Aliens

[WizardOfAtlantis]

So, some of the latest words of Stephen Hawking on the subject of visiting aliens' benevolence I took off a page talking about some interview he's done for a Discovery show:

 

"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said.

If aliens in space ships did come to Earth, Hawking suggests, they may be more "V" than "E.T." "Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach," he said, arguing that they may have taken to the stars because they depleted resources on their home world.

 

 

Personally, I've never understood how people think that advanced technology equals advanced wisdom.

 

[turtoise3213]

If there are aliens, who says that they will be anything at all like humans? They could a completely different perception of the universe, perhaps even of the laws of physics. After all, everything humans "know" could all be a product of our perception of the universe, and any potential aliens could perceive the universe in a way so different to our own perception of the universe, they could be living on this planet without knowing about us or anything we think is true, and vice-versa.

[marharth]

If there are aliens, who says that they will be anything at all like humans? They could a completely different perception of the universe, perhaps even of the laws of physics. After all, everything humans "know" could all be a product of our perception of the universe, and any potential aliens could perceive the universe in a way so different to our own perception of the universe, they could be living on this planet without knowing about us or anything we think is true, and vice-versa.

Its unlikely that different parts of the universe have different laws of physics.

 

Its is extremely unlikely.

 

In fact if different parts of the universe have different laws of physics the big bang wouldn't make any sense along with a lot of other things.

[WizardOfAtlantis]

If there are aliens, who says that they will be anything at all like humans? They could a completely different perception of the universe, perhaps even of the laws of physics. After all, everything humans "know" could all be a product of our perception of the universe, and any potential aliens could perceive the universe in a way so different to our own perception of the universe, they could be living on this planet without knowing about us or anything we think is true, and vice-versa.

Its unlikely that different parts of the universe have different laws of physics.

 

Its is extremely unlikely.

 

In fact if different parts of the universe have different laws of physics the big bang wouldn't make any sense along with a lot of other things.

I wouldn't be surprised, however, if there are paradoxes within the structure, little *'s and a bunch of fine print somewhere on the Universal Charter.

[BlackRampage]

I'd say it's highly unlikely, if not, impossible to have and paradoxes or something like that. Why? Because the laws of physics as we know them were made during the Big Bang.

 

There are however, places in the universe where some of these laws do not apply. Such as within a so-called Singularity. However, something that even affects time and thus space as well (space-time) and thus the very fabric of the universe might be expected to ignore or circumvent certain laws of physics.

 

 

That said, I'd say it's nigh unthinkable, if not arrogant, to think that we might be the only intelligent life in the entire universe. I mean, the universe is absurdly big, so big even, that our minds can hardly comprehend the vastness of it.

 

I suppose, in the end, it's just a matter of maths. For example: If out of all the galaxies there are in the universe, only 0.1% would contain intelligent life, one would still end up with hundreds of millions of galaxies which would contain intelligent life. So, in my opinion, the real question is not whether there are aliens but rather when we'll find them.

When we do find them however, there is a high probability that they will have evolved way beyond our current state and also be way more intelligent then us. Why? Because, on the galactic timescale, humans have only been around for a very short while. (If the time the galaxy exists would be downscaled to 24 hours, humans would evolve in the last 3 seconds.)

 

What should also be taken into account is the fact that our sun (and thus the planets around it) hasn't been around as long as the galaxy and thus many other stars as well. More accurately speaking: our sun is a so-called second generation star. This means that our sun was born from the remnants of other stars. There are however many stars that were formed right after the Big bang and and thus first generation stars. (red dwarfs for example) If only one of those stars (of of trillions) would have had a planet circling it on which intelligent life has evolved, that life would have a head-start of at least 5 billion years to evolve! (The human race has been around for only about a million years.)

 

Have aliens been to earth? Do aliens visit Earth right now? Are there Aliens among us? I really don't know. What I do know is that since the laws of physics apply everywhere in the universe. This also automatically means that wherever you go in the galaxy, nothing can travel faster then the speed of light. (just going at the speed of light would require an infinite amount of energy)

So, even if there are aliens out there and they indeed are insanely intelligent, they would still be faced with the problem that nothing can travel faster then the speed of light. Unless of course they have found some way to circumvent this problem. (hyperspace, wormholes, you name it)

 

Besides, even if they would have found some way to travel faster then the speed of light and are thus insanely intelligent, why the heck would they bother coming here?

Why would, out of all the galaxies they can choose from and all the stars with planets around them, they come to some backwater planet? What would make us so special? Our resources? Highly unlikely. If they can travel from one galaxy to another, they'll probably use gas giants or even entire stars as a means to get resources.

 

Sorry for the looooong rant.

[krimzin]

I bet aliens would look exactly like us, maybe they are even less advanced. Like cavemen or something. Maybe we ARE aliens, from Mars, but we screwed the planet up so bad that we had to move to Earth and our vessel crashed, caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, and everyone on board was killed except for two random people. No, but that would make an awesome movie. With Jack Black as the goofy pilot who crashed the ship.

 

Nope, aliens are cows. They abduct cows because they need mates. They abduct people to figure out how to walk upright. They make crop circles when they do donuts in people's fields.

[WizardOfAtlantis]

hehehe, crop circle donuts is a good take.

 

I've always wondered if it was the crew at HAARP playing with people's minds, electromagnetically frying the crops through the ionosphere.

[BlackRampage]

I bet aliens would look exactly like us, maybe they are even less advanced. Like cavemen or something. Maybe we ARE aliens, from Mars, but we screwed the planet up so bad that we had to move to Earth and our vessel crashed, caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, and everyone on board was killed except for two random people. No, but that would make an awesome movie. With Jack Black as the goofy pilot who crashed the ship.

 

Nope, aliens are cows. They abduct cows because they need mates. They abduct people to figure out how to walk upright. They make crop circles when they do donuts in people's fields.

 

It has actually been theorized that life on earth may have indeed possibly come from Mars. A more realistic scenario then spaceships however would be that if a big enough asteroid had hit Mars when it may have had life, some of the debris from the impact containing microscopic life could have been thrown into space to eventually end up on earth, thus starting life here.

 

Personally however, I think that the origins of life here on Earth also started right here.

[Kronkio]

Who would like to contact extra terrestrials?

 

Apparently it's quite simple, but then again... I haven't tried it yet.

 

Grant Morrison Disinfo Con Lecture Part 1 of 4

 

Plus, Major Robert Dean claims that he's met aliens who look 'identical to us'.

 

We also have to remember... We are just as much as alien, to them, as they are to us.

 

You know what I mean. That's if they even exist. Could all be a huge hoax / joke.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Kronkio

[raatorotta]

Aliens... Yes. I have had experience about aliens when i was little. Had encounter. Pretty scary, couldn't sleep fine for years, still can't sometimes. Just saying, it wasn't sleep paralysis, i could move during it. After that encounter i tried some years figure out what i saw, until i some tv program about gray aliens. Yea, the creature looked the same. That's all i'm telling about because nobody believes me anyway. But i believe in aliens, i must, because the experience.