Silicon-Based Life: Could Living Rocks Exist?

[@octodude6815]

Silicon-based life form 1: Could carbon-based life exist? And if so, what would it look like? Silicon-based life form 2: I dunno; like charcoal?

[@StarSage66]

This comment is horribly underrated

[@allenstuder6938]

I literally went into the comments to post almost this same thing

[@toryumau6798]

... Except they wouldn't know what a "Char-coal" is, because charcoal is artificially created by heating organic matter in an anaerobic environment, and even regular coal is formed from plants that have been compressed under immense pressure and heat. Thus, they already know carbon-based life exists and this is either a rhetorical question or an ironic tongue-in-cheek jab. >),:^/

[@Cthultystka]

@@toryumau6798 Silicon-based life form 1: Could carbon-based life exist? And if so, what would it look like? Silicon-based life form 2: I dunno; like a diamond? ;>

[@patrick_on_here9914]

Toryu Mau you’re exhausting

[@NoahSpurrier]

Saying that silicon based life might look like a pile of rocks is like saying that carbon based life might look like a pile of charcoal briquettes or a pool of tar or diamonds or some other simplistic interpretation of what "carbony" creatures must be like. The last time I looked at a siloxane (longs chains of silicon and oxygen) it looked at lot like more like rubber rather than rocks.

[@Outwardpd]

Especially considering substance known to man is made of carbon, diamond, and last I checked no living things have ever been that tough. Then again due to silicon's instability with oxygen I would assume oxygen wouldn't be something they would like, potentially being toxic to any silicon based life. I think the real question at this point would be what could replace the various other elements we need to exist, such as water and pure oxygen.

[@geoffreylane5606]

Grey fake alien doll bodysuits with demon walk in souls etc.

[@andybeans5790]

I think siloxanes used as "silicone sealant" are methylated (i.e. include carbon) or cyclical (not long chains).

[@francoislacombe9071]

Why are silicon based life forms always imagined are rock or crystal like? We are carbon based and we don't look like charcoal or diamonds.

[@GLaDTheresCake]

because CO2 isn't a crystal, but SiO2 forms crystals extremely easily (quartz), and in non-crystal form it is still a solid (namely silica, aka sand).

[@Spartan0430]

probably because we have no clue as to how they would truly look like so we just go with what makes the most sense?

[@LuxinNocte]

To a silicone based organism we might pretty much look like large clumps of charcoal. Just as we don't have the faculties to diffferenciate between rocks very well, they might not differenciate between carbon forms well.

[@timtitus5002]

I beleive aliens from Alien are silicon based. If I remember correctly.

[@0207xander]

because fuck imagination, we're scientists, we just calculate shit

[@katowo6521]

meanwhile, in a distant galaxy: "..which means, there could be carbon-based lifeforms that look like pencil lead somewhere in the universe!"

[@Temp0raryName]

@@_chimera_ Because graphite is far more common than diamond. The more abundant an element is the more opportunities it would provide for life to evolve (assuming that such was possible of course). Plus graphite contains graphine, which has numerous miraculous properties, a number of which could be useful to hypothetical graphite based life. For instance forming an incredibly light, yet very strong bladder or lung-like structure which would be impervious to all gas (barring any openings in it necessary for whatever bodily function it was carrying out).

[@vinala67]

Why are people

[@DragonOfTheMortalKombat]

Oh boy they're not right 🤣🤣 Pencil lead.

[@mat_drown]

I'm living in constant fear that silicon-based organisms exist and that they'd try to steal my highly coveted Rokakaka fruit

[@kaiderhaiii]

I'm also scared of my local University Hospital being basically run by them, running some untested healing methods that require you to give up a part of your body that could be anything

[@CofaMakesVideos]

I was looking for this comment

[@Master_Therion]

Would advanced silicon life-forms use carbon to build their computer microprocessors?

[@Master_Therion]

Tato Oops, sorry. I forgot. I hope the silicon aliens forgive me.

[@AngelSamael]

Carbon isn't a metalloid though so it doesn't have the same semi-conductor properties that allow Silicon to be used in computing. Perhaps silicon based life forms could use silicons in their brains like an organic computer, maybe it's more effective than our nerves so it would be easier for them to evolve intelligence despite the weak silicon-silicon bonds.

[@nickv8334]

well the thing is that at this point they are doing tests to how to make chips out of carbon instead of silicon. the transistors in these chips are already faster then silica chips but are harder to make and we can only fit a few thousand on a chip (for now) instead of the billions with silica. in time, carbon is very likely to replace the silica in chips so if these silicon based lifeforms are more advanced then us, then yea, they likely use carbon in microprocessors....

[@shinji391]

the advanced silicon lifeforms would be crystalline enormous supercomputers.

