What If We Found Extraterrestrial Life?

[Still Waters]

In 1938, Orson Welles narrated a radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" as a series of simulated radio bulletins of what was happening in real time as Martians arrived on our home planet. The broadcast is widely remembered for creating public panic, although to what extent is hotly debated today.

Still, the incident serves as an illustration of what could happen when the first life beyond Earth is discovered. While scientists might be excited by the prospect, introducing the public, politicians and interest groups to the idea could take some time.

http://www.astrobio....rrestrial-life/

[+Hammerclaw]

Other than some sort of visitation, the only sort of extraterrestrial life likely to be discovered would be microbial life on another solar planet. The proponents of terrestrial exceptionalism would simply fall back, regroup, and become proponents of solar exceptionalism. Most of the rest of the world would arch an eyebrow, yawn, and go back to watching reality television. The Intellectually inclined would have lively debates, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

[aquatus1]

Still, the incident serves as an illustration of what could happen when the first life beyond Earth is discovered.

Well, inasfar as the first life beyond Earth landing on the planet and proceeding to systematically wipe out all traces of humanity, sure.

[danielost]

i doubt that et would come here shooting first.

[aquatus1]

Same here. Wouldn't be any point to it.

[MichaelFredrek]

It is a dream for many that we find ET somewhere else, but what will we do then?

tell them hi, we are bringing peace to you and more imigrants to your planet

as well as we would like to preach to you about our crazy religions

oh, and not to mention our fantastic offers on our planet house hold stuff

buy one get one free....

What are we going to do, invite them to live with us? or hey share your technology

on medicine and so on? i doubt if we ever find ET that they would possibly destroy

the scouting ship before it goes back to tell anything, because they simply don't like

pests to come close to their home land..

And i see no reason for them to come shooting here unless we deliberately annoyed their own national security

that is if we ever find one and to do so we need to invent hyper space to travel fast enough to scout the universe

something like star trek, i doubt we will do this in the near future...

what i think possibly happen is that the earth will be so full with people and maybe they

find us another planet for us to occupy and share this with world leaders to buy land

and claim it for their people and so on, just a thought... other than that we live here we die here

[PersonFromPorlock]

Given the human talent for rationalization, we'd eventually convince ourselves that it didn't really matter and everything we already believed about the world was still true.