Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Is there life on Mars ?
Because of recent events this question can now be tackled with much more confidence. We are now in the fortunate position of being able to decide one way or another by using the following arguments :
- JUST BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T FOUND DEFINITIVE PROOF YET, DOESN'T MEAN THAT LIFE DOESN'T EXIST OR, IN FACT, THAT IT NEVER EXISTED.
There is some 'evidence' that life existed, from the study of meteorites that have been found on Earth (SEE links ) but which originated on Mars. There is some disagreement over whether they do in fact show life-forms but those who believe that the evidence is clear only need to state that they are honourable people who wouldn't knowingly or falsely believe in something which later proved to be false. They must also have a lot of money behind them which will allow them to buy off some of their opponents : those that disagree can either be ignored, villified or co-erced into submission. The fact that life possibly did once exist can be used to extrapolate to a current position where life could be said to exist, if only it could be proven. After all, we have yet to spend enough time or money to disprove the existence of life so one can happily (with fingers crossed and a pure-white conscience) believe that it does exist until the opposite can be proved. Until proven otherwise, therefore, a belief in the existence of Martian life-forms (whether in a complete, physical sense, or as a series of suppositions leading to a belief that it should exist, or, even, may have existed) can be argued and defended without public embarrassment or any sense of shame.
- THERE IS 'EVIDENCE' OF STRUCTURES WHICH CANNOT YET BE DEFINITIVELY DISPROVED.
Photographs taken of the surface of Mars seem to show canals (SEE links ) and a massive face-like structure (SEE links ). These can be interpreted as possible viable signs of life until anyone can prove otherwise. That isn't likely to happen for the foreseeable future so, for the time being, those trusting the available evidence cannot be proved wrong. Certain photographic evidence may be doubted by others as evidence of nothing more than natural features which have been misinterpreted (or even doctored) but, as stated previously, this cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt. But even if it could, an 'honest' admission of misinterpretation by others, and a statement of responsibility for any unknowable errors, may allow one to sleep easy at night while continuing with the day job.
- DISPROVING LIFE ON MARS IS LOGICALLY MORE DIFFICULT THAN PROVING IT DOES EXIST.
To disprove the belief that there is or was life on Mars requires a complete survey of the surface (and, possibly, neighbouring planets), the presence of human experts on the spot for as long as it is deemed necessary (i.e. forever) and a signed statement from the creator of life, the universe and everything stating that although life may have been present at one time, there is currently nothing alive on the planet. As can be seen, this is going to be a pretty difficult thing to accomplish. Until such time as it is, the belief in life on Mars can be held and argued for (with honesty or not, you decide) and the next problem can be tackled to try and distract peoples' attention - warnings about alien attacks on major cities, for example. If, however, the facts can be proved such that life on Mars can be discounted to the satisfaction of any reasonable person (or politician, in some limited cases), the argument can be turned in another direction (even the opposite direction, if necessary), or people can be distracted by the possibility of life on other planets which may or may not have come from Mars originally. A policy of scare-mongering about hidden alien sabatoeurs within your own community will be willingly inflated by pliant 'media' outlets - desperation ignores any distinction between truth and fiction. However, the best response is to set up your own enquiries to provide the answers you were expecting to a limited number of delineated questions.
In summation, life on Mars can be believed in without fear of ridicule (at least, in public by anyone in a position of power) and with every fibre of your very being, while still believing in (a form of) honesty and the rule of law - so help you, God. If you do hold a position of power, you can even use various forms of credulous media, partial intelligence, subconscious suggestions or white-washes to get your message across and brow-beat or frighten people to your side. After all, what's the worst that can happen ? You lose your job and credibility ? Don't worry, there are plenty of people willing to pay serious money for your thoughts and you could be giving after-dinner speeches for the rest of your pathetic existence.
