Evolution of Intelligent Life in the Universe

Mr. Koener

17 December 2013

Midterm Essay – Evolution of Intelligent Life in The Universe

Looking back on the history of life on Earth and the evolution of primitive life to intelligent life has allowed us to imagine how life may have come about on other planets. We can make inferences based on the role of oxygen in the evolution of early life, key factors in the evolution of the brain and the evolution of language and technology.

First of all, what was the role of oxygen in the origin of early Metazoans? Oxygen to early life was toxic. Before events such as the great oxygenation event, life on earth did not rely on aerobic respiration to gain energy. Most life at the time used other means of respiration that did not produce as much energy as aerobic respiration. This meant that the organisms were not able to grow very large or complex because they did not have the energy resources to do so. Aerobic respiration produced up to 22x more energy than other forms of respiration allowing organisms to develop complexity and grow larger. Oxygen played a crucial role in the origin of early Metazoans.

What can we infer about the evolution of intelligent life from primitive life based on the history of life on Earth?

1. Role of oxygen and planetary environment conductive to the origin of metazoans

When oxygen came onto the scene it flopped its big dick out on the table and said FUCK YOU to most of the organisms who were existing during this period of time. A few organisms however were tough enough to take all 10’ of unlubed cock and evolved to be larger and ever more complex,. No only that but they lead to a shift in greenhouse gas ratios causing drastic global temperature changes causesing even more extinction

Oxygen is capable of producing a much higher yield of energy over other early forms of respiration. This meant that organisms which used aerobic respiration were able to grow larger and more complex

2.