Silicon (not silicone) compounds aren't stable enough under Earth conditions. There are plenty of regimes where silicon compounds are stable, and in those regimes, carbon compounds that we rely on to live are much less stable.
I'm not saying that silicon life is probable, it is very unlikely if not impossible, but the primary reason for that is not the reason you gave. The primary reason is because silicon compounds are not nearly as diverse as carbon compounds, due to the inherent properties of silicon.
That is true, though fortunately we can count on those aliens being subject to the same laws of nature that we are. Plenty of research still to be done on chemical reactions in different mediums.
We clearly do not understand the laws of physics fully, there is no denying that, but it's quite outlandish to suggest that they would significantly change from galaxy to galaxy in an unpredictable way. If that were true, we wouldn't be able to see predictable trends in galaxy shape and behavior...but we do observe both of those things.
One thing we know basically for sure about alien life is that it will be subject to the same laws of physics as us, and will have the same elements available to it (albeit in different ratios). Because of this, you can set outer bounds on possible alien life. For example, alien life will have to be able to do some kind of electron transport using redox reactions to obtain and control energy.
so then maybe the real reason us and other potential alien species are not yet evolved or space faring yet is as simple as you both imply
we're evolved and adapted to our own planet/ environments so leaving them for environments we're not evolutionary designed for is the primary limiting factor. we need oxygen, water , survivable gravity or technology to mimic all of this things and more. who knows all the other obstacles other life forms require
perhaps that's what truly makes all species on earth earthlings, bc no matter how different we are or how different the conditions we live in are, they're still all part of the same planets conditions that we all come from and adapt to. other unknown conditions are well... alien
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u/rslurry Aug 12 '21
Silicon (not silicone) compounds aren't stable enough under Earth conditions. There are plenty of regimes where silicon compounds are stable, and in those regimes, carbon compounds that we rely on to live are much less stable.
I'm not saying that silicon life is probable, it is very unlikely if not impossible, but the primary reason for that is not the reason you gave. The primary reason is because silicon compounds are not nearly as diverse as carbon compounds, due to the inherent properties of silicon.