[Eden (Brett)]

I'm interested to hear what the general consensus is among forum members regarding the likelihood of sentient life elsewhere in the Milky Way -- disregarding, for the moment, other galaxies outside of our own.

I feel that the ideas planted in our minds by the likes of Star Trek and so forth make it difficult to approach this topic objectively. The Drake Equation is a novel approach but in this relatively early stage of our exploration of space we have little choice but to populate some of its variables with numbers which are practically arbitrary in their usefulness.

Looking at the ever-increasing number of exoplanetary discoveries and the huge scope by which they vary, I am personally inclined to believe that the question should not so much be a matter of whether there is sentient life out there but rather where that life is. The Kepler mission has only barely scraped the surface, given it's highly limited ability to detect extrasolar planets.

I am keen to hear what other forum members have to say on this subject.

Cheers,
Brett