[@lionelinx7]

lol

[@AudoricArt]

well yeah, of course they exist! in fact they came to earth over 5000 years ago to harvest our natural resouces but a few of them started a rebellion to save earth. Now they live in a small beach town in new jersey protecting us earthlings from further harm!

[@ConnorGorski]

Steven Universe lol

[@anderudp]

It's actually the area of Delaware i think, but it's actually called Delmarwa, and covers area from nearby states, including New Jersey

[@reecejohnson4218]

holly fuk

[@kcazllerraf]

Delmarva is the peninsula on the outer edge of Chesapeake Bay that includes parts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia [Del-Mar-VA]

[@FlorenceFox]

But wait... ... they exhale quartz?

[@AlphaBetaDeltaGamma]

most celebrities are silicone based

[@ganaraminukshuk0]

I saw what you did there.

[@AlvinCornelius]

Not trump though, he's 100% pure shit, the purest of its kind.

[@ljmastertroll]

breast comment ever

[@ozdergekko]

made my day, m8 :-D

[@palebluedot7435]

+Alvin Cornelius well he is a special kind of shit. as any nutritionist will tell you he is high in keratin

[@gfbtfbtfilyfxbtyewqqef]

Imagine if you go piss on a rock and it starts screaming

[@CSLucasEpic]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIGWgZyOr72GeMk

[@ilkkarautio2449]

That would be awful. 😥

[@HIKOL_Nightcore]

Imagine going on the moon only to find rocks going on a bloody carnage.

[@ewiem4351]

PETR - People for the Ethical Treatment of Rocks.

[@mattymattsidebyeach]

pet rocks

[@evanknowles4780]

SPEW- Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare.

[@FrankBugZappa]

even funnier since peter means rock

[@paulburger9904]

They're called minerals

[@evanknowles4780]

Paul Burger Rocks are minerals or a collection of minerals.

[@shucklesweep7457]

In another planet "Is there life made out of diamonds?"

[@shucklesweep7457]

+BB-8 No, but that's the exact same thing as us expecting silicon being rocks, when they probably wouldn't have to be.

[@Sax4565]

+BB-8 Damn the joke went far over your head :D

[@MilanMilan0000]

Yellow diamond?

[@arooobine]

WOOSH!

[@sciencepower608]

+Vegeta we need to stop.

[@LeviG]

brb gonna catch myself a real life Geodude

[@cloudkitt]

Finally. I was expecting the comments to be full of pokemon references

[@jamestrotman3238]

so no chance for carbink?

[@cloudkitt]

I don't know if you're being snarky, but if you think the comments on scishow youtube videos consist of people interested in higher learning, you've got another thing comin.

[@cloudkitt]

I didn't say it makes sense. I'm saying a perusal of youtube comments will clearly show that to be the case. This conversation, for instance.

[@Anonarchist]

I got a rock...

[@ulfsark78]

Why does everyone assume silicon life will look like crystals or rocks. Does carbon based life look like ash or diamonds??

[@dwood2001]

+

[@danilooliveira6580]

I suppose its because silicon bonds are extremely unstable, so the most stable and simple form is crystaline. also Silicon dioxide form quartz crystals, while CO2 is a gas

[@ulfsark78]

that's assuming its going to be using oxygen, though. if its a world with no oxygen, silane gas is a possibility. Or if its oceans of ammonia, then maybe even silicon nitrite ...

[@AnonP2X3YZ]

+Ulf Sark Floating living glass clouds

[@joshuahunt3032]

What if such life existed on a planet similar to Venus in terms of atmospheric pressure and temperature? Perhaps some silicon-based life looks like freshly-blown glass?

[@tristanlau1213]

The Kardashians is a silicone based species.

[@avi8aviate]

Silicon is NOT silicone. Silicone is gel-like, while silicon is... rock.

[@roguedruid]

+Kirby, that is true, but the comment still makes sense because of silicone implants, so he wasn't wrong, only saying something that sounds similar.

[@avi8aviate]

Ah, now I see. I'll just leave my reply in for effect.

[@moomosa2950]

Are

[@doylethelovely2555]

Chump me up

[@helpme5785]

"hey dude watch this" throws up lung shaped quartz

[@thorargent]

Wow, so much to say here. First, carbon-based life does not look like coal. Why assume that silicon-based life would look like a rock? Since the long chain molecules that could form are often flexible, it would be a safe assumption that silicon-based life would probably be made of flexible molecules as well. Silicones are a hybrid- containing carbon AND silicon. But there are silanes that can be the basis of long chain molecules that are flexible and this would lead a reasonable chain of thought to "hey, maybe silicon-based life would be a lot more like carbon-based life." Also, you cannot "exhale" quartz- instead it would be reasonable to think that perhaps it would be produced by the metabolism as another form, perhaps accreted as a shell in a manner similar to gastropods. Exhale a shell by secreting a silicate solution or some other mobile form of the quartz. Much more realistic. Just a couple of common sense notions about why a lot of this is plain wrong. we might want to consider that a solvent other than water is a necessity, but what would it be?

