each stellar system having at least one Earth analog with HLI beings. If what the UFO community presents as evidence is to be accepted, this would be the correct scenario. However, the evidence presented thus far by UFO proponents is far from irrefutable.

So assuming my hypothesis (Example 2) is correct, that there are one interstellar exploration capable beings in each galaxy on average. With billions of galaxies known to exist at various times within the known Universe, the irony is...HLI beings would be quite common anyway!

A sampling from my graphic novel Destin. This shows what I called the pyramid of life. A pyramid that has the simplest organisms at the bottom.

 

Another pyramid illustrates common to rare types of HLI civilizations.

 

If optical astronomy can evolve to see planets as spheres with some detail, we would probably see a multitude of Earth like worlds. Ranging from Venus to Mars and everything in between. Planets almost identical to Earth being at the mid range. Astronomers should also be able to detect spectral signatures that could be life indicators. In my GN entitled "Destin", the planet Destin (Short for Destiny) is detected and spectral analysis indicates a cyclic variation in CO2 output over each orbit of this world. A variation indicative of flora (Plants) undergoing seasonal variation.

One indicator of possible life on an exo-planet is a spectral analysis of the basic elements present in the light reaching Earth bound spectrographs. 

A sampling or Earthlike worlds and Earth analogs from my graphic novel Destin.

 

It is much later determined this world is tilted on it's axis in much the way Uranus is. The tilt causing wild swings in the cycle of flora over the orbital period of Destin. A period similar to one Earth year. This fictional planet orbits around the star Alpha Centauri "A". It was further determined Destin had been struck by a smaller planet early in it's formation. It was knocked on it's side leaving it with a hemispherical ice cap on the side facing away from Alpha Centauri "A", and a giant lake on the perpetually lit north polar side. Life flourishing on the tilted equatorial band of Destin.

How did I arrive at the tentative conclusion of a rare Earth where HLI beings are concerned?

I began by looking at life right here on Earth. Out of millions of species, only one arose to technological development. And out of the planets of the solar system, only Earth is known to have life beyond simple microorganisms. We don't yet know of life outside Earth but Mars, Europa, Enceladus, Titan and perhaps Triton are good candidates for microorganisms such as extremophiles. It is often said Earth had to have just the right conditions for life to develop, especially complex flora, fauna (Animal) and HLI life.

In my Destin GN, the planet Destin itself, was thought to be teeming with advanced life forms. As it turns out in the story, it has some highly unusual life forms including one species determined to have HLI at the level humans were in the stone age. These were classified as "Planimals" as they had both plant and animal features. Destin demonstrates how unusual an Earthlike world or even Earth analog can turn out. Destin is just one of several Earth analogs I featured in my fictional story of Destin.

In my GN, planimal's grow under the canopies of trees in most cases. 

This story followed "Human Space Flight and Beyond" and was itself named simply "Destin". I had plans for a sequel entitled "Beyond Centauri" which was to look at humanities expansion beyond the Alpha Centauri system. What I finished of that story showed a catalog of known Earthlike worlds as of the 30th century. A relatively small handful which illustrates the difficulty of optical telescope physics and interstellar travel. That difficulty lying in the example of the fact the speed of light had yet to be broken as of the 30th century.

One of the Earthlike worlds I featured, is populated by bird like HLI beings that never developed aviation. This was due to the fact they already had wings. I featured a chart showing various levels of Earth like worlds. The bird like HLI beings was yet another demonstration of the variety of HLI beings that may exist out there. There have been so many portrayals and types of Above Human Level Intelligent (AHLI) in popular culture that I had an extremely difficult time coming up with original AHLI beings for my GNs. I stopped doing novel length GNs due to inability to gain exposure for them. I may yet revisit my post Destin future scenario via short GNs but only time will tell if that happens. Even now, the media sometimes claim they think we will make contact in a decade or two. The point of my GNs were that we are not going to find aliens in a few years or decades, unless they contact us. It could take centuries and in Destin, it does. In a universe as vast as ours, finding and proving aliens beyond a shadow of a doubt is not easy to say the very least.

Medblog 1

I should first point out I'm not a medical professional, nor is this commentary intended to give medical advice. It is simply an actual documentation of events following a heart attack I sustained in 2015.

