# Tom.... Tom. Tom. Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom.... Tom. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 29, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403 "2005-06-29T18:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/1 "2005-06-29T18:27:37Z")
When you reach bottom, [stop digging](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&e=1&u=/nm/20050629/en_nm/germany_cruise_dc) . > [@](#): > > Asked in an interview with the tabloid daily Bild if he believed in aliens, Cruise said: "Yes, of course. Are you really so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe? Arrogant, eh Tom? Interesting. Keep it up and you’re going to wind up alone in the Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/2 "2005-06-29T18:28:59Z")
The chances are excellent that there is other intelligent life in the universe. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/3 "2005-06-29T18:30:36Z")
Yeah, but I’d be doing a lot of shutting up right now if I were him. A simple, “I don’t know” might lend him a touch of credibility he so desperately needs right now. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/4 "2005-06-29T18:31:06Z")
Sorry, but I gotta side with Tom on this one. But then I’m kooky like that. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/5 "2005-06-29T18:31:21Z")
Chances are also excellent that this will not be the last pitting of Tom Cruise. He’s really been making an ass of himself lately. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/6 "2005-06-29T18:32:08Z")
Well, don’t you think he has a point? I’m loathe to say this, what with all the Roswell nutjobs and the loonies on Coast To Coast AM, but think about it. With all the stars, planets, balls of rock, etc. in the universe, do you really think that there’s no chance that life could have been formed somewhere else? Is it not possible that somewhere there is a place other than here that is hospitable to life? It’s not impossible, and to a certain degree it is arrogance to assume that it couldn’t have happened somewhere else. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? Not at all. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/7 "2005-06-29T18:33:47Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > The chances are excellent that there is other intelligent life in the universe. Or as Sagan has suggested, have been or will be. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/8 "2005-06-29T18:35:10Z")
I wouldn’t have used the word “arrogant”, but otherwise, I pretty much agree with him. We’re just stunningly unlikely to ever meet them, let alone have slaved races inserted in our heads by them, to be discovered by Ron the saviour who will deliver us in to the hands of shitty moviemakers with an obsession with blue filters and wonky camera angles. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/9 "2005-06-29T18:35:11Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > The chances are excellent that there is other intelligent life in the universe. And they’d be embarassed to be associated with Cruise. I doubt they’d even waste the time on anally probing him. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/10 "2005-06-29T18:37:23Z")
There may be intelligent life forms in the universe. The Bild did not interview one. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/11 "2005-06-29T18:38:26Z")
I was about to start a thread on this topic, only i was going to criticize the media outlets for making something out of nothing. Essentially, this story boils down to, “Overexposed actor, like tens of millions of other people, believes it is likely that life has developed elsewhere in the universe.” Big fucking deal! The fact that media outlets feel the need to capitalize on Cruise’s recent idiocies in an attempt to get some mileage out of this non-issue is pretty pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/12 "2005-06-29T18:43:00Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The fact that media outlets feel the need to capitalize on Cruise’s recent idiocies in an attempt to get some mileage out of this non-issue is pretty pathetic. Media loves to tear down their own idols whom they’ve spent time building up. Yeah, Tom is an easy target lately. But only because he makes it easy. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/13 "2005-06-29T18:44:31Z")
> [@Mockingbird](#): > > And they’d be embarassed to be associated with Cruise. > > I doubt they’d even waste the time on anally probing him. He’d sue their ass if they went public with the anal probe thing. He’s sensitive about stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![Ferdechhio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3e96dc/32.png) [@Ferdechhio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferdechhio)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/14 "2005-06-29T18:45:14Z")
[Reach bottom!?](http://www.katieholmespictures.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=7) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/15 "2005-06-29T18:45:51Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > The chances are excellent that there is other intelligent life in the universe. I think that that’s a controversial statement, isn’t it? > **[Drake equation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation)** > > The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy. > The equation was formulated in 1961 by Frank Drake, not for purposes of quantifying the number of civilizations, but as a way to stimulate scientific dialogue at the first scientific meeting on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The equation summarizes the main concepts which scientists must contemplate when considering th... > **[Fermi paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox)** > > The Fermi paradox, named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, is the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life and various high estimates for their probability (such as some optimistic estimates for the Drake equation). > The following are some of the facts and hypotheses that together serve to highlight the apparent contradiction: > There have been many attempts to explain the Fermi paradox, primarily suggesting that intelligent extraterrestrial bei... > **[Rare Earth hypothesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis)** > > In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life and the evolution of biological complexity such as sexually reproducing, multicellular organisms on Earth (and, subsequently, human intelligence) required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances. > According to the hypothesis, complex extraterrestrial life is an improbable phenomenon and likely to be rare throughout the universe as a whole. The term "Rare E... > **[Mediocrity principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_principle)** > > The mediocrity principle is the philosophical notion that "if an item is drawn at random from one of several sets or categories, it's likelier to come from the most numerous category than from any one of the less numerous categories". The principle has been taken to suggest that there is nothing very unusual about the evolution of the Solar System, Earth's history, the evolution of biological complexity, human evolution, or any one nation. It is a heuristic in the vein of the Copernican princi Th... ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/16 "2005-06-29T18:51:53Z")
I wonder what the questioner meant? If it was just that there’s intelligent life out there somewhere, then TC’s response was at least reasonable. If he was talking about UFO’s then the response wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/17 "2005-06-29T18:53:22Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I think that that’s a controversial statement, isn’t it? No, I don’t think so. The universe is a huge place. A rare occurence is not the same as no occurence at all. I’m not saying that the universe is flooded with life, nor am I saying that humans will ever contact other intelligent life. I’m fairly comfortable in believing that humans are not the only intelligent life that has ever existed or will ever exist. Sadly, I’ll never know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/18 "2005-06-29T18:54:25Z")
No problem. I certainly would not begrudge a good woman her beliefs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/19 "2005-06-29T18:57:17Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > No problem. I certainly would not begrudge a good woman her beliefs. 🙂 You’ve got me mixed up with Guin. 😃 I am male. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403/20 "2005-06-29T19:00:08Z")
> [@Ferdechhio](#): > > [Reach bottom!?](http://www.katieholmespictures.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=7) I’m not talking about popularity contests. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom-tom/310403.md?page=2)