Is humanity really ready for alien contact ?

[psyche101]

To some extent, but Westerners in the form of Europeans and Australians on their long vacations (we don't get as many Americans as their free time is more limited) are quite common so there is little novelty.

What I would not give for a long vacation!!

Aussies are common in Vietnam? I didn't know that. Most Aussies I know seem to holiday in Thailand, or Bali, cheap holidays. I think I have only know two people that have visited Vietnam. I have been trying to talk my wife into visiting Japan for a holiday for a few years now, she might be finally cracking.

What you do run into a lot are Vietnamese wanting to marry Americans and move there, to the extent that the American visa authorities are very suspicious. My advice here to Americans is to be super-careful about such things, especially if she is young and you aren't.

I have heard of the same here in Australia.

As Africans and African-Americans appear more and more in the media, there has developed curiosity about them, which use to be stopped by prejudices.

Glad you pointed that out, I would not have caught onto that. I never understood that sort of prejudice. I guess I find diversity aesthetically pleasing. One thing the media might be good for!

[Frank Merton]

Do you mean some sort of informal indoctrination prepared and executed in secret by the powers that be? I'm assuming that isn't what you mean because I've never taken you as a conspiracy theorist. Though I think we have all heard just such a CT floating around that keeps being regurgitated from time to time.

I think it could be a form of societal consciousness that perpetuates these sci-fi stories involving aliens that indicate a readiness or even a willingness for contact. Whether or not that 'instinct' (for lack of a better word) is naive or not is anyone's guess.

My idea never reached the point of assigning roles like that, although thinking about it I thought probably the aliens were doing it somehow quietly. No I am not a CT, 99 percent of the time.

[Frank Merton]

Yea Vietnam is just crawling with Aussies. I think they come here for beaches and because of the War while they go to Thailand for sex. Just my bias there. The tourist facilities here are far more primitive than Thailand so that may have to do with it -- we get more of the young backpacker type.

[psyche101]

Yea Vietnam is just crawling with Aussies. I think they come here for beaches and because of the War while they go to Thailand for sex. Just my bias there. The tourist facilities here are far more primitive than Thailand so that may have to do with it -- we get more of the young backpacker type.

Wow, that's crazy LOL! We have some of the best Beaches in the World! Whitehaven takes a great deal to beat. Same with the fabulous Gold Coast where I live. I would agree with you on Thailand, crikey, the stories I have heard!! I knew many Aussies paid respects to war memorials, but I figured that would be once a year, and still around the hundred people mark. It's always interesting speaking to you Frank. If I ever get to Vietnam, it's my shout for dinner mate.

Never been one to fall for the tourist traps myself, when I holiday OS, the biggest attraction for me is meeting locals and learning local customs. I find that endlessly and intensely interesting.

Edited May 8, 2014 by psyche101

[Uncle Sam]

Most people tend to think Aliens should be eye pleasing for us to trust them, even the most ugliest in our terms could be the most benevolent species out of all extra-terrestrial races out there. Their terrestrial forms would be quite foreign to our concept of how species evolve, they might evolve in an much radical way compared to us. Sci-fi has deeply ingrained our thinking that an intelligent extra-terrestrial species would look much likes us, bipedal species with similar features that commonly associated with Homo Sapiens. As much as I love to associate with an species that looks similar to homo sapiens, maybe able to perform cross species mating that might lead to new species of intelligent beings, this is an pipe dream because chances of running into species much like us is an crap shot in the cosmic lottery. Lizards, Insects, snakes, marine, mammals, as well as other unique intelligent species could be so foreign, we wouldn't understand how their bodies work or their evolutionary path happen without them teaching us in-depth.

