Regardless what people think of chance... if something is unproven or unknown it still does mean it's likely to have happened that way. So in a way labeling something as 'A possibility' might not have any real value.



Yeah, but once you're following that line of thought, there's no way back in terms of assumptions based upon assumptions as Fastlane said.

Just because something was thought of to may have happened or exist, doesn't mean it's a real possibility so much as just a theoretical one. In abstract thinking, sure it can be possible, in reality most of the craziest ideas never really are a real possibility.

Now the real question here is; how crazy is the idea of life elsewhere and that's where we/they should concentrate on. And as far as I can tell, that's also why UFOs and aliens so easily get ridiculed as well. I don't think the idea of alien life visiting us mixed with no credible evidence whatsoever mixes very well when it comes to credibility and possibility.



True, but there you are assuming that these alien species may have entirely different ways of 'living'. I think it's unlikely for various reasons (for example; same rules in the universe would suggest a higher chance of 'similar' kinds of life evolved under the same conditions, wouldn't you agree? Obviously it's guesswork nonetheless, but it makes (more) sense imho than something totally different under the same conditions). Needless to say until we actually find alien species we won't know for sure.

Still, if you look at life here on our planet, sure life has found many ways to evolve, yet the core systems all tend to use the same successful formula.