# A Shadow Biosphere Would Mean Life Is Widespread by Paul Davies > “Apart from the sweeping technological applications that having a second form of life would bring, the discovery of a shadow biosphere would prove biological determinism, and confirm that life is indeed widespread in the universe. To expect that life would start twice on Earth, but never on another planet like Earth, is too improbable. And to know that the universe is teeming with life would make it far more likely that there is also intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. We might then have greater confidence that the answer to the biggest of the big questions of existence — Are we alone in the universe? — is very probably, no.” > **— Paul Davies**, *2009, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Edge response](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10860) — Edge published this passage in its 2009 Annual Question collection, *WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?*. - **Exact archived wording:** “Why would it change everything? Apart from the sweeping technological applications that having a second form of life would bring, the discovery of a shadow biosphere would prove biological determinism, and confirm that life is indeed widespread in the universe. To expect that life would start twice on Earth, but never on another planet like Earth, is too improbable. And to know that the universe is teeming with life would make it far more likely that there is also intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. We might then have greater confidence that the answer to the biggest of the big questions of existence — Are we alone in the universe? — is very probably, no.” - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2009 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2009 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. - **Editorial treatment:** The readable Reminder selects a self-contained portion of the archived passage and, where necessary, applies light punctuation or transcription repair. It does not add a consequence or increase the speaker's certainty; the complete exact archived wording is preserved above. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Space Technology|Space Technology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Space Technology|Space Technology]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Apart from the sweeping technological applications that having a second form of life would bring, the discovery of a shadow biosphere would prove biological determinism, and confirm that life is indeed widespread in the universe. To expect that life would start twice on Earth, but never on another planet like Earth, is too improbable. And to know that the universe is teeming with life would make it far more likely that there is also intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. We might then have greater confidence that the answer to the biggest of the big questions of existence — Are we alone in the universe? — is very probably, no.” — Paul Davies, 2009, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-paul-davies-shadow-biosphere-life-widespread ```