Did aliens play a role in human civilization?

[Surenas]

Sometimes it's called spinning.... when almost nothin turns into somethin and from there into everything we want to feed with our faith. Same religious procedure as every year since the Neandertal man. Is there something, someone out there? Interested in me? Bringing comfort to me? Supporting me against my enemies? For if not, why the hell am I here? LOL

Lo! Before we'll meet an alien at home grass will grow in our cheeks and he will still not have come! All this reminds, not by chance, of earlier messianic expectations...

 

Don't worry, in heaven we'll meet them all - the alien as well as our mother-in-law. That's great, isn't it?

 

The question behind the myths is always the same, I guess : Did gods came down to earth, sharing the beds with our women, producing demi-gods, missing links between us and our true hopes - to become kinsmen of the deities... in the flesh.

 

Take it - as always - with a grain of salt :smile:

 

http://www.greensmilies.com/smile/smiley_emoticons_unknownauthor_lady.gif

[Nexus Set]

Oh, you meant space aliens. I was thinking of the illegal kind.:whistling:

[species5478]

@ Balagor: Interesting views. I agree with most of them.

 

Now...

 

I don't have to see the wind, to know that it exists. We are not primitive men and women. We learned for instance, that the world is not flat, and that the center of the universe does not revolve around Earth. We realize the known universe is populated with TRILLIONS of galaxies. Each filled with TRILLIONS of planetary bodies. The word trillion is relative, because the number is much higher than our largest designated factor for extreme values.

 

Here on earth, even on the same continent or region, life varies greatly. And quite often, as with dogs, a single species can vary greatly. Nature exudes variance. And although we are aware of preexisting animals such as dinosaurs, we can scarcely imagine all of the different forms of life that existed in that one particular time period. (not to mention, all of the billions of years prior, or thereafter)

 

So please consider this…

 

We have a vast array of lower life forms that serve as examples of lesser intelligence. Plant life, bacteria, or some forms of aquatic life are completely oblivious to our existence. So it begs to reason that not only is there intelligent life out there, but it resides on a plane of existence beyond our mind's comprehension. Think of humans as oranges on a tree, being grown by alien farmers. An orange has no idea that it's being cultivated by a higher species.

 

We also proved as humans that space travel is possible by going to the moon. We didn't have to go far to realize that it's possible. So if a civilization such as ours, can accomplish such a goal after a few hundred years of ingenuity, the sheer number of planetary bodies makes it a near certainty that there is other life out there doing the same thing, if not more. I really don't think that extraterrestrial life is wishful thinking, or a fantasy of our overindulgent curiosity. If a person can look into the sky, and understand what they are seeing, then the only logical conclusion would be life. It's almost too obvious a thing not to believe in…

 

Now whether or not alien life had something to do with our evolution is a debatable argument. Most people are probably only thinking in terms of our current existence. However, if aliens visited the planet at any time during its existence and altered it, or any existing life, then one could argue they had a hand in our development. The obvious problem is that we will probably never know if such a thing occurred, and if so, whether it was a factor in our evolution.

 

But seriously…if, out of trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions of planets, moons, galaxies, and solar systems…if we are truly the only forms of life out here, wouldn't that be weird? Wouldn't that, defy all known mathematical, logical, and natural odds? Are we so vain a species, that we think the entire universe exist solely for us?

[Maharg67]

@ Balagor: Interesting views. I agree with most of them.

 

Now...

 

I don't have to see the wind, to know that it exists. We are not primitive men and women. We learned for instance, that the world is not flat, and that the center of the universe does not revolve around Earth. We realize the known universe is populated with TRILLIONS of galaxies. Each filled with TRILLIONS of planetary bodies. The word trillion is relative, because the number is much higher than our largest designated factor for extreme values.

 

Here on earth, even on the same cotenant or region, life varies greatly. And quite often, as with dogs, a single species can vary greatly. Nature exudes variance. And although we are aware of preexisting animals such as dinosaurs, we can scarcely imagine all of the different forms of life that existed in that one particular time period. (not to mention, all of the billions of years prior, or thereafter)

 

So please consider this…

 

We have a vast array of lower life forms that serve as examples of lesser intelligence. Plant life, bacteria, or some forms of aquatic life are completely oblivious to our existence. So it begs to reason that not only is there intelligent life out there, but it resides on a plane of existence beyond our mind's comprehension. Think of humans as oranges on a tree, being grown by alien farmers. An orange has no idea that it's being cultivated by a higher species.

 

We also proved as humans that space travel is possible by going to the moon. We didn't have to go far to realize that it's possible. So if a civilization such as ours, can accomplish such a goal after a few hundred years of ingenuity, the sheer number of planetary bodies makes it a near certainty that there is other life out there doing the same thing, if not more. I really don't think that extraterrestrial life is wishful thinking, or a fantasy of our overindulgent curiosity. If a person can look into the sky, and understand what they are seeing, then the only logical conclusion would be life. It's almost too obvious a thing not to believe in…

 

Now whether or not alien life had something to do with our evolution is a debatable argument. Most people are probably only thinking in terms of our current existence. However, if aliens visited the planet at any time during its existence and altered it, or any existing life, then one could argue they had a hand in our development. The obvious problem is that we will probably never know if such a thing occurred, and if so, whether it was a factor in our evolution.

 

But seriously…if, out of trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions of planets, moons, galaxies, and solar systems…if we are truly the only forms of life out here, wouldn't that be weird? Wouldn't that, defy all known mathematical, logical, and natural odds? Are we so vain a species, that we think the entire universe exist solely for us?

 

Species5478, I agree with your assessment!

