My friend, when it comes to something like this it doesn't matter what you think the odds are....because we only know as much as we presently know, and we might be lacking in some vital knowledge about the situation, mightn't we? ;-) I mean, how bloody arrogant does one have to be to be so sure that our present scientific theories and beliefs about what is possible regarding space travel, interdimensional travel, and faster-than-light travel are all that will ever need to be said about it?

That would be a form of arrogance, seems to me, rather similar to the arrogance of the religious men who forced Galileo to recant.

That's what you get when people are besotted with their own cleverness and sense of entitlement, and quite sure that they already KNOW "the Truth".

Now....suppose there really were some intergalactic visitors scouting out this planet now and then to keep an eye on us, given the fact that we now have atomic and hydrogen bombs, and are showing disturbing signs of taking ourselves and our weapons off planet? Supposing they came here to take a look and had a fast and practical way to do so, using technology we know nothing about.

Well, if that happened, it would still happen regardless of whether you think the odds agaisnt it happening are 500 trillion to one. ;-D

You see, your estimation of the odds is only based on what you already think you know. You may not know as much as you think you do.

That's why I'm leaving both possibilities open, and I think your idea of the "odds" is a load of tosh. It's wishful thinking on your part, because you don't actually have any idea what the odds are, and neither do I. We are not in a position to know the odds when it comes to this matter.

You see....before I saw those ships, I figured we were all alone here. After I saw them, I figured that the odds we weren't all alone had gone up dramatically. I revised my opinion in the face of firsthand observation. But I still don't know the actual odds, and neither do you. You just have a set of fixed primary assumptions, like the men who forced Galileo to recant.