Yeah the tempering thing with such discussion, is the sheer bulk of opotunities out there.

Our galaxy has (depending who you listen too) has between 60 and a hundred billion stars. Lots of chances for conditions to be right - and we do know they have been right at least once.

The harderst part is finding these other races amongst the clutter. The last statistic I saw on the subject suggest over fifty thousand star systems would need to be examined per alien race discovered.

Yes I know the figures were largely guesswork - but it gives you an idea how hard it will really be.

Glen Chapman