To be honest, we are woefully unprepared in both areas, rather it be military or culturally. Extraterrestrial species who decide to claim our planet as their own, they wouldn't need to even set foot on the planet, they could easily bombard the planet's surface with passive or active weaponry that can do immense damage. They could even use kinetic energy to kill of 90% of our species, just by launching massive disk shaped objects into the sea in strategic places to create tidal waves the size of sky scrapers, then enslave the rest of our species. Wouldn't take much... we are extremely vulnerable. Mentally as a individual I am ready to meet an new intelligent species, only if it is one on one conversation that revolves around my culture and science. But our species as a whole isn't ready to be involved with another species, let alone hundreds of other intelligent species that have actively achieved interplanetary space travel.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Uncle Sam

[Mikko-kun]

Humanity isn't ready for humanity, so how would we be ready for aliens? I mean look at us and what humanity causes us lol, I dont wanna think about meeting the aliens

[Rafterman]

Any race that can visit us would be superior as we can't visit them. It's still interesting with all the probes we've sent out that one hasn't shown up from somewhere else to chceck us out. Then again may they have and didn't like what tey saw.

You do get how big even just the visible galaxy is, right? And even though it launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is just barely out of our solar system.

Even if there were starships zipping around space at warp speed, the odds that they would even find the Milky Way galaxy, much less our lonely little planet, are infinitesimal.

I find the arguments of the believers much like the arguments of the religious. The tired old belief that "I'm special, I'm significant, God made me in his image and cares about my day-to-day life" is not much different than "We're significant, our planet is significant, aliens would come to visit us" - when in fact neither belief is true at all.

[Mikko-kun]

You do get how big even just the visible galaxy is, right? And even though it launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is just barely out of our solar system.

Even if there were starships zipping around space at warp speed, the odds that they would even find the Milky Way galaxy, much less our lonely little planet, are infinitesimal.

I find the arguments of the believers much like the arguments of the religious. The tired old belief that "I'm special, I'm significant, God made me in his image and cares about my day-to-day life" is not much different than "We're significant, our planet is significant, aliens would come to visit us" - when in fact neither belief is true at all.

Yeah. But I dont think the odds for them finding us are that small. If we were to find aliens, how would we do it? First we find the exoplanets, they probably have found earth if they're more advanced than us and in our galaxy. Then we'd send probes to those planets, to their direction to see if they have any markings of civilization that can be seen from space, like the great wall of China that's here. That's all they'd need to do to find us, not just our planet which you couldn't say if they had not found already.

I agree with your sentiment partially, if you use that "I'm special because of god/ET" to fulfill a hole in your life, but other than that I disagree. And I think you succumb to the same kinda thinking if you think that nobody could had found us, because wouldn't that make us pretty special in your view? If your view is that nobody is so much more advanced than us?

[DONTEATUS]

Again we are not 100% sure that Aliens have not sent prob`s to inspect us,and in doing,being that they are possibly far more advanced than us ,take the information,and file it away in there round file cabnet like we do many things on earth ,i.e. the trash ! And move on to explore the futher regions of deep intersteallar space !

Some day we just might understand just how little our corner of the Universe really is !

So Lets repair our world & people so we just may see a future that we can be Invited into it greatness !

[Sweetpumper]

So Lets repair our world & people so we just may see a future that we can be Invited into it greatness !

Unfortunately, I think the only thing that can 'repair' our planet is a meteor strike at this point.

[bison]

Are we prepared for open contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life? Are we even able to answer this question for ourselves in a creditable manner?

Is a baby prepared to be born? From its own perspective, the answer would very probably be no. From a larger perspective of human society and human biology it is, after nine months, prepared. In fact, its birth is natural, correct, and inevitable.

We have been gradually coming to terms with the universe for the last few centuries, and especially the last few decades. The media, our cultures, and psyches are full of a wide variety of depictions of extraterrestrials, and stories and musings about them.

Need we first be perfect in our social, political, and interpersonal behavior, or have a good working knowledge of the larger universe into which we would be admitted before open ET contact should occur? I doubt it.

No one expects these things of a newborn baby. The larger world into which it is born sets about teaching it what it needs to know. It seems perfectly natural that humanity's entry into the larger cosmos would be similar in many respects.

