Life on other planets

Yes I too think the horse analogy is very good.

However my point is that it could be a shame to go looking for only horses when its the grass that might hold the clue.

More fundamental is the point made that the primary search is for carbon based life and we are confined to EM signals.

I guess until we find information carrying media other than EM waves we are stuck.

However I keep wishing another way might eventually be found.

However my point is that it could be a shame to go looking for only horses when its the grass that might hold the clue.

I see your point. Lots of animals eat grass..................and they aint all horses.

Not sure where that leaves us....................

Looking for a big sheep in the cosmos?

Wait we have one...............it's called Aries (ok it aint a sheep.............but close enough)

For all we know...bacteria may have a chain of command. A hirarchical(sp?) society.

Hardly, since they reproduce by binary fission.
So, unless additional free DNA is taken in, the organisms are essentially clones. The closest we get to that is ants bees and wasps, which are still more diverse genetically due to drones, but it's still not a hierarchical structure per se, it's based on keeping the egg-producer going, not on centralising power.
However, with regards to life in the universe, although we are may not be alone, in reality we may as well be.
If the light barrier isn't breached by space travel, it'll take too long to reach and communicate with other civilisations.
Think of shipwrecked sailors on small islands twenty miles or so apart with no boats. They can never reach each other, or even know that there are others nearby. That's essentially the situation we may be in here.