Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

idiom · 2004-05-12 00:37:48

The religious are already "not alone"

The athiests should be more concerned that everybody they might meet out in space is also just a pointless random collection of complex chemical processes.

There is an OLD Christian song with the refrain:

"And if there's life on other planets,
Then I am sure that He must know,
'Cause He's been there once already,
And has died to save their souls."

Life or no life, I can't see fear, I only see opportunity. Either case will speak volumes about the creator right?

Trebuchet · 2004-05-12 03:35:47

I personally cannot really conceive of a situation where you have both a significant number of interstellar civilizations and interstellar civilizations that are utterly harmless pacificists. There would be at least one group of known maniacs out there (us) and I strongly suspect that the sorts of technology that let you get into space are so closely correlated with destructive mischief that it's a good bet that anybody cruising the stars is likely to be able to put up a good fight.

Given that, I'm going to say that I think we're functionally alone (no other alien species that are spatially and developmentally near us) because the earth has been a plum prize for hundreds of millions, billions even, of years. While aliens might studiously not settle on a planet with primitive intelligent species, similar scruples probably wouldn't exist for nonsapient complex life. At the very least, I'd expect illegal colonization on the sly.

Cobra Commander · 2004-05-12 07:09:06

The athiests should be more concerned that everybody they might meet out in space is also just a pointless random collection of complex chemical processes.

It's not so much a "concern" as a reasonable assumption based on available evidence.

Life or no life, I can't see fear, I only see opportunity. Either case will speak volumes about the creator right?

Oh, given some of the chapters here... now I'm concerned.

Given that, I'm going to say that I think we're functionally alone (no other alien species that are spatially and developmentally near us) because the earth has been a plum prize for hundreds of millions, billions even, of years.

Sounds reasonable. But there's that nagging outside chance that some nearby star has a species roughly equivalent to us. Maybe they never bothered with mass radio broadcasts for whatever reason, and here we are pinging "Gunsmoke" re-runs and nightly news from the height of the Cold-War at 'em.

They're probably more worried than we are.

We won't know until we go. And I'm takin' a big space-gun.

Trebuchet · 2004-05-12 16:35:06

If I were an alien watching Cold War news shows, I'd probably be mortally convinced that the society sending them has annihilated itself and I won't know about it until the last radio signals of frantic news reports about nuclear explosions cross the gulf between the stars and reach me.

That would depress the hell out of the aliens, I bet.

idiom · 2004-05-12 20:17:19

Cobra Commander:

It's not so much a "concern" as a reasonable assumption based on available evidence.

Its a reasonable assumption that alien life doesn't have anything to offer?

If we are alone now and then when find aliens... We are simply alone with the aliens. Unless perhaps the aliens are somehow not "alone"?

Cobra Commander · 2004-05-13 07:13:21

That would depress the hell out of the aliens, I bet.

Or be a tremendous relief to them. Nothing like watching potential enemies destroy themselves.

Its a reasonable assumption that alien life doesn't have anything to offer?

Certainly not, they have a great deal to offer simply by virtue of their existence. I simply don't think their spiritual inclinations are relevant beyond a minor curiosity.

If we are alone now and then when find aliens... We are simply alone with the aliens. Unless perhaps the aliens are somehow not "alone"?

Alright, if they have a religion about a blue-tentacled Christ rising from the dead... We have a great deal to talk about. Otherwise, we have more groups who mutually think the others are 'heathens.' Superstitions, not to put too fine a point on it. We're all alone until we find others, and then it's just us. I'm comfortable with that, but always open to evidence to the contrary.

dicktice · 2004-05-13 10:06:39

All alone . . . but look at the opportunities for adventure in our very own Solar System playground. I don't envy any aliens who aren't us!

clark · 2004-05-17 11:42:39

Internet... yep, plenty of aliens on planet Earth. Plenty. :laugh:

REB · 2004-05-17 13:06:53

Many people assume the discovery of aliens would tend to kill religion, but what if we find they not only worshipped God, but it appeared to be the same God as Christians, Jewish, and Muslims believe (All three worship God, but in a different way)?

That would make things interesting.

(I am a Christian who believes in Evolution, the Big Bang, and a 5 Billion year old Earth)

clark · 2004-05-17 13:14:50

An alien Jesus? :laugh:

REB · 2004-05-17 14:13:12

That would certainly make things interesting here on the Earth.

clark · 2004-05-17 14:25:21

Especially if they tried to figure out whose version of Jesus showed up first... or second... uh-oh. :laugh:

REB · 2004-05-17 14:36:33

I can picture it now, a scene like the one in the movie Blues Brothers (Where they are in church) except with some green tentacle alien dancing around and singing. :band:

clark · 2004-05-17 14:40:13

LOL!

"We're on a mission from God."

It'll be really screwy if they have more (or less) sexes within their species. God created Man and Woman, right? Well, perhaps they have 5 different genders that they all get to live through during various stages of their lives...

smurf975 · 2004-06-01 14:07:02

I couldn't vote for any of the two. As I'm not scared of non earth life nor with the idea of only earth life.

Of course you can think like what of those aliens would be smart and act like humans did in the past?

But what is scary about being the only life carying planet in the universe? I mean as soon as there are interstelar ships and humans and earth animals settle other planets other then in this solar system you will get diversitation and non Earth solarsystems beings will enventually look and act very different from earth born humans. So the desendends of humans at the end will be the aliens.

~Eternal~ · 2004-06-18 16:41:16

Heres a scary thought :
More than half of all stars host life, and all of them hate humans...

...

And they have faster-than-light travel too

...

....

Run.

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#76 2004-05-12 00:37:48

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#77 2004-05-12 03:35:47

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#78 2004-05-12 07:09:06

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#79 2004-05-12 16:35:06

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#80 2004-05-12 20:17:19

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#81 2004-05-13 07:13:21

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#82 2004-05-13 10:06:39

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#83 2004-05-17 11:42:39

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#84 2004-05-17 13:06:53

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#85 2004-05-17 13:14:50

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#86 2004-05-17 14:13:12

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#87 2004-05-17 14:25:21

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#88 2004-05-17 14:36:33

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#89 2004-05-17 14:40:13

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#90 2004-06-01 14:07:02

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

#91 2004-06-18 16:41:16

Re: Which wold be "scarier" - Alone or not alone

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