Has ET already dismissed us as unintelligent?

[AZDZ]

Probably. Headline back on their home worlds...

"70 years of probing alien life for signs of intelligence provides no evidence."

Top Assbrainain spokesperson says: "It's really puzzling that no evidence was found from all that probing, it really has us all scratching our asses in wonder."

[S2F]

I haven't listened to the interview but Tyson does like to throw out similar tongue in cheek comments (whether his comment was tongue in cheek or not, I don't know) from time to time to highlight a parallel point. The point in this case being that how we define intelligence may or may not be the 'rule of thumb' for the rest of the universe.

Edit: clarification

Edited June 4, 2014 by Slave2Fate

[Stealth_Goat]

With all of our technological advances throughout the years, we still can't manage to send a manned space flight outside our solar system. To an alien civilization, the ability to safely travel outside one’s solar system and back, may be a prerequisite for intelligence.

[scowl]

Stupid humans making stupid speculations ... like they've already been examined by extraterrestrial intelligence.

[StarMountainKid]

Maybe the kind of intelligence humans posess is not the kind of intelligence ET is interested in. Except for scientific discoveries, what our intelligence has produced here on earth is rather mundane. Corrupt governments, greedy corporations, pointless sports, shopping at Walmart, worshiping celebritiies, ignoring third world poverty...

Do we really think our human intellect and what it has produced would be interesting to ET?

Edited June 4, 2014 by StarMountainKid

[seeder]

the ability to safely travel outside one’s solar system and back, may be a prerequisite for intelligence.

And eternal life...seeing as just to cross the Milky Way - at the speed of light takes 100, 000 years. Think of the amount of resources and fuel etc you'd need just for one being, in a 100, 000 years period

[White Unicorn]

No, they didn't. Instead we got "The Q". Which is probably the same race as Tralaine. I can't remember the episode name right now.

If I were a Q and visited earth,I'd think humans are on the path of becoming Borg! Q had their own harmonious little family in the time continuum and traversing the universe and own ethics except for that one bad child we know best. The Borg only could think about material realms and taking over other species for more knowledge on how to integrate and their materialistic gains by artificial life extension and their technology interface. Borg artificial evolution no real soul trying to achieve what Qs already were.

I like Star Trek it brought so many philosophies and ideas to us indirectly by a sci fi.

[MJNYC]

Perhaps the animals of Earth have let the more evolved species know already "Keep on going, man has not learned compassion".

[White Unicorn]

And eternal life...seeing as just to cross the Milky Way - at the speed of light takes 100, 000 years. Think of the amount of resources and fuel etc you'd need just for one being, in a 100, 000 years period

Eternal life or just a different way. Just like it took our ancesters months to cross the ocean or go to California from the east by land, we just do it by a different method now that's no big ordeal.

Interdimensional, wormhole time/space manipulation and the contact could even be like holographic drones or personas sent through to us that we might perceive as a physical reality or spiritual being but in reality its just an avatar communiating and exploring.

Man isn't that advanced so if a being had that knowledge to use, they would see us as not very intelligent on the evolutionary scales.

Edited June 4, 2014 by White Unicorn

[Occult1]

Or using even more common sense, they are just not here.

Common sense also tells us that so far each time we think we have figured it all out, it turns out that's just not the case.

And eternal life...seeing as just to cross the Milky Way - at the speed of light takes 100, 000 years. Think of the amount of resources and fuel etc you'd need just for one being, in a 100, 000 years period

According to current understanding of Human beings on Earth. It's certainly not unreasonable to think that this may very well change at some point in the future.

Edited June 4, 2014 by sam_comm

[+OverSword]

Maybe the kind of intelligence humans posess is not the kind of intelligence ET is interested in. Except for scientific discoveries, what our intelligence has produced here on earth is rather mundane. Corrupt governments, greedy corporations, pointless sports, shopping at Walmart, worshiping celebritiies, ignoring third world poverty...

Do we really think our human intellect and what it has produced would be interesting to ET?