[Mikko-kun]

Unfortunately, I think the only thing that can 'repair' our planet is a meteor strike at this point.

Or a change in what we do and actually seek solutions. If everybody really wanted to fix things and were prepared to do, to actually do, we could do it without sinking back to stone age, let alone a century back. Might take a good amount of time and effort, but we know it's not impossible.

When I was disillusioned and didn't really know what to look for from like except the usual family + dog + house etc, I looked the answer from a lot of documentary films. The amount of bs there is amazing, not untrue things nor lies but just bs. The amount of complaining and problems and the lack of proper solutions. If there's a problem, why not fix it? Honest people will say "I like my life the way it is enough. In reality, do we expect somebody else to make these changes we should be a part of, for us?

Externalising any problem is not the solution.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Mikko-kun

[Believenothing]

We may never be 'ready' for e.t. contact. Who cares? Bring it on anyway. We'll adapt, it's what we do.

[Shiloh17]

Ready for contact depends on what kind of contact. Hostile, no. Friendly contact would be met with those with open arms, those with fear. etc..

[toast]

Gary Larson

Edited May 8, 2014 by toast

[Myles]

Most people tend to think Aliens should be eye pleasing for us to trust them, even the most ugliest in our terms could be the most benevolent species out of all extra-terrestrial races out there. Their terrestrial forms would be quite foreign to our concept of how species evolve, they might evolve in an much radical way compared to us. Sci-fi has deeply ingrained our thinking that an intelligent extra-terrestrial species would look much likes us, bipedal species with similar features that commonly associated with Homo Sapiens. As much as I love to associate with an species that looks similar to homo sapiens, maybe able to perform cross species mating that might lead to new species of intelligent beings, this is an pipe dream because chances of running into species much like us is an crap shot in the cosmic lottery. Lizards, Insects, snakes, marine, mammals, as well as other unique intelligent species could be so foreign, we wouldn't understand how their bodies work or their evolutionary path happen without them teaching us in-depth.

To be honest, we are woefully unprepared in both areas, rather it be military or culturally. Extraterrestrial species who decide to claim our planet as their own, they wouldn't need to even set foot on the planet, they could easily bombard the planet's surface with passive or active weaponry that can do immense damage. They could even use kinetic energy to kill of 90% of our species, just by launching massive disk shaped objects into the sea in strategic places to create tidal waves the size of sky scrapers, then enslave the rest of our species. Wouldn't take much... we are extremely vulnerable. Mentally as a individual I am ready to meet an new intelligent species, only if it is one on one conversation that revolves around my culture and science. But our species as a whole isn't ready to be involved with another species, let alone hundreds of other intelligent species that have actively achieved interplanetary space travel.

Lots of guesses there. Maybe they never devoted much time to developing weapons. Maybe they are only 1 inch tall.

[BarnabasCollins]

Gary Larson

Now, that is funny!!

[Alexsrb84]

If ancients were ready why not we....

[psyche101]

Most people tend to think Aliens should be eye pleasing for us to trust them, even the most ugliest in our terms could be the most benevolent species out of all extra-terrestrial races out there. Their terrestrial forms would be quite foreign to our concept of how species evolve, they might evolve in an much radical way compared to us. Sci-fi has deeply ingrained our thinking that an intelligent extra-terrestrial species would look much likes us, bipedal species with similar features that commonly associated with Homo Sapiens. As much as I love to associate with an species that looks similar to homo sapiens, maybe able to perform cross species mating that might lead to new species of intelligent beings, this is an pipe dream because chances of running into species much like us is an crap shot in the cosmic lottery. Lizards, Insects, snakes, marine, mammals, as well as other unique intelligent species could be so foreign, we wouldn't understand how their bodies work or their evolutionary path happen without them teaching us in-depth.

Hrrmzzz, no, not really, they are as varied as our imaginations are:

People think "Different planet Musty be different" but what we all keep forgetting is not any planet can harbour life, and life needs the right conditions to meet intelligence. I feel that extraterrestrial life is going to shock everyone by being remarkably recognisable. If we ever see it.

