wildgurularry

wildgurularry t1_jdoi5y1 wrote

Something to think about is how much the anthropic principle plays into things. Here is how I think about it: assume everything that happened to Earth was required for intelligent life to develop.

So, you need a planet with a large moon. That can only happen if a planet that was just the right size hit us during formation. That's pretty rare.

Assume you need a fairly significant axial tilt. Assume you need a rotation speed that gives a day length that is not too long and not too short.

Assume you need just enough water to cover more than half the planet, but not so much to cover the whole planet.

Assume you need a large Jupiter-like planet to shepherd asteroids.

Assume you need periodic large asteroid impacts every few hundred million years. Not too big, just enough to "reset" life to give other species a chance to develop.

There are probably a bunch that I'm forgetting about... But I think intelligent life is harder to develop than just needing water and oxygen on a planet.

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wildgurularry t1_j7kkgzt wrote

Reply to comment by Redditing-Dutchman in 200k!!!!!! by Key_Asparagus_919

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