According to a Roper poll taken in 2002, two-thirds of the American populace believes that intelligent, extraterrestrial life exists. But that means that one-third is skeptical: A generous slice of the citizenry thinks we might be the cleverest creatures in the Milky Way, or even the entire cosmos.
When I lecture about our hunt for life elsewhere, there are always folks in the audience who share this pessimistic point of view (which surprises me, given that they've voluntarily come to my talk). When I ask what motivates their disbelief, the response usually boils down to this: Extraterrestrial intelligence is too improbable.
Just more evidence that there are either a lot of ignorant people, or a lot of frightened people out there. To read the rest of the article, click here.