Thank you, xMitsix, I truly appreciate that.
Dabbler-
Firstly, (considering that you have opened up to the possibility of life beyond earth) believing that there could be (and again, with this word) a possibility that life, outside of earth, could have or may someday find earth, is not fringe. You fall back too quickly on the idea of hoaxes, fringes, and cult groups which seemingly keeps your mind rigid, and unable to accept any form of possibility. Rather than doing so, maybe you ought to find yourself a new argument you can use when you're not debating with someone that is simply speaking about ideas and possibilities.
I could see that if I were claiming to have seen little green men from mars and that these little green men told me the vast secrets of the universe so I could write a book on it and use it as a foundation for a New World Order that I would be on the "fringe" as you like to call it. However, I am not. All that I am saying is there may be or could someday be, a possibility that other life forms (here we go again) could have or may someday find earth. I do not know. Nor do you. Which is why it is good to be open to the possibilities.
Now, again, possibilities are not hoaxes. Hoaxes are a fabrication that has tricked other people into believing that something has occurred. A possibility, dear Dabbler, cannot be a hoax, since it's something that has not happened. Do you understand the meaning of the word possibility? Am I not clear?
Now regarding that statement that you copy and pasted; I already explained that. I shouldn't have to again, however, I will copy and paste the explanation of that statement to you. Perhaps rereading it might help you to better understand.
"..all I have done is make a sincere, generalized opinion as to why perhaps some people disbelieve in the possibility of life outside of earth, because honestly, I can't understand why someone would think otherwise and these aforementioned factors are the only reasons I can quickly come up with as to why someone couldn't or wouldn't consider the possibilities."
Lastly, do you understand what critical thinking is? I tend to think you do not based on what you have written here, and other various space-themed threads. Critical thinking, dabbler, is a life long endeavor. It's a way of thinking that one must practice daily. In fact, dabbler, one of the first constitutive abilities in critical thinking is to be open-minded and mindful of alternatives. No one person can be a critical thinker through and through, on every subject, and when encountered with any one idea. Which, again, is why it is a life long endeavor. Perhaps you may want to read up on critical thinking if you're going to be throwing that term around as often as you do. It's good to understand the words and terms we use when communicating to and with others.
Here is a web site that simply explains the concepts behind critical thinking-http://www.criticalthinking.com/articles.html
I hope that this helps you.