To be honest, we are woefully unprepared in both areas, rather it be military or culturally. Extraterrestrial species who decide to claim our planet as their own, they wouldn't need to even set foot on the planet, they could easily bombard the planet's surface with passive or active weaponry that can do immense damage. They could even use kinetic energy to kill of 90% of our species, just by launching massive disk shaped objects into the sea in strategic places to create tidal waves the size of sky scrapers, then enslave the rest of our species. Wouldn't take much... we are extremely vulnerable. Mentally as a individual I am ready to meet an new intelligent species, only if it is one on one conversation that revolves around my culture and science. But our species as a whole isn't ready to be involved with another species, let alone hundreds of other intelligent species that have actively achieved interplanetary space travel.

A think even though religion is beginning to accept other life may exist it is still the stumbling block.

Edited May 9, 2014 by psyche101

[psyche101]

Are we prepared for open contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life? Are we even able to answer this question for ourselves in a creditable manner?

Is a baby prepared to be born? From its own perspective, the answer would very probably be no. From a larger perspective of human society and human biology it is, after nine months, prepared. In fact, its birth is natural, correct, and inevitable.

We have been gradually coming to terms with the universe for the last few centuries, and especially the last few decades. The media, our cultures, and psyches are full of a wide variety of depictions of extraterrestrials, and stories and musings about them.

Need we first be perfect in our social, political, and interpersonal behavior, or have a good working knowledge of the larger universe into which we would be admitted before open ET contact should occur? I doubt it.

No one expects these things of a newborn baby. The larger world into which it is born sets about teaching it what it needs to know. It seems perfectly natural that humanity's entry into the larger cosmos would be similar in many respects.

I agree with you one this, by some standards, some would consider us never to be ready. We will only know of we are by application. if that is at all possible.

[Occams Razor]

I think we are... I think most people these days believe we aren't alone. I don't think it will happen anytime soon though, there just wouldn't be enough in it for them... unless they want the planet of course:

Steven Hawking and other well regarded astrophysicists have said they think it unwise to broadcast high power messages out across the galaxy as it may draw some unwanted attention. They even suggest this may be why SETI hasn't heard anything conclusive so far, because other intelligent species out there know what happens to those that do and keep quiet.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Occams Razor

[Hawken]

I can see maybe segments of the population would be more prepare but countries that are religion oriented

like the middle eastern countries (muslim) I wonder what their reaction would be?

[Hawken]

Most people tend to think Aliens should be eye pleasing for us to trust them, even the most ugliest in our terms could be the most benevolent species out of all extra-terrestrial races out there. Their terrestrial forms would be quite foreign to our concept of how species evolve, they might evolve in an much radical way compared to us. Sci-fi has deeply ingrained our thinking that an intelligent extra-terrestrial species would look much likes us, bipedal species with similar features that commonly associated with Homo Sapiens. As much as I love to associate with an species that looks similar to homo sapiens, maybe able to perform cross species mating that might lead to new species of intelligent beings, this is an pipe dream because chances of running into species much like us is an crap shot in the cosmic lottery. Lizards, Insects, snakes, marine, mammals, as well as other unique intelligent species could be so foreign, we wouldn't understand how their bodies work or their evolutionary path happen without them teaching us in-depth.

And could there be the possibility of beings that are made of pure energy.

[psyche101]

I can see maybe segments of the population would be more prepare but countries that are religion oriented

like the middle eastern countries (muslim) I wonder what their reaction would be?

Well in many cases with religion, it seems to be

"if you are not with us, you are against us"

Morons like Choudry make one embarrassed to admit we are all one species. With clowns like that out there, one does wonder if we really are ready. Whilst many of us indeed would be, it only takes one clown to wreck everything.

[psyche101]

And could there be the possibility of beings that are made of pure energy.

Is that actually possible though? Can information remain organised for long periods in that state?