Since all indications point to no ET race is more advanced than we are then I'll just disagree with you. Man people sure make a lot of assumptions about aliens. If numbers are any indication ET's are most likely 1) on their own planet and not ours and 2) not as intelligent as humans. they are probably just dumb animals like buffalo's or birds.

[+OverSword]

No, they didn't. Instead we got "The Q". Which is probably the same race as Tralaine. I can't remember the episode name right now.

The Squire of Gothos. I watch one episode of TOS every day before work to calm me.

[andy4]

Maybe they showed up when dinosaurs were around and they (et) have since been wiped out. I thought that's what his statement meant, to me anyways.

[+OverSword]

Maybe they showed up when dinosaurs were around and they (et) have since been wiped out. I thought that's what his statement meant, to me anyways.

That's one way to look at it. And at that time it would have been valid, but I don't think that's what he meant.

[psyche101]

I used to think I liked Dr. Tyson, but really I think he's a bit of a douche now. Give me Michio Kaku any day. I like him even less after watching the agenda driven cosmos he hosts. Douchy is a good way of describing that show as well.

I have been watching Cosmos, and enjoying it - the special effects are great, and the facts are awesome, and I also see exactly what you are saying. Kepler deserved the mention Bruno got IMHO.

LINK - All the things Cosmos got wrong about Bruno

I only have two episodes to go, as I said, I enjoy the show, but this has irked me quietly for a while. I enjoy that he probes the boundaries of science and found the Multiverse episode very interesting, but I have had a personal interest in that subject for a while now. I think the boundaries of what is not actually science and what is should be a little clearer.

I actually wondered if the anti religion message was due to Seth McFarlane's funding of the show? But when Mr. DeGrasse Tyson makes a statement like this, he is either approving, or perhaps even promoting what is his view - or selling out. I understand why people like he, Attenborough and Dawkins have such a dim view of religion, but forcing a view on a person like that tends to have the wrong effect. I am a big fan of a well thought out argument myself that is honest and upfront.

[+OverSword]

I have been watching Cosmos, and enjoying it - the special effects are great, and the facts are awesome, and I also see exactly what you are saying. Kepler deserved the mention Bruno got IMHO.

I probably seemed like I didn't like the show, which isn't really true, I think it's ok for the most-part. I really think the 1/2 animated cartoons they show during narratives are quite good.

[Gomar]

If there are millions of aliens in the universe, have they all agreed to ignore Earth?

Is there a galactic police or iron curtain or quarantine placed on Earth by some universal

general or leader?

More likely aliens close-by are either fish, dinosaurs, or ape-men.

[Sundew]

More likely either ET does not exist or the distances of space and the limitations of moving beyond (or even close to) the speed of light, preclude physical contact. Electronically, our radio signals have only now reached a very few star systems. To get a response from there assumes these systems contain habitable planets with intelligent life at a stage where they could even respond, and must take into consideration their response time to us at the speed of light, which may be decades away.

I think it's a big assumption to think our galaxy is teeming with intelligent life who things we are just too stoooopid to bother contacting us. Stupid, no - dangerous, perhaps.

[psyche101]

Eternal life or just a different way. Just like it took our ancesters months to cross the ocean or go to California from the east by land, we just do it by a different method now that's no big ordeal.

I am not sure who originally came up with this analogy, but it's 150% wrong.

Examples in nature always crossed the oceans, examples in nature in space do what we do - circles around itself. The Ocean can be crossed in a reasonable span of time, the Cosmos simply cannot. It's got a 14 billion year head start on us all. It's really big. There are upper limits to everything. You can't just keep going faster, at some point we reach a limit. E=MC2 gives us the upper limit.

Interdimensional, wormhole time/space manipulation and the contact could even be like holographic drones or personas sent through to us that we might perceive as a physical reality or spiritual being but in reality its just an avatar communiating and exploring.

From what we do know of other dimensions, string theory predicts that they will not be able to support any type of life. I can see how a hologram can fulfill the ideas of spiritual entities, but where are the other transmissions? Again, we must assume that every species is far in advance of us, which doesn't make sense to me.

