/sci/ here, is there any logic in thinking that sapient lifeforms must have a humanoid shape?
>MUST have a humanoid shape
Ugh, absolutism. How boring. No, there's no logic in believing there's no such thing as exceptions.
Nope.
Hands are a completely different matter, however.
>>2128296
If they have some other appendage that can fill a similar role (like how octopuses use their tentacles) could they not need hands?
>>2128298
well, i was speaking in a very human-centric fashion.
but yes, dexterous manipulators of some sort would be necessary, and tentacles fit the bill comfortably.
>must
No, but its useful, especially when hands and having to manipulate objects come into play.
The creature in your pic would have a very hard time remaining upright though.
No, it's just projection in sci-fi to make them more respectable/relatable to humans. However, I do think precision grip is something that's necessary, so they get that right.
>>2128289
There are a few. We grew up specifically in the plains from the forest, so having our heads up high so we can see above the grass/shrub makes sense. Upright also makes sense since it frees up our forelimbs for manipulation abilities. Now, what thise forelimbs are, who knows. The basic humanoid shape is actually very efficient for what it does.
>>2128289
yes
all known sapient lifeforms in the universe have a humanoid shape. A human shape even. There aren't that many sapient life forms known, but they're all human.
Also of course the Drake Equation is bullshit. If you have one of something and no evidence that it occurs anywhere else, you don't pretend it occurs millions of other places. That's retarded.
>>2128568
>There aren't that many sapient life forms known, but they're all human.
>Size comparison with a funky-dancing Homo sapiens
>fingerlimbs
>funky eyes
>surprise dick
Is that by Nemo Ra...Oh, yes it is.
Never change, you crazy bastard.
Bump
>>2128568
>parrots
>elephants
>corvids
>cetaceans
To name just a few highly intelligent, social, self aware animals on our own planet. Our "humanoid" form is not an inevitable evolutionary goal, nor a requirement.
To be capable of using tools effectively and building large, complex structures though, any alien creature capable of forming a civilization would need some sort of set of manipulating appendages.
Possibly also
>social
>mid sized
>able to adapt to a wide variety of environments
>able to process a wide variety of food/energy sources
>fairly generalized body plan. Despite the fact that we've refined many parts of ourselves to quite an extreme degree, they're still based on fairly generic features. We've essentially specialized in being opportunists.
>>2128296
The whole "ancient hominins used hands to free up their mouths, helping them develop speech" is an obsolete meme.
In pre-neolithic times(as well as in some living cultures), it was very common to use the mouth as a tool, even among modern humans(homo sapiens sapiens). This is evidenced by heavy wear on their teeth.
>>2129183
I thought it was more that freeing up hands allowed them to be used as, well, hands. Don't know why that would effect speech, unless you permanently have something in your mouth.
190 goddamn meters tall
>>2129171
None of those are "sapient" in the sense that astrobiologists and sci-fi writers use the term.
not that it matters.
If we had two civilizations of sapient animals on Earth we'd still only have a sample size of one.
>>2129171
Yes, but there's a huge difference between being intelligent and being able to form a civilisation.
You need hands.