Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Francois Tremblay · 04-04-2002, 03:20 PM

Say what you will, but the Prime Directive is about the only thing in Star Trek that made sense. Do not prod the primitives !

[ April 04, 2002: Message edited by: Franc28 ]

eh · 04-04-2002, 05:56 PM

I think Random Number Generator is on to something here. Belief in UFO's and aliens would take on the form of a religion, and would likely overcome Islam as the fastest growing belief system in the world.

On top of that, many new religions would branch off from traditional new age and Pagan religions, making these aliens out to be gods of sort.

And of course, you'd have some idiot fundies wanting to send out a message of 'Jesus saves' to this civilization. How do you think us humans would appear, when these aliens receive a message that a man-god from a planet they've never been to, sacrificed himself to himself to save them from hellfire? They might well build a zoo full of these crazy humans.

Koiyotnik · 04-04-2002, 06:07 PM

They'd probably think we're real geeks for considering digital wristwatches cool.

Jeremy Pallant · 04-04-2002, 06:11 PM

One thing's for sure. If the contact between ourselves and an alien race went beyond simple long-range communication to, say, a personal visit, then sooner or later, one race would attempt to wipe out or enslave the other. Certainly that is the lesson history teaches us about what occurs when one member of the human race meets another.

Abacus · 04-04-2002, 06:44 PM

Suppose that first contact is made via deliberate radio transmission from an alien civilization, like in the movie 'Contact.' How would we understand what they are trying to say? Afterall, it is doubtful that they would speak English, or Japanese, or Persian, etc. Assuming that we were able to decipher the message, what do you think it would say?

Honestly, I hope that such an event occurs in my lifetime. I think it would be fascinating.

It would be hard to predict how humanity would react. We can only speculate.

Abacus · 04-04-2002, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by eh:

And of course, you'd have some idiot fundies wanting to send out a message of 'Jesus saves' to this civilization.

What if we received our first message from an alien civilization, and it said "Molog saves, repent."

Kevin Dorner · 04-04-2002, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by eh:
And of course, you'd have some idiot fundies wanting to send out a message of 'Jesus saves' to this civilization. How do you think us humans would appear, when these aliens receive a message that a man-god from a planet they've never been to, sacrificed himself to himself to save them from hellfire?

Actually, a bunch of Vatican bishops decided recently that alien life would be under the Original Sin doctrine and would require saving to escape hellfire. Just when you thought the Catholic Church was getting sensible...

I was going to start a thread in here about this but I found this one. <a href="http://setiathome.berkeley.edu" target="_blank">SETI@Home</a>, which I have participated in, is starting to pare the nearly five hundred million workunits received down to the few most promising candidates... IMHO we are closer to discovering something "out there" than we have ever been before... not that we have been close at all before. So this topic could become very important soon.

My thoughts: a full fledged discovery of an extraterrestrial civilization, even if we never get anything from them but a few meaningless but verified radio signals, will have a subtle but profound effect on humanity.

Religiously, I think it will be a strong blow to Abrahamic fundamentalism. Fundamentalist Christianity, Judaism and Islam all like to think that this whole universe was put here for us and no other purpose, and cannot permit an independent civilization elsewhere. Many of the same people who deny biological evolution will end up denying the finding of evidence of extraterrestrial life, probably using many of the same tired arguments and methods of confusing people. But many will realize that they have finally been proven wrong.

The UFO cults may arise, but what will also arise is a reawakened public interest in science such as astronomy, space sciences, etc. Once you know that there is life out there, the inevitable goal will be to visit it or at least begin the journey, knowing other discoveries may await.

Or, we could be the only intelligent life in our galaxy. I'm quite able to accept that if definite proof of something else isn't found, and it will cause us to treat our world, and ourselves, a little better knowing this (I hope.)

Thoughts?

[ April 04, 2002: Message edited by: Kevin Dorner ]

Pseudonymph · 04-04-2002, 07:22 PM

Sometimes I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there is that none of it has tried to contact us

Queen of Swords · 04-04-2002, 09:20 PM

Calvin and Hobbes.

MadMordigan · 04-04-2002, 11:48 PM

Certainly that is the lesson history teaches us about what occurs when one member of the human race meets another.

Or more generally, when any two speices begin to interact.

Like I said, nuke em at the first opportuity. We can always say sorry, or beg for mercy later.

04-04-2002, 03:20 PM	#11
Francois Tremblay Banned Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Montreal, QC Canada Posts: 876	Say what you will, but the Prime Directive is about the only thing in Star Trek that made sense. Do not prod the primitives ! [ April 04, 2002: Message edited by: Franc28 ]</p>

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04-04-2002, 05:56 PM	#12
eh Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Canada Posts: 624	I think Random Number Generator is on to something here. Belief in UFO's and aliens would take on the form of a religion, and would likely overcome Islam as the fastest growing belief system in the world. On top of that, many new religions would branch off from traditional new age and Pagan religions, making these aliens out to be gods of sort. And of course, you'd have some idiot fundies wanting to send out a message of 'Jesus saves' to this civilization. How do you think us humans would appear, when these aliens receive a message that a man-god from a planet they've never been to, sacrificed himself to himself to save them from hellfire? They might well build a zoo full of these crazy humans.

04-04-2002, 06:07 PM	#13
Koiyotnik Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: St Catharines, ON, Canada Posts: 1,920	They'd probably think we're real geeks for considering digital wristwatches cool.

04-04-2002, 06:11 PM	#14
Jeremy Pallant Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA Posts: 1,242	One thing's for sure. If the contact between ourselves and an alien race went beyond simple long-range communication to, say, a personal visit, then sooner or later, one race would attempt to wipe out or enslave the other. Certainly that is the lesson history teaches us about what occurs when one member of the human race meets another.

04-04-2002, 06:44 PM	#15
Abacus Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: South Dakota Posts: 2,214	Suppose that first contact is made via deliberate radio transmission from an alien civilization, like in the movie 'Contact.' How would we understand what they are trying to say? Afterall, it is doubtful that they would speak English, or Japanese, or Persian, etc. Assuming that we were able to decipher the message, what do you think it would say? Honestly, I hope that such an event occurs in my lifetime. I think it would be fascinating. It would be hard to predict how humanity would react. We can only speculate.

04-04-2002, 07:22 PM	#18
Pseudonymph Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 813	Sometimes I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there is that none of it has tried to contact us

04-04-2002, 09:20 PM	#19
Queen of Swords Contributor Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Canada. Finally. Posts: 10,155	Calvin and Hobbes.

04-04-2002, 11:48 PM	#20
MadMordigan Beloved Deceased Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 2,704	Certainly that is the lesson history teaches us about what occurs when one member of the human race meets another. Or more generally, when any two speices begin to interact. Like I said, nuke em at the first opportuity. We can always say sorry, or beg for mercy later.

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