[@brenndanmcdonaugh1672]

But, it's possible that it would look like a stone. You never know how life could evolve

[@helpme5785]

Charles Shults really that just adds to the possibilities though. Like, carbon based life that looks like coal? A spectrum of life from carbon to silicon based? It's so cool to think about life out there that looks like us but their dead forms caverns or deposits of quartz's instead of coal and oil. We will have to see how to turns out when the results of those experiments come out. Maybe they'll be like brown diatoms??? Idk. It's so cool.

[@thomasraahauge5231]

I am just spit balling here, but if silicon-based life is to be found deep in the lithosphere, then perhaps preasurized gases could act as solvents? Ammonia has already been mentioned, but how about sulphoric compounds? They are notoriously reactive, but life always finds a way.

[@andregon4366]

"we might want to consider that a solvent other than water is a necessity, but what would it be?" Considering that Silicon is directly below Carbon we could make the same path with Oxygen, that would lead us to Sulphur. Could sulphuric acid work as a solvent for a silicon life form? And why lock a lifeform to a single solvent? they could use more than one.

[@thomasraahauge5231]

The problem with more than one solvent is the osmotic preasure in the cell. If we have sulphuric acid in most of the cell, and another sulphuric solvent in one or more of the organnels, there will be a different osmotic preasure in that organnel. That could be a problem. On the other hand, life always finds a way,

[@RunItsTheCat]

But what if... Earth itself is alive? *Puts on tinfoil hat*

[@SupraKooper]

The sun is alive.

[@z-beeblebrox]

Bad news: your tinfoil came from the Earth. You're basically just wearing more of it

[@crackedemerald4930]

no it didn´t, earth isn´t a star

[@z-beeblebrox]

Pedro Rocha I don't know where you think tin is acquired from, but last time I checked we don't have a shipping lane running from Earth to the surface of the Sun :p

[@marklarizzle]

That means it is not just flat, but super flat. all those hills are just wood and plaster. You can tell if you just take a sheet of paper and hold it above your head, the sheet will want to mold with the earth because science, just believe me.

[@Limrasson]

And they said I was crazy to have a pet rock. WHO'S THE CRAZY NOW?!

[@SuperRunescap]

Me

[@eriathdien]

How about mixed chemistry? Carbon based lifeforms that incorporate silicon for making carapaces, organs that would allow them to resist the heat, computer like-qualities... I don't know. We're carbon-based lifeforms that depend a lot on our silicon based computers. If we become cyborgs we'll be officially a mixed carbon-silicon life from.

[@allthingsdestructive]

eriathdien silicon is not a conductor, it is a semiconductor. you would have to incorporate pure metal into said structures as well as insulation for the metals, not to mention a source of electricity. Keep in mind that metals in large quantities in the body are extremely toxic. Simply put, there are many, many ways this could not happen. I could go on if you like.

[@derschmiddie]

sad boy metals in general aren't toxic. Esp. the ones mostly used in computers like copper, nickel, aluminium or gold. They're mostly inert and don't interact with your body at all. Same goes for most precious metals like platinum, palladium, iridium, tantalum and so on. It's true that there are toxic metals like lead, mercury and cadmium but those aren't used in excess in consumer electronics due to the risk of exposure.

[@D8W2P4]

Well Silicon is used kinda like that in things like Diatoms, some types of Sponges and plants in general need it, it's also required for producing elastin and collagen in animals.

[@teemusid]

Pipe down, Locutus.

[@tysondennis1016]

I’m thinking of making a mixed carbon/silicon lifeform that can plug its neural systems into other members of its species, in order to communicate, and can upload/download information from computers and control computers.

[@tombirdman8900]

Rock Humans have taken over the underground fruit industry. Only an guy with amnesia, his friend, and a fruit appraiser can put a stop to this.

[@VengadorDorado91]

sooo....Geodudes are possible. cool.

[@MaoRatto]

Takes a new meaning of being ROCK HARD!

[@jabberwockydraco4913]

As well as graveler and Golem, the gigalith line, maybe aggron, if those existed, it would rock so hard.

[@noxabellus]

+light yagami you should be slapped for this

[@jabberwockydraco4913]

+noxabellus For using a rock pun?

[@andrewcleary9952]

No, for all those people he killed with the Death Note. So many people...

[@Censtudios]

So that "pet rock" idea wasn't so weird after all!

