Unless you are of the belief that life is unique to Earth, the sheer numbers of stars makes it almost a mathematical certainty that there is life elsewhere in the galaxy, let alone the universe as a whole. It really doesn't matter what number you plug into the other variables in the Drake equation, as long as they aren't zero the result is going to be a fairly large number.
The real question is assuming there is life and intelligent life, is there any possible way we could make contact with them considering the vast distances involved.
EDIT:I should say "meaningful contact". We could beam radio message back and forth, but a 50+ year message lag would be a real pain. It's bad enough in the game waiting two turns for a response.
[ August 15, 2002, 16:29: Message edited by: geoschmo ]
Re: Alien Life
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