• Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe
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    4 days ago

    There’s also the ubiquity of certain elements/compounds.

    We look for carbon-based because of the ubiquity of carbon. Is life (or anything) more likely to occur based on the most ubiquitous chemicals or the most rare chemicals.

    Simple odds.

    • T156@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      We also have an idea what carbon-based life looks like, and can more easily look for it.

      For the others, we can really only guess.