Alex McColgan

Putting the numbers through the equation makes it a bit more tangible, a bit more magical and exciting even.

According to the Drake equation, the sky could be completely silent, or absolutely teeming with alien life.

If it is the former,

then we should probably prepare ourselves for a long, lonely existence.

We should learn to get along with each other, because we are all the life we are ever going to see.

There will be no alien stopping by to say hello.

But if it is the latter, it leads to a very important question.

Where are they all?

But that is a question we will have to look at in the next video of this series.

For now, my own biggest takeaway from this is that we need to try to refine some of these numbers.

Through the efforts of rovers like Perseverance on Mars, we are already taking steps towards attempting to find alien life within our own solar system.

The more we are able to narrow these numbers down, the more certain we will be as to our odds of finding alien civilizations.

Until we find one, it's all a question of odds, and whether the chances are high or low, well, that's very much up to you.

So, write in the comments, what do you think, or what would you rather?

Throughout human history, much thought has gone into what alien life might look like.

Sometimes they are depicted as grey-skinned humanoids with large eyes, sometimes as strange tentacle monsters.

But ultimately,

While this is an interesting question to consider, it's not really the most important one, for there is a far more pressing consideration we need to talk about if aliens actually do exist.

Namely, if we encounter aliens tomorrow, what might we expect them to do?

While this may seem like an idle question, our survival as a species might depend on us knowing the answer.