Voyager Has Left The Building...

[SteyrAUG]

Let me get this straight, the smartest man in the cosmos thinks that advanced aliens are going to travel a few hundred billion miles to steal our natural resources because they cannot develop their own source of renewable energy?

I hate to laugh at a cripple, but kids do say the darnedest things...

Actually Hawkings POV is that it is naive to assume that just because an alien species is advanced enough to travel to us doesn't mean they automatically will have similar views regarding civilizations or even be able to related to human born concepts and ideas.

They may see us as nothing more than another exploitable species on the food chain. It might not even be anything close even close to our attempts to be humane to our food supply livestock. And even if they aren't interested in eating us, they may have no inhibitions about exterminating us or any other species on our planet.

Generally when two civilizations meet, it is at the cost to the least advanced one. If our species or planet proves to be any kind of exploitable resource we will just be another gazelle running from lions.

The idea that they'd come all this way to meet with us, advance our knowledge or even have the slightest desire to attempt communication with us is far more unlikely a scenario than coming here to steal our water supply.

And even if they aren't a hostile / predatory species, simple contact could introduce all kinds of problems from viruses that we have no immunities for and all kinds of social unrest and chaos resulting from the fact that we found out we aren't the only advances species in this corner of the galaxy.

Basically the good outcome / bad outcome scale is greatly tipped towards the probability of a bad outcome.

[thopkins22]

Let me get this straight, the smartest man in the cosmos thinks that advanced aliens are going to travel a few hundred billion miles to steal our natural resources because they cannot develop their own source of renewable energy?

I hate to laugh at a cripple, but kids do say the darnedest things...

And I think his eyes probably laugh right back at you.

I firmly believe in aliens in the sense that I believe there is some form of life not on this planet. Not so much in the sense that they're coming here.

But I don't think it's safe to assume that we know anything about the needs of a civilization that could be millions of years more advanced than we are...or for that matter that might just be single celled organisms floating around in a puddle somewhere.

I also think it's silly to assume that all life is carbon based or needs O2, or anything else. We're discovering extremophiles here on the planet earth, never mind what might be out there.

I don't totally agree with him that we even have whatever elements said aliens might need(who's to say we even have a fraction of what exists?) But rather who knows if a few hundred billion miles is far with advanced technology? A few centuries ago cars, planes, trains, and space travel were unthinkable and largely considered impossible.

Listening to the radio could be like an indian putting his ear to the ground trying to listen for an approaching drone 40,000ft. up. Perhaps our hubris has so inflated our ego that we can't comprehend how simple minded we might be. Perhaps they could be here in ten minutes if they wanted. We just don't know.

[ABNAK]

Stephen Hawking and I are really uncomfortable with this. We humans should keep a low profile in the galaxy, at least until we perfect particle weapons or some other means of defense. American Indians didn't fare well from their "visit from aliens" for example.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ade-Earth.html

I tend to agree (not necessarily the roaming nomads part, but assuming they'd be friendly). That quote from Hawking hits the nail on the head:

"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."

No shit!

[Sensei]

And I think his eyes probably laugh right back at you.

I firmly believe in aliens in the sense that I believe there is some form of life not on this planet. Not so much in the sense that they're coming here.

But I don't think it's safe to assume that we know anything about the needs of a civilization that could be millions of years more advanced than we are...or for that matter that might just be single celled organisms floating around in a puddle somewhere.

I also think it's silly to assume that all life is carbon based or needs O2, or anything else. We're discovering extremophiles here on the planet earth, never mind what might be out there.

I don't totally agree with him that we even have whatever elements said aliens might need(who's to say we even have a fraction of what exists?) But rather who knows if a few hundred billion miles is far with advanced technology? A few centuries ago cars, planes, trains, and space travel were unthinkable and largely considered impossible.

Listening to the radio could be like an indian putting his ear to the ground trying to listen for an approaching drone 40,000ft. up. Perhaps our hubris has so inflated our ego that we can't comprehend how simple minded we might be. Perhaps they could be here in ten minutes if they wanted. We just don't know.

Read some of Hawking's musings on global warming, socialism, geopolitics and you start to realize why the Left props him up as some kind of Professor Xavier. Sorry if I don't buy the whole "humanity sucks" routine from the titular head of academia.

[jpmuscle]

From what I recall the probe only has on board enough energy to stay powered through approximately 2025. After which it will go cold and essentially be a dead probe. Kind of prophetic really in the sense that a physical extension of mankind will forever being wander the vast cosmos in absolute... silence..


mind = blown.


well to me anyway.

[Hmac]

From what I recall the probe only has on board enough energy to stay powered through approximately 2025. After which it will go cold and essentially be a dead probe. Kind of prophetic really in the sense that a physical extension of mankind will forever being wander the vast cosmos in absolute... silence.

And very possibly for eons after humankind is long gone.

[jpmuscle]

And very possibly for eons after humankind is long gone.

Indeed...






That is a concept that is really difficult to grasp for some.. The notion that mankind, all who and what we are, our very existence, may be finite.. Just a cosmic blip.

[ST911]

From what I recall the probe only has on board enough energy to stay powered through approximately 2025. After which it will go cold and essentially be a dead probe. Kind of prophetic really in the sense that a physical extension of mankind will forever being wander the vast cosmos in absolute... silence..

It will be back.

[SteyrAUG]

Read some of Hawking's musings on global warming, socialism, geopolitics and you start to realize why the Left props him up as some kind of Professor Xavier. Sorry if I don't buy the whole "humanity sucks" routine from the titular head of academia.

Neither do I, just as I wouldn't really value the opinions of those who are experts in the field of climatology and geopolitics to tell me about the likely origins of the universe.

Similarly Carl Sagan was sucked into the whole nuclear armageddon movement and would later have to recant some of his figures but that doesn't mean he was any less credible in his field of astronomy.

But as you noted there is a tendency to promote the idea that people such as Einstein and Hawking are so intelligent they are going to be correct about everything, the reality is they sometimes make mistakes in their own field.

[thopkins22]

Read some of Hawking's musings on global warming, socialism, geopolitics and you start to realize why the Left props him up as some kind of Professor Xavier. Sorry if I don't buy the whole "humanity sucks" routine from the titular head of academia.

Fair enough. I know nothing of his political leanings nor views, only that I enjoyed Stephen Hawking's Universe or whatever the show was called.