[@robinkarlberg4679]

So that is how those moving rocks in death valley move :)

[@weedandwine]

Aha!!

[@tiagotiagot]

Heh Actually, it was found that in rare occasions when it rains there, an extremely shallow lake forms, and then it might freeze; wind, plus motions caused by the ice itself, make them slide around.

[@isalastname5237]

TiagoTiago that doesn't explain the trails they leave behind them

[@tiagotiagot]

+isaih flores Why not?

[@ElectricPyroclast]

TiagoTiago You'd think that weather related causes of motion would damage or downright remove the trails. I'm no expert on the subject, but I would be skeptical if weather alone was the source of kinetic energy.

[@scottishbeverage6269]

"It's life, Jim, but not as we know it"

[@Yoshiepic]

ScottishBeverage62 I've been looking for this comment xD

[@mattschroeder3432]

i love how expressive you are it helps make this stuff more interesting thanks

[@ZweiZombies]

Life must be hard as a silicon based life form.. I'll show myself out

[@SeigiVA]

Soooo... Steven universe is possible

[@ayeletdrago]

Dun dun dun

[@dohickey7184]

yay, real life gay space rocks

[@hellkaiser64]

I was thinking about diamond head from ben 10

[@thriayehm2865]

stop

[@thriayehm2865]

that's carbon

[@AQuietMyth]

I like how the vast majority of evolutionary leaps are the result of hyper durable micro organisms failing at their jobs. Maybe there is still hope for me :^)

[@Oracle428]

+ This made me chuckle... well said.

[@sciencepower608]

True

[@84ND3R5N4TCH]

Just because something is silicon based, doesn't make it a living rock. We're not living lumps of coal, are we?

[@firecage7925]

Well...to be fair, both Charcoal and Coal are basically dead carbon-based organisms.

[@84ND3R5N4TCH]

+Firecage Do you look like a piece of coal?

[@firecage7925]

Considering I am alive and not burned to a crisp, or had a high amount of pressure placed on me, I would say no. But lets take coal. Normally it's trees which, far underground and under a lot of pressure(not what exactly happens, but you get my point), eventually over the course of millions of years turn into coal. So, it's not a living organism anymore, its dead. And Diamonds goes just a step farther than coal. Charcoal is also basically dead trees. They are burned to that state. A better analogy would be, do humans look like trees, or like fish? Since they are all carbon-based living organisms.

[@Dan-lt8vm]

Wow, "when will you learn?", you're smert.

[@84ND3R5N4TCH]

+Firecage So in other words, you're an idiot and can't understand a simple question? Let's try something easier to read: LIFE ON EARTH DOES NOT LOOK LIKE CARBON WHILE ALIVE. SILICON LIFE WOULD NOT LOOK LIKE ROCKS/GLASS. Is that clear enough?

[@JakeAvatar1]

Brings a new meaning to "the hills are alive..."

[@courtneywoodbury5198]

There is aStar Trek TNG episode kinda like that too. *"UGLY SACKS OF MOSTLY WATER"*

[@orangutan7934]

I just watched that lol

[@appa609]

Silicone based life could have the same consistency as human tissue.

[@tawon1984]

Research like this is what got us the Xenomorph's they are silicon based.

[@autumnpines453]

There are living rocks, their from space living among humans without us knowing, and there hella gay. They call themselves "The Crystal Gems".

[@MelodySnowflakeVA]

Yaaasss xD

[@tacodude98]

They're*

[@BackByUnpopularDemand]

So that’s how Patrick’s pet rock won the race! Maybe he is a genius after all...

[@thedoctor3996]

I'm going to be lynched for this.... Steven Universe's gems, anyone?

[@Dani-tp4wn]

Knew i'd fine someone XD. It's interesting to know that Gems are an actual scientific possibility-- although not at all as intelligent.

[@knowthy4048]

Same

[@BrightKnightMC]

Well the gems are pretty much supercomputers so they are not biological life

[@monkeysue61]

omg I was just thinking that XD

[@Frooti.loopz23]

Omg yes

[@coryman125]

Us: what if there are living rocks (silicon based life) out there?! Them: what if there are living diamonds (carbon based life) out there?!

[@str1kerxx]

Good one ^^

[@shibolinemress8913]

According to Star Trek, silicon-based life should look like lasagna bolognese. 😁

[@Ribbuns]

Fun fact: 95% of silicon-based rock humans have stands!

[@godofmath1039]

IS THAT A FREAKING JOJO REFERENCE?!

[@indiciaobscure]

I'm considering taking biology and chemistry courses, but I fear I could never be as excited about the material as this woman.

