
For professor and evolutionary biologist Simon Conway Morris, University of Cambridge, extraterrestrials resemble human beings and may have evolved on some of the many Earth-like planets already discovered by astronomers.
In the book “The Runes of Evolution”, the academic is based on the principle of convergent evolution, in which different species evolve independently with similar characteristics.
This is the case with the similarities found in the structure of the eyes of an octopus and a human being and, for him, this is not exclusive to Earth.
“The book really tries to show the world how evolutionary convergence is completely ubiquitous. Everywhere you look, you can see it,” says Morris, noting that the field is becoming increasingly popular.
He explained that it is certainly not the case that every planet like Earth has life, much less humanoids. But, if there is a fancy plant, it will look a lot like a flower. If there is a fly, there are only a few ways they could exist. If an animal has to swim like a shark, there are also only a few ways to do it.
Morris mentions the famous paradox put into question by scientist Enrico Fermi, who questions why aliens have not yet made contact. Morris believes that, if on track, the likelihood that intelligence is evolving and actively engaging in some kind of transgalactic expedition does not appear to be completely outside the realm of possibility.
“What Fermi didn’t know when he asked the famous question was that the number of planets like Earth is absolutely gigantic now. More problematic is that many are in solar systems long before ours. They would, in principle, have a head start of hundreds millions, if not billions of years,” says Morris.
For him, despite all the evidence that terrestrial life is isolated, this is not a closed question: “Honestly, I don’t know. My suspicion is that we have only begun to scratch the surface of reality.”