Extraterrestrials: Hope or Threat

[edwest4]

Boy howdy,
I fer sure
you're partakin' of
but postulatin'
rather than of this here
but dagnabbit
But you do you, bro!
believe you me,
dear Scott, kiddo,

Martin Bayer does his best imitation of an 'aw shucks' American, or maybe Elmer Fudd.

 

[Justo Miranda]

Are the distances between potentially inhabited systems just too vast. A frog on a lily pond in England may be the same species as one in the Amazon rain forest but they will never be able to communicate. Perhaps other human civilisations do exist out there but like the frogs we will never know.

With enough time even amphibians can develop a communications technology.

 

[Justo Miranda]

Are the distances between potentially inhabited systems just too vast. A frog on a lily pond in England may be the same species as one in the Amazon rain forest but they will never be able to communicate. Perhaps other human civilisations do exist out there but like the frogs we will never know.

Frogs do not think long term. Humans can and do, sometimes engaging in engineering projects that are acknowledged will take far longer than their lives. And that's just baseline humans. Humans who can be frozen solid for millenia, humans who can upload into digital storage for later download into new bio or cyber bodies, humans genetically modified to last for millenia... these folk might take "long term planning" to unprecedented levels.

And if those humans possess a technology that gives them some kind of immortality, they will be even more effective in their planning.

 

[Orionblamblam]

And if those humans possess a technology that gives them some kind of immortality, they will be even more effective in their planning.

Hopefully. On the other hand... immortal humans might just be like regular humans: they'll spend every moment sitting on the couch eating junk food and scrolling through social media.

Only one way to find out...

 

[Justo Miranda]

And if those humans possess a technology that gives them some kind of immortality, they will be even more effective in their planning.

Hopefully. On the other hand... immortal humans might just be like regular humans: they'll spend every moment sitting on the couch eating junk food and scrolling through social media.

Only one way to find out...

There has always been a fraction of humanity seemingly useless, but in reality they constitute an important genetic reserve in case of epidemic or possess an important potential that has not yet had time to manifest. I think its existence is a luxury we can afford.

 

[edwest4]

And if those humans possess a technology that gives them some kind of immortality, they will be even more effective in their planning.

Hopefully. On the other hand... immortal humans might just be like regular humans: they'll spend every moment sitting on the couch eating junk food and scrolling through social media.

Only one way to find out...

There has always been a fraction of humanity seemingly useless, but in reality they constitute an important genetic reserve in case of epidemic or possess an important potential that has not yet had time to manifest. I think its existence is a luxury we can afford.

The ruling elite, and the aliens, know the Minimum Peasant Requirement. Without peasants, who will the ruling elite rule over? And the aliens need test subjects - apparently.

 

[edwest4]

And if those humans possess a technology that gives them some kind of immortality, they will be even more effective in their planning.

Hopefully. On the other hand... immortal humans might just be like regular humans: they'll spend every moment sitting on the couch eating junk food and scrolling through social media.

Only one way to find out...

I am so glad that this idea has never come up in actual science fiction. And immortality can be boring...

 

[aim9xray]

There has always been a fraction of humanity seemingly useless, but in reality they constitute an important genetic reserve in case of epidemic or possess an important potential that has not yet had time to manifest. I think its existence is a luxury we can afford.

Ah yes, the Telephone Sanitizer.

 

[Rhinocrates]

I must have missed the Octopus aerospace industry and space launches as a method pf extending the reach of their species. Pretty sure we will not see it from other planetary systems either.

Give them time. If you think the prospect of cats evolving opposable thumbs is scary...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebeNeQFUMa0


A while back a group of biologists got together and speculated about what course evolution could take. As part of their long-term scenario, they proposed that after a mass extinction, the invertebrates take over. The TV series is called The Future is Wild.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnasRyT52FU


I'm pretty sure this is a hoax though

Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

Information about the endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and what you can do to save it.

zapatopi.net

 

[edwest4]

Boy howdy,
I fer sure
you're partakin' of
but postulatin'
rather than of this here
but dagnabbit
But you do you, bro!
believe you me,
dear Scott, kiddo,

Martin Bayer does his best imitation of an 'aw shucks' American, or maybe Elmer Fudd.

Cultural appropriation. As a resident of California, he should know better.

"... resident of California" !!! They have a detox procedure for that sort of thing.

 

[Rhinocrates]

Speaking of things with tentacles, HG Wells' martians are octopus-like but the narrator speculates that they may have evolved from creatures like ourselves and references a speculative essay he'd read. That essay was actually written by Wells himself and was called 'Man of the Year Million.' His reasoning was that in a technological environment we would adapt by losing redundant organs, leaving the 'essential' ones to hypertrophy. There would be no gut because all nutrient would be highly processed and not need digestion while the the brain, eyes and hands would grow in size. Here's one of his drawings, or 'picshuas' as he called them, plus another drawing by an unknown artist.