[@ganaraminukshuk0]

Why not start with solvents, like alternatives to water? If life as we know it requires water, is there some substance that shares the same properties as water at some pressure and temperature where water could otherwise exist as crystal or gas?

[@Alexaflohr]

Methane does similar stuff when it gets really, really cold. On worlds like Titan, you get lakes of liquid natural gas. Ethanol could probably perform similar functions to water, but it's a relatively complex molecule that probably won't form in bulk like water does. We've got some oils like turpentine that might be able to perform semi-similar functions, but those have the same problems that ethanol does. Besides those, we're looking at variations upon water. Salt water, various acid or base solutions, mineral waters, electrolyte solutions. Water, in the end, is one of the only true solvents on this planet.

[@neeneko]

I can recall years ago people talking about ammonia (I think) as an alternative solevent due to both similar properties and its abundance/stability on some of the outer worlds and moons. No idea how grounded in science it was though.

[@DAndyLord]

On a planet with liquid methane, water would be akin to rocks on Earth. If intelligent life existed on this planet we would look like terrifying lava monsters to them. We'd literally (to them) have magma in our veins, we would (appear to) spit and piss actual lava. WE WOULD BE FUCKING DRAGONS!!

[@Hardzinho_yay]

Ammonia is the best candidate.

[@martinofgliwice1486]

liquid methane is a terrible solvent for life. unreactive, it cannot participate in any sensible reactions that would be part of organism's methabolism in its liquid state at low temperature. hydrides of nitrogen, sulfur, fluorine are potential solvents for alternative biochemistries as well as a few others like H2SO4. however, to me water seems far superior than any of theese, although ammonia is not that bad. others are crap.

[@dominicdabalam1466]

Yes Theyre Calles Garnett Amethyst and Pearl

[@bswtsp21]

Well the gems are light constructs....

[@ayeletdrago]

(and STEVEN!) i'm not sorry.

[@LeonardGreenpaw]

+bswtsp21 Their humanoid bodies are light constructs, their gems are their actual physical body. DUH

[@EpicB]

For years, long before Steven Universe was even a thing, I've had a small vial of rose quartz crystals.

[@doppelrutsch9540]

Well, apart from the fact that Garnet is made from Ruby and Sapphire (both aluminium based) and Pearl is made from Carbon just like us (as well as the Diamonds btw).

[@Beffinee]

crystal gems confirmed

[@PrimeCo129]

Dia and Phos incoming :'3

[@liranpiade4499]

Rose Quartz is exhaled breath of some breathing gem?

[@DrDuckMD]

Is that the real beffinee

[@shamoonashameem2050]

Totally

[@Sonchikas1]

Crystal gems are not based on sillicon, they're based on whatever rocks humans call precious.

[@ManintheArmor]

Perhaps if paired with deuterium and heavy isotopes, the bonds with silicon may be strengthened. An alternative chemistry may also be necessary.

[@VhanchyShu]

So that's why a rock in our yard keeps changing places every morning. Gonna make it a pet now! What do I feed it?

[@dereksporekid8267]

Vhan Chua i guess you would feed it heat energy?

[@curiousmind4870]

Throw it some old microchips

[@RealBasicHuh]

i hope no silicon humans try to fight me for my red fruit

[@nddragoon]

"the james webb space telescope, launching in 2018" oof this makes me sad

[@SnowyTurtleXD]

living rocks huh?.... ahem ... WE ARE THE CRYSTAL GEMS!!

[@cybercephalopod3913]

Ironically, their case is more to do with von neumann probes and nanomachines.

[@Rscapeextreme447]

yasssss

[@Rscapeextreme447]

+rsextreme477 I thought about Steven universe as well

[@excidedpenny1758]

I also thought about su and. watching this video lol

[@thepetrarcticwar2778]

LOL STEVEN UNIVERSE REFERENCE!

[@kedixsed7095]

About 20 years ago, in any similar video they'd speak at 75% of this speed. Now they all speak the speed of a sports commentator at an ongoing hockey match.

[@erictaylor5462]

2:00 I have seen this episode several times. There were no minors. Everyone in the episode were adults.

[@Primalxbeast]

MINERS, not minors Kwan.

[@erictaylor5462]

Primalxbeast She said minors..... There is a tiny mining town I saw once. Of course the bars in town did quite well. Only one was failing, the sign on the door said "No miners"

[@Primalxbeast]

Eric Taylor LoL I thought your comment was a reference to that part in Galaxy Quest where Fred Kwan thinks that the miners are minors. I loved that movie.

[@erictaylor5462]

Primalxbeast I guess it could be taken that way. I love the movie too. I really like word play. I've seen and heard "Who's on First" well over 100 times and I still laugh out of control over it. "I don't know. THIRD BASE!" Oh and the part of "Airplane!" where the flight crew are all "what? What?" every time they say Clearance, roger, over, or vector. If you haven't seen "Airplane!" I have to say, what is WRONG with you. Get that film, you'll love it!

