Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information, and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.
Intelligence is most often studied in humans but has also been observed in both non-human animals and in plants despite controversy as to whether some of these forms of life exhibit intelligence. Intelligence in computers or other machines is called artificial intelligence.
On first glance, it seems as though the universe is so big there simply must be other life out there. And that may be the case. But is it possible that life is as common as portrayed in the scifis?
Most likely, the answer is no. The truth is, if life were that common, it would be plainly...