My Sister Suzanne suggested I write a blog about my latest heart attack because of how it ended up turning out. I was cool to the idea because I didn't want to make myself out to be a hero or even anyone special. I'm neither. But she convinced me it might be a good idea to tell my story so others can gain hope if they are in a similar situation. I've been diabetic since at least my December 1999 diagnosis. My condition lead to my first heart attack at aged 45 in November 2001. I had another heart attack in January 2008. That one moved me to become stricter about my diet and weight than the first one had. I went from 250 lbs in 1999 to my high school weight of 180 lbs. I was still at 220 lbs in 2008 even after my initial weight loss efforts. But by 2014, I'd gone down to my high school weight of 180 lbs.

In October of 2014, I made a marathon 3,000 mile trip to Alabama, West Virginia and north Florida. There were a few problems on the trip which caused an increase in the miles I'd driven. It was a week long trip to see relatives and a best friend. After that trip, I began to notice my weight increasing. Later, my feet began slowly swelling, and then my legs swelled. On March 10, 2015, I went to my doctor and he diagnosed Congestive Heart Failure or CHF. My second heart attack in 2008 was also a CHF attack. My first was an acute heart failure which destroyed much of my heart tissue.

On March 20th, I checked into the hospital. The initial treatments were promising but the hospital room was so cold, I'd huddle under a blanket like a homeless guy under a bridge. I even looked the part as my beard had become unkempt. I was beginning to reach a point of diminishing returns by the end of the first week. I'd hoped to be headed home by this time. My ejection fraction was only 6. I half jokingly asked my doctor if I was actually already dead! By months end, I was considering discharging myself but I hung on. For one thing, I'd gone up to 210 lbs. On April 4th, I noticed a message on the nurses board saying "Keep him comfortable". I knew that was hospital staff code for "I'm dying". It was easy to understand because every time my doctors would come in, they'd see me under the blankets. They'd always come in unannounced. The Physical Therapists (PT) would come in before lunch which gave me a chance to shed the blankets. I'd do my best during PT sessions and often did more than asked. I Was hoping these efforts might result in an imminent discharge. I was visited by a hospice nurse which told me in effect, I was to be carted off to die. My Sister and Brother in Law came by and I mentioned the latest developments. I told them I said "I'm not plannin on dying". Paul (My Brother in law) was surprised at my comment. He knew then, I wasn't ready to go off to croak. The time I spent in the hospital was approaching two weeks and I was mainly there to reduce the swelling in my legs. It wasn't working.

That evening, I was discharged after my request was processed. I went home after almost two weeks in the hospital. The longest I'd ever been hospitalized. I went to see my regular physician who wasn't in. So I talked with his substitute, Dr. Kahn. He advised me to limit my fluid intake to 2,000 CCs a day. By the 14th of April, I was beginning to see the results of my strict fluid intake. But like any diet, I knew the initial loss of fluid would be large compared to getting the remaining fluids out. Suzanne saw the big fluid loss in my feet and it moved her to tears. She was amazed at how I was doing. By June 10th, I saw my Cardiologist who was also impressed with my home treatment plan. He saw improvement in my heart but advised me to limit my travels.

In about the middle of June, I decided to cut my liquid intake from 2,000 CCs to as low as 500 CCs. By July 6th, my weight was down to 186. but it took another month to loose just one lb, even at an average of 1,000 CCs liquid intake. I'd gained a few pounds after my 186 lb recording. That prompted a cut to 500 CCs and by mid September, I reached 182 lbs. I began to raise my liquid diet limitation. Despite my travel limitations, I decided to visit a relative who lived some 500 miles from where I lived. I flew to avoid driving and causing another episode of swelling in my legs. I didn't tell my cardio doc about this trip. The trip still had a downside. I had some minor swelling and had gained 16 lbs just on a weekend flight to and from Jacksonville. But I'd driven to Tallahassee and back which was 6 plus hours of driving. I got my weight and swelling down again just a week or so after my trip. By mid November, I considered the weight loss and diet restrictions to have eliminated all the fluid from my legs and feet. By Novembers end, I'd gotten back to my 180 lbs, the ordeal had ended. Now at aged 60. My heart has improved and I have kept my weight in check. It would be unfair not to credit my recovery to the efforts of my various doctors, nurses and PT's. Unlike many who might see this as yet another commentary on how crappy doctor treatment is versus home treatment. This is not the case here. It was the doctors who told me how much fluid to cut that made this story a success. I simply followed doctors orders once I got away from the cold hospital. Even after my first heart attack almost 15 years ago, I maintained the healthiest diet possible and avoided a toe amputation in 2010 as a result. I have to say by following doctors orders, taking my meds and dieting, at least a decade has been added to my life.

My legs as they normally appeared.

An approximation of my swelled legs.