Man isn't that advanced so if a being had that knowledge to use, they would see us as not very intelligent on the evolutionary scales.

Man is advanced enough to communicate though. I feel many undermine the valuable asset that speech is.

[psyche101]

I probably seemed like I didn't like the show, which isn't really true, I think it's ok for the most-part. I really think the 1/2 animated cartoons they show during narratives are quite good.

I agree entirely, it's just one expects something like perfection when it has been done before. Might just be my standards, I just expect Mr DeGrasse Tyson to have even higher ones. Second last episode for me tonight, despite my complaints it's all over too soon.

[highdesert50]

Since we cannot even get along amongst ourselves and have little regard for this planet or it's lifeforms, why would an alien race to want to interact with humans? Interaction would have detrimental effects on both cultures.

[Bildr]

This is what's really stupid about his statement. Lets say we're looking for intelligent life 1000 years from now and come across some people on another world that communicate through farts. Would we decide that these primitive fart talkers were too stupid for us to waste our time on? No of course not. Anthropologists would be lining up and fighting with swords to study these people. Tyson's ego and celebrity is making him think that everything that comes out of his mouth is just how it is.

Has ET already dismissed us as unintelligent?

Who says they are looking for intelligence? Or man? We are just one of the millions of living things on this planet...

Put the shoe on the other foot, if we found a planet with breathable air, greenery and simple life, would we say "nah, look its crappy boring planet"? No, we'd be celebrating!

Maybe...just maybe, WE are the most intelligent life in the universe. Why must it always be imaginary super advanced comic book aliens?

.

.

Maybe...just maybe, WE are NOT the most intelligent life in the universe. Why must it always be our imaginary christian/biblesque type of feeling of superiority? We still have in our subconcious that ''God created us in his image''.

About the farts How do you define a fart language then. A pushing of air that module precise lenght of sound to produce language? So in the end, isn't our mouth language could then be see has a ''fart'' languange'' then? Everybody here know that we would not even be celebrating, we would storm into that planet, rape them from their lands and take ownership of everything. Just look at our past history and what we did to our own fellow humans and how many civilisation ''raped'' another one. Imperialism is not dead, not at all, it's living quite well!!!

Looking at a infantile, war mongering civilisation like us, it would be no suprise that an alien race would think we are to violent and a big pack of idiots to take contact with. Why people think that because WE are a curious race that love a little to much to bring inteferance into the affaire of other ones & because of our superiority complexe.. that all life would(or should) act like us?

So please all stop with this hate about Dr. Tyson. I truly think that he's briging a legitimate question and understand how we could*and should!) be a lot more humble has a race and feel like aliens MUST make contact with us because we still subconsiously think that we are the center of the universe.

[Bildr]

If there are millions of aliens in the universe, have they all agreed to ignore Earth?

Is there a galactic police or iron curtain or quarantine placed on Earth by some universal

general or leader?

More likely aliens close-by are either fish, dinosaurs, or ape-men.

Why not? Why should we close ourself to that possibility? Until we know what's going on in the rest of the comos(or even could never know if we ever all kill ourselves), we have to be open to ALL possibilities.

[ancient astronaut]

I will give you my reason(s) on why E.T. would ignore us. 1. We kill what scares us. 2. We kill what we don't understand. 3. We kill just to kill. 4. If they (E.T.) look at our (mankind's) glorious history, all we do is kill. What would an advanced civilization gain by interacting with us (mankind)? Answer is nothing beneficial, at least not for them.

Edited June 5, 2014 by ancient astronaut

[badeskov]

If there are millions of aliens in the universe, have they all agreed to ignore Earth?

Is there a galactic police or iron curtain or quarantine placed on Earth by some universal

general or leader?

More likely aliens close-by are either fish, dinosaurs, or ape-men.

Or maybe Einstein was correct and traveling between the stars is just as hideously difficult as we currently envision and simply not feasibly on a large scale...

Cheers,

Badeskov