I find these forum topics quite entertaining. Such a wide range of subject matter with many unique views. All worth a bit of consideration.

All mystery is a lack of understanding. Ignorance is a lack of understanding. Any discussion on mysteries is a discussion on ignorance. The way to alleviate ignorance is to understand the subject. Some people use science to alleviate their ignorance. Others use religion. It can get very detailed and complex as the discussion sways from side to side. Each side wanting to know their explanation is the right one.

Then there are people like me that have no desire to unravel the mystery. They participate in the discussion, neither fully supporting or denying specific reasoning. It is entertaining to read what other think on a mysterious subject.

I've never witnessed an alien in my life experience. To me, in my experience, aliens do not exist. It doesn't matter that I have seen aliens in movies, pictures and read about them in books and articles. My experience doesn't justify other's testimony. To me, its all fantasy no matter who is testifying. Its not a mystery to me because I have no experience to make me ignorant.

It is however, fun to play the mind game.

Related to and evolving from are two different things...

Doubtful but the chicken you had for supper might have?
LOL

I've never actually witnessed a T-Rex in my life experience.
I've seen movies, watched documentaries, read papers and websites and even held fossils in my hand but never witnessed an actual T-Rex.
To me and my understanding of reality before me, they don't exist.
They are pretty cool, All dinosaurs are pretty cool.

If you like Dinos you might find this interesting...

http://dinodictionary.com/index.asp

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/index.html

http://www.dinosaurfact.net/

http://www.newdinosaurs.com/

http://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Human_taxonomy.html

Human Taxonomy
Scientific classification

(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia (earliest possible match with dinosaurs)
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
Clade: Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida (latest possible connection with dinosaurs)
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Genus: Homo
Species: H. sapiens
Binomial name
Homo sapiens

evolution is about change in animals, not about where they come from...it's been happening for billions of years, there's no way they can track down all animals starting point... But evolution is the way animals evolve, the changes that occur. I really don't think anyone can deny that, scientists and people see it every day... Scientist did a study on how fruitflys evolve, and noticed after about 1000 generations, they did change, and formed offshoots of the species...that was a 3 year study, think what happens in a million years...

If you have "evolved from", you are "related to".

Most people have heard of the Tree of Life.
The concept is that the trunk of the tree branches off to specific limbs.

Currently, it is believed that the trunk of the tree of life consisted of anaerobic life forms. The rest of the tree expanded from that. Not only are we related to all the other animals, we are related to bacteria and plant life as well...on this planet.

In that sense, all the life currently on this planet is a result of that first form of life. All life is related to it over around 3.5 billion years on this one little planet.

If we find life of any complexity elsewhere, it will be life that is not related to us. It may be similar in composition but its evolutionary mutations will be different because it evolved under its own unique set of environmental circumstances.
From its bacteria to its plants. All unique from our baseline.

Here's your kittens

i was just not aware that x-rays, DNA or carbon 14 analysis could determine intelligence.

You're right, they can't.
X-rays may be able to map a brain but all that is going to show is activity.
DNA can map a gene pool but as far as science knows it can't determine intelligence. It might suggest an organism is prone to intelligence but that is about all.
Carbon 14 is merely using an isotope decay rate to determining a rough guess of time lapsed.

Even established intelligence testing can be inaccurate.
I've been tested a few times in my life. First they said it was 158, then years later said it was 162 and the most recent (still 5 years ago) at 167. They classed me as genius. I don't consider myself a genius. I know I am intelligent but there are a lot of things that befuddle me.