[@mattg944]

+Eric Taylor I heard the who's on first bit s a kid, but it came on my Pandora station a few weeks ago and I was not prepared. it definitely still holds up.

[@MelindaGreen]

It's still anthropomorphic to guess that alien life might be composed of chains of anything, let alone carbon or silicon. Perhaps it comes in sheets instead. And why assume it's even built of molecules at all? Perhaps complex systems of knots in star's magnetic fields could evolve life. With only one example, we have less to go on than most people think.

[@MelindaGreen]

redlegagent I wouldn't say "Trust me that there's life in the sun's magnetosphere". I say we might find it in any number of ways we've never even thought of yet. The space of possibilities is enormous. You're right to put a lot of focus on the one known example but that's also the danger. It's like the guy looking for his lost car keys under the street lamp, not because that's where he thinks they are but because that's where the light is best for searching. Regarding my use of the word "anthropomorphic", I should have said "anthropocentric" to describe our mental limitations and hindrances.

[@MelindaGreen]

redlegagent The problem is that we forget that we've begun searching only for life that is very similar to our own. We often even restrict to intelligent life with motivations similar to our own. Then when we come up empty we conclude that life is rare. One of the best things about this video is that she said that there could easily be other forms of life sharing this planet with us and we might not even notice. That's a very important point.

[@MelindaGreen]

redlegagent It definitely is biased, and it even has a name, specifically, "confirmation bias". The important thing is to recognize that bias is not always bad, which is essentially the argument you're making. We have exactly one data point on this question, and I'm sure you'll agree that it's a mistake to extrapolate anything based on a single data point. The priority for searching that you're suggesting we do is certainly the prudent way to go about it. My only point is that it's easy to forget why we're focusing our search efforts the way that we do, to the point that most people think that life in the universe is most likely to resemble ours, when that has absolutely not been established.

[@MelindaGreen]

redlegagent Nobody is "mandating that other life will look like us". Rather they're mainly looking for life similar to ours. Even finding it wouldn't argue that ours is the most common form because it's the only kind we'll find if it's the only form we look for. Again, I'm not saying we should change our search strategy, I'm saying that we need to be aware of the meaning of the bias that it injects into the project.

[@MelindaGreen]

Organic life is by no means the only possible kind. If we target our searches specifically for this kind, then the results will tell us nothing about the prevalence of life in general. Notice that this very video is about a closely related possible form of life with carbon substituted by silicon. That by definition is not "organic". Life doesn't even need to be based on chemistry at all. We are so narrow-minded sometimes that we don't even see our narrow-mindedness.

[@OverlordZephyros]

Could INTELLIGENT silicon based life exist... one thats its able to AT LEAST create some technology ...

[@danilooliveira6580]

well... our microchips are made of Silicon, so there is that. now if they can be complex enough to manipulate tools is impossible to know now

[@vladutcornel]

There is hardly any Carbon-based intelligent life

[@masonwater292]

duuuude what if intelligent silicon based life forms on another planet use carbon based microchips...

[@IMRowse]

How so?

[@Davesoft]

Heh, I knew steven universe was on to something :)

[@sharmashriraj13]

thank you sci show for mentioning my contribution in description.trying to provide captions to more of your videos.☺

[@yomamaballsinmyw]

you are a good guy

[@bingbonghafu]

Real Crystal Gems confirmed

[@CliffRoth]

They exist on Discworld.

[@darrenlenz6401]

Cliff Roth Detritus came to mind as soon as I read the title!

[@adamstone897]

since sand is made of Silicon oxide, are there beach microbes made of Silicon? or can it be found in Silicon Valley?

[@Shadowfanification]

Living rocks... 🎶We are the crystal gems🎶

[@wintier3263]

🎶 We'll always save the day! 🎶

[@MarcianCosta]

🎶 And if you think we can't, 🎶

[@luiscobos21]

No

[@MaoRatto]

SHUT UP I WILL TAKE THE SHOTGUN OUT FIRST TO KICK ITS ASS!

[@MaoRatto]

That's bullshit, because of one episode CLEARING showing they spawn from fucking viruses.

[@ricardoludwig4787]

Another problem/advantage with silicon is that it can actually do types of bonds that carbon can't, mainly expanding the octet and making more than 4 bonds, which does allow it to do some extra stuff but could prove problematic for making metabolic chains

[@tmsnssto6375]

The Crystal Gems say Hello!

[@dmgevan7585]

Imagine if there is intelligent, carbon based, life around but they're like dolphins. They would be intelligent enough to learn to make tools and machines eventually but they don't have hands or appendages to do so.

