This is just an opinion: It’s a discussion, there’s bound to be some arguments, its normal.
on track, i believe there is a far greater chance of there being INTELLIGENT life out there, than chances there is not. It’s a big universe out there…
What I am saying is that earth IS lucky and conditions are not very extreme. Life exists where it is very cold in frozen ice but could it survive if in 6 hours it would be hotter the Calahari Desert
Also about the non-carbon life, scientist have (supposedly) found non-protein based organisms which is more astounding that without carbon.
Also earth didn’t come perfect to life, yet life just appeared once conditions were favoriable. We have only found life after (supposedly) the atmosphere changed to oxygen instead of volcanic gases
I am getting tired of saying supposedly
Especially when we try to define what intelligence is. Could we even count dolphins and chimps, since they have language and can understand human language? (even dogs can understand up to 200 words, though I can’t cite this and so I’m unsure about the source’s credibility)
Let’s say that there are three “intelligent” life forms on this planet: humans, chimps, and dolphins. Take the Drake Equation. Optimistically, it predicts there are 10-10,000 communicating, intelligent life forms in the universe. But the Drake Equation assumes there is only one proven intelligent species on this planet. Also, if we wish to ignore the time-difference, what about Neanderthals and other human relatives?
Is the chimp lineage simply blessed? Or is some-what intelligence common in evolutionary history? We only have 100,000 years of experience as a civilization, yet 1 million years ago there were other intelligent life forms on our own planet. Isn’t it possible there were intelligent dinosaurs, like Troodons, that could have had language like dolphins but didn’t have a true civilization?
If humans evolved over a span of 1 million years or so, I think it’s ridiculous to think it took 3 billion years for intelligence to first come about.
True. Assuming carbon and water based life, Earth does have excellent conditions.
I know you said “supposedly,” but do you have a cite or link? I’d love to look into that! (We’re just now learning proteins in my Bio II class. ^^)
I always thought the first plants produced mass quantities of oxygen, leading the way for animal evolution, but I could be wrong. But if plants had produced fluorine instead, life could have taken a much different path. (considering fluorine is another highly reactive gas, but don’t ask for my chem. reasoning because I took that class two years ago. 
I’m a bio person these days)
And then there’s viruses to think about. 
Ahah but viruses are NOT considered life
and about that there was a book and movie called Adromida Strain and they were claimed to be true. Unfortinatly on the web there it is hard to find accurate info. There was however a chat between a piolt and a air base commander and athough I question its authencitcy here is a link click here