 

An added element is not just that we need to better understand the universe but also our own basic nature. For too long too many of us have had a rather dimensionally limited view of our own existence, a mechanicalist physics view of the universe. We need to step past our own strong predefinitions of normality, of our place in the universe. If we do so then questions emerge that were ignored.

 

Like why are humans different even from chimpanzees in some important aspects though we have much in common with them? Could genetic engineering have taken place at the point when we ceased to be great apes and became mostly hairless, upright humans with opposable thumbs and altered brains? (I believe in evolution but not totally in our current theories of evolution.)

 

As for travelling through space, just because we reached the moon does not mean we will find travelling to other worlds, other solar systems, to be so straight forward. We only truly understand our immediate space and we even have much to learn about that. Getting to other worlds may end up using other means and may mean us going to such as alternative realities rather than worlds in this universe. We may even find it easier to travel to other universes in some fashion that we have not even begun to think about now.

 

As for aliens, if one why not more than one?

 

Another aspect is that there may be aliens out there to whom a whole universe is but a small space, perhaps like a solar system is to us, and that finding us may be just a quick step for them. We need to take care about putting our limitations on others (as I suspect Species5478 already said in your own words).

[AncientSpaceAeon]

Reminder :

We're talking about did aliens play a role on our history, not do aliens exists.

 

I'm still curious about what do you think "why" aliens would play a role on our history, can anyone answer a good question. Proof and good theories will be great.

[species5478]

Reminder :

We're talking about did aliens play a role on our history, not do aliens exists.

 

I'm still curious about what do you think "why" aliens would play a role on our history, can anyone answer a good question. Proof and good theories will be great.

 

Reminder :

 

That's a tad unfair because if we're going to remain strictly on topic, then the "why" question has no relevance, either. You seem to suggest in your first sentence, that others should remain on topic, but then in your second sentence, you go off topic...

 

The topic poses the question, "Did aliens play a role in human civilization.", not why did aliens play a role in human civilization. Remaining strictly on topic would require a discussion that only involves pertinent speculation concerning did they play a role in our history, and not why would they play a role. So technically, the discussion shouldn't involve speculation beyond "did"... But I think in a topic like this, conventional wisdom mandates philosophy of other factors too. Like for instance, do they even exist? Because if somebody can prove aliens don't exist, then everything else becomes irrelevant. And your question of why, is also relevant. Because it could lead to the possibility of whether or not they did play a role.

 

And again, the "why", is an excellent question. If anyone could prove why, they would be eternally famous. Now, I can think of a million reasons why humans would be interested in extraterrestrial life. All of these reasons could easily apply to aliens. Curiosity, would be a simple reason. Cataloging life in the universe as we might catalog life on our planet, would be another. Or, it could be something more petty, like placing bets on how long humans can exist without obliterating one another. They may have an interest in potential chemicals or vaccines that can be derived from human blood. Maybe our existence is so foreign to them, that they have trouble deciphering aspects of our culture. Music for instance, might be a foreign anomaly in an alien culture and thus, the purpose of music might be philosophically debated amongst their peers.

 

But to make a case for the did, aliens play a role in our history, I could say something like; Yes, they did come about 10,000 years B.C., and introduced a new gene into human biology. The genes which give some Caucasians blue eyes, mysteriously arose around this time so I conclude that all blue eyed individuals have aliens genes as proof of a visitation from aliens. This eye color did not exist prior to that time line, and may not be a simple spawn of evolution. (to be read as an example, of course)

[Maharg67]

Again I agree with Species5478. The question of alien existence is important in the context of this question not only in could they have intervened, but how, why and what for? If they have been here in the past, why not now? The big point I suppose is that how much does it really influence our day to day existence and if it did so, how much could be influence that influence (sorry about the last sentence) or even proof it to other humans?

 

Another point is that they may not be here for us at all. Like the big alien spaceship that came looking for whales in one of the Star Trek movies, they may be here for other reasons and we may simply be a minor diversion or of no interest at all. Thus any influence on us may have been unintentional. Just because we humans too often see ourselves as central to the universe, does not mean 'everybody else does'.

[AncientSpaceAeon]

Reminder :

We're talking about did aliens play a role on our history, not do aliens exists.

 

I'm still curious about what do you think "why" aliens would play a role on our history, can anyone answer a good question. Proof and good theories will be great.

 

Reminder :

 

That's a tad unfair because if we're going to remain strictly on topic, then the "why" question has no relevance, either. You seem to suggest in your first sentence, that others should remain on topic, but then in your second sentence, you go off topic...

Sorry, I can't reply the post faster. But I think "why" is more related to the question than "do they exists". Choose the question that's more suitable :

 

1. Did aliens play a role in human civilization ? Why ?

 

2. Did aliens play a role in human civilization ? And do they exists ?

 

3. Do aliens exists ? And did aliens play a role in human civilization ?

 

I can't speak english very well so I can't explain what I meant, I hope you understand. It's better if someone can explain it for me.

[Surenas]

How to answer unanswerable questions without bottled preconceptions - the hypothesis, born out of fantasy, grown up as scenario by milky faith, sold as 'truth'?

Whoever wins such discourse, certainly by means of a better developed rhetoric, logic and mind will lose, cos in the end we just know that we actually know nothing.

Let us thus always start with "Let's say, just hypothetically, that..." or alike.

[AncientSpaceAeon]

I personally thinks that there is no way for aliens to exists, so therefore they don't exists. Even there is a life outside earth, it's probably the astronauts.

 

@Surenas.

 

When did you joined ? It's doesn't show anything (unlike everyone else), that's creepy.