[@ozymandias8523]

Maybe they have like tentacles at the bottom to give them enough capability to create tools

[@ssage7808]

soooo basically the crystal gems could be real

[@sciencepower608]

We need to stop.

[@ssage7808]

+Science Power it was a joke lol

[@ssage7808]

+Platzhallter true your right

[@solum_mirari5925]

HOLY FUCKING FUCK YES

[@michaelheffernon9236]

+Platzhallter Yes! someone understands!

[@lafkdjay]

One time, I saw silicon lifeforms on a stripper move.

[@JG-vh6oy]

'Wouldn't be anything like what we think of as life, they'd look closer to a diamond than a plant or animal' - A carbon-based life-form.

[@hipwave]

in the late seventies' BBC/RAI serial "Space:1999" a "living rock" appeared as well. And I thought that was really too far a shot, at the time. But back in 1977 we had no SciShow... in fact my TV set was a B/W wood box with just two rough noisy dials and a couple of buttons. The pinnacle of our domestic technology along with PONG.

[@Shininglex]

so basically, Steven Universe.

[@tiencha8862]

Araki is a genius

[@raimaxmezuku9138]

He takes the most coolest craziest ideas and makes them work.

[@Che8t]

Life that would produce quartz? Steven universe confirmed

[@berserker3414]

More like Houseki no Kuni, since gems in SU have an antro shape that's just a projection.

[@connorbarnes9217]

SU are more like hard light projections produced from the gem itself, rather than silicon based life.

[@fruitsnackia2012]

Well that explains steven universe pretty well...

[@mopnem]

This speaker is one of my fav of them all. Feel like others wouldn't handel this topic as well.

[@jacobmakoujy2718]

And they said my pet rock wasn't a, "real pet"!

[@StoneTitan]

WEll if silicon is rocks wouldn't we be diamonds? so if living Diamonds exist sure why not living rock.

[@Anonarchist]

We... Are the Crystal Gems!

[@CrankyPantss]

Very interesting. Good job, Caitlin.

[@karl-erlendmikalsen5159]

Caitlin is so peppy about the chance of silicate life that I almost want to go out and start chipping away at stones to look. But I live in Norway and the stones are hidden under a meter of snow. Guess I'm waiting for spring.

[@shivarampersaud2332]

Hey, that's pretty SiC!

[@filipjovanovic3219]

Shiva Rampersaud Heeeheheh

[@brenndanmcdonaugh1672]

Go into the corner and think about what you've pun.

[@mihirkumar8832]

She looks too happy.

[@mihirkumar8832]

I love how you got so offended about my comment. Take a joke. I have no problem if she laughed like the Joker all her life doing science.

[@mihirkumar8832]

Robert Stuckey Lol no worries bru (y)

[@michalchik]

Okay. Video contained almost no information beyond the title. I want my four minutes back

[@sentrywar2582]

IMMA GO FIND THOSE CRYSTAL GEMS

[@SuperManning11]

Cool video--about things I had never dreamed of. And what a great presenter, describing complex things in a simple manner that was not demeaning in any way. Well done!

[@adamlooze99]

And everyone made fun of me for having a pet rock..

[@spotfleri5779]

I can smell that a certain some one is cooking.

[@SpaceMike3]

Good vid but you REALLY shouldnt have edited every pause from it. she sounds like a frantic talking machine. its ok to let us hear a host breath

[@comingjake]

I disagree, I thought she did a great job. Good energy and presentation, also a really interesting topic. If you want to hear someone breathing, watch a video about it, you're on KZbin.

[@SpaceMike3]

Jacob Coming no need to be rude. She did a great job. It's the editing I'm talking about.

[@Swift_The_Leapzard]

"The James Webb Telescope Launching in 2018" Me: **SLAMS TABLE WHEEEZING HYSTERICALLY AT THE IDEA**

[@amfvideos6810]

Here's something I thought of: Maybe silicon based lifeforms could have eyes consisting on crystals that help them refract light.

[@Takador]

silicon-based life does exist, ever heard of The Crystal Gems?

[@witchy90210]

So what you are saying is that Steven Universe is plausible?

[@ONESHOTguido32]

Living rocks you say? * ahem * This is the call of mah people: "WE...

[@JRG333]

Are the polymorphic lesbian space rocks...

