/sci/ - Science & Math

There was a discussion on /v/ about what sort of morphology alien organisms would have to have to become sapient and develop a civilization as humans have done.

Some people said that for a species to be sapient it is almost certain it would look humanoid, other people said differently.

What does /sci/ think about this? Personally I used to think it unlikely that aliens would look human, but since one anon said that since they would need a digestive system, with sensory organs around the mouth, and as few limbs possible whilst retaining two to manipulate things... I'm not so sure.

Got done watching Stephan Hawking's Universe and realized that the concept of alien lifeforms can vary about as much as our imaginations can (in the confines of scientific reasoning of course). So I thought, why the hell not, let's see what /sci/ has to say about it.

Well, what type of lifeforms do you imagine? Describe the planet/environment they would have had to evolve on to become the organism they are. Are they water-based lifeforms that we would recognize? Are there any other ways you can imagine intelligence to develop? What biological strategies could they be accustomed to? Let's runaway with this and have some fun.