Aliens, or extraterrestrial beings, have always been depicted as odd looking, with green skin, huge heads and eyes and abnormal limbs. But a biologist from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. said that these aliens, should they exist, would actually appear just like human beings. In his book, "The Runes of Evolution," Professor Simon Conway Morris explained that the probability of extraterrestrial life existing in other planets is quite high, especially since astronomers have recently been discovering Earth-like planets around us.
He also theorized that due to convergence, the aliens' physical features would have already evolved closer to the appearance of humans, and they would also think intelligently as humans do.
He cited that convergence takes place in every aspect of evolution on Earth, from the cells, to the development of human life, to the way humans create tools. "I would argue that in any habitable zone that doesn't boil or freeze, intelligent life is going to emerge, because intelligence is convergent. One can say with reasonable confidence that the likelihood of something analogous to a human evolving is really pretty high," Morris said, via Cambridge News.
"Given the number of potential planets that we now have good reason to think exist, even if the dice only come up the right way every one in 100 throws, that still leads to a very large number of intelligences scattered around, that are likely to be similar to us," he added.
Morris also said that evolution is not a random process and that it is quite predictable, but he is surprised that none of the aliens have ever tried to contact us just yet, nor have we come across them. "The problem is exceedingly acute: we shouldn't be alone but, famous last words, all the evidence suggests we are. Maybe [aliens] are hiding, the Arthur C. Clarke idea, or as Stephen Baxter mischievously suggested we live in a virtual world. I don't honestly know. My suspicion is we have only begun to scratch at the surface of reality, for want of a better word," he further stated, via the Independent.
His book has been released through Templeton Press.