[@ilikemusic2773]

Guido Nick are the champions

[@ilikemusic2773]

Guido Nick will we will rock you

[@gadielgonzalez2755]

J. R. That's kinda true

[@texannationalist5887]

are malachite now

[@Aamedin100]

An interesting idea. Lovelock proposed looking at unstable atmospheres back in the 1960s, as a way to get around the fact that we only know for certain what our biochemistry looks like--in other words, looking at things like the methane/oxygen ratio in our atmosphere (totally unstable without something supplying methane on a constant basis), which relies on basic and universal laws of chemistry and not biology, is a better way to go about looking for life than looking for things like ourselves. I've always been a fan of the concept of silicon life. I'm VERY hesitant to say what it would be like, though. Simply put, we're guessing. We have precisely one data point at this point for determining biochemistry (our biosphere pretty much universally shares biochemistry), and even within that things get so weird biologists often find out something is alive only long after encountering it. See Peter Ward's "Life As We Do Not Know It" for examples. Plus, temperature and pressure play a huge role in stability. Look at the silica tetrahedrons on our own planet--those are the building blocks of numerous minerals (the whole silicate family, in fact), but how those blocks are put together differs greatly between minerals stable at the surface and those stable in the mantle. Add the sheer unimaginable weirdness that we've found in exoplanets, and it's almost certain that whatever we predict won't come close to reality. Still, this is a very exciting time to be alive. We've found fossils on another planet (well, it's controversial, but I welcome disproof of the Martian stromatolites), we have evidence of life on a moon (Titan), and we're gathering evidence to see if life exists outside of our solar system. We are answering the question "Are we alone?", one that has haunted our species since the beginning of our species!

[@sinekonata]

0:14 I love the potential yet not accidental double meaning of "recognise" here : Silicon-life : No I swear to you, we're alive. Us : What? No no, WE're alive... you're rocks. Ok?

[@Xelamorph67]

Weren't there reports of "rock" humans in a Japanese coastal town back in 2011?

[@isaacdiakite3264]

Link?

[@isaacdiakite3264]

@Kato Most likely not no.

[@jotaros_dolphins2213]

Finally someone made this reference.

[@jotaros_dolphins2213]

Especially now that they are CONFIRMED TO BE SILICONE-BASED.

[@brotac665]

it seems you guys never heard of living stones from Costesti, Romania.

[@Misack8]

Rocks that expand and grow when wet? Very intresting.

[@AshutoshNandanceo]

Yes, it can be possible, but the nature always selects perfection. We are a carbon based life-form , not by chance, but because carbon is the prefect matter for long chain molecules, proteins and eventually Life.

[@MidWitPride]

What do you mean by that "nature always selects perfection"? It is quite opposite of that. Nature selects whatever is good enough to not go extinct, while sometimes coming up with clever solutions via natural selection, nature doesn't have any objective to create perfect animals. Pandas for an example are horribly flawed animals from an engineering standpoint. They can't process food properly and they are slow reproducers, yet they still somehow managed to not go extinct. They were good enough, so they are still around. Barely.

[@General12th]

...what smoke are you cracking? Evolution does *not* select perfection, it selects that which is able to live a little longer. If nature was perfect, we'd live on a perfect world where every perfect creature was in perfect balance with each other. This is obviously not the case. Nature is all about change, survival, and extinction.

[@Uejji]

Nature selects for adequacy, not necessarily perfection.

[@baranxlr]

Maybe if a planet has very little carbon, it might prefer siliconic life

[@Mike-oj9mo]

Right and people have birth defects but still survive and reproduce sooooooooooo yeeeeaahhhhh

[@colincasey1144]

"James Webb Telescope launching in 2018" lmao

[@zombiemanjosh]

Imagine developing a microbe that essentially coral that grew in cube shapes used a similar composite to concrete.

[@venusfrommyshows]

*CRYSTAL CLODS-*

[@andr0oo820]

Dosent Matter ROCK PEOPLE

[@maliceflare]

you think Pet Rocks are just for people's psychological benefit? hehe...

[@icannotchoose]

I'm really scared. I think scishow is stalking me. I start asking if there are 3 parent babies, BOOM there's a video. I wonder if there can be silicon based like BOOM another video.

[@scarfaceplowman]

This is actually incredibly likely to happen to someone for every video

[@RedTriangle53]

yes, there is no conspiracy, and absolutely nobody is in on it. Now go back to sleep, Kevin, you know you have school tomorrow.

[@icannotchoose]

+alex plowman I know, it's just been happening a lot lately.

[@Master_Therion]

Obviously you have super powers. Quick, start thinking about how to get $1,000,000. Then when SciShow makes a video about it we all will benefit ^_^

[@dannydevito7000]

And then we all lose the benefit because if everyone could make a million dollars money would just become worth a lot less.

[@galenrichter41]

An organism that is silicon based doesn't necessarily need to 'breath' silicon. They could just like eat small rocks or such. Or absorb it through roots like how plants get their minerals

[@williamhardway6436]

This is great. I read about this years ago and I've been talking about it to anyone who will listen.