 

[Justo Miranda]

Fictional ET sample

I-BIO Report NSD-1231

Specie: Alien Sargonicus.

Origin: unknown.

First contact: October 2142, in the asteroidal group of the Sargon-131 stellar system.

Respiration: tracheal and epidermal osmosis.

Nourishment: any organic matter with left homochirality.

Vision: binocular, stereoscopic, with enormous staring eyes without peripheral vision

Sensorial system: it lacks acoustic sensors, captures soil vibrations through its tail, and can identify chemical traces using olfactory sensors located on its tridactyl feet. It also has a highly developed infrared facial organ that visualizes thermal radiation using the same optical principles as a pinhole camera. Its eyes are too sensitive to the maintenance lighting of industrial complexes, but it can easily and quickly move to follow a chemical trail using its infrared vision.

Metabolism: highly resistant to low temperatures and extremely poor oxygen environments; prolonged hibernation capacity in ecstasy with cutaneous respiration only.

Reproduction: using living organisms to lay their eggs.

Biology: their cells are practically immortal; when they separate from the main organism, they enter ecstasy but are quickly reactivated by the proximity of other life forms. Its DNA contains 2,700 million base pairs.

Estimated intelligence level: 0.62 (ST), capable of synthesizing the protocadherin protein, found only in the neuronal connections of complex brains.

Internal structure: endoskeleton is carbon-based, teeth and claws are bright black, the body is gelatinous and translucent with bioluminescent internal organs whose function is unknown.

Behavior: nocturnal hunter that detects its prey by capturing the vibrations of the ground through the ventral side of its triangular section tail; contact with the ground is optimized by secreting a gelatinous fluid that also serves to mark its hunting territory. It processes the information with the help of a highly developed nerve organ located at the base of the tail.

 

[Orionblamblam]

I must have missed the Octopus aerospace industry and space launches as a method pf extending the reach of their species. Pretty sure we will not see it from other planetary systems either.

Give them time.

That's one thing they don't have. The lifespans of octopi are shockingly low, 1 to 5 years. Even if they were human-level smart, the likelihood that they could get *anywhere* is vanishingly low. Just not enough time to learn things.

 

[martinbayer]

Boy howdy,
I fer sure
you're partakin' of
but postulatin'
rather than of this here
but dagnabbit
But you do you, bro!
believe you me,
dear Scott, kiddo,

Martin Bayer does his best imitation of an 'aw shucks' American, or maybe Elmer Fudd.

Cultural appropriation. As a resident of California, he should know better.

As long as 'mercans put on short leather pants and silly hats and pretend to be schuhplattling at German styled beer festivals without being able to string together one single grammatically and semantically correct sentence in German, I see no reason whatsoever to stop mocking US pseudoculture in turn .

 

[martinbayer]

Boy howdy,
I fer sure
you're partakin' of
but postulatin'
rather than of this here
but dagnabbit
But you do you, bro!
believe you me,
dear Scott, kiddo,

Martin Bayer does his best imitation of an 'aw shucks' American, or maybe Elmer Fudd.

Cultural appropriation. As a resident of California, he should know better.

"... resident of California" !!! They have a detox procedure for that sort of thing.

California pretty much has a detox procedure for anything, because science. Some other US states though, especially those in the southeast alligator habitat/civil war loser territory, don't, and it really shows, especially on the evening news...

 

[Justo Miranda]

Celtic UFOS

Ancient traditions of luminous phenomena and enhancers of experience.

https://vivecamino.com/en/la-santa-compana-la-leyenda-gallega-mas-extendida-no-71/

The Santa Compaña ("Holy Company") is a deep-rooted mythical belief in rural northwest of Iberia: Galicia, Asturias (Spain) and Northern Portugal.

Queimada is a traditional Galician liqueur that's supposed to convey special powers to those who drink it.

Queimada (drink) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[edwest4]

Martin, Martin... My parents were aliens. My first use of language was not English. We did just fine.

My apologies for having a bit of tangental fun at your expense.

 

[martinbayer]

Martin, Martin... My parents were aliens. My first use of language was not English. We did just fine.

My apologies for having a bit of tangental fun at your expense.

Hello Ed, no need for any apologies at all, unless you also have a parallel account under the silly moniker orionblamblam ! My first use of language was not English, either, and I think I'm doing just fine as well, so we're copacetic .

 

[edwest4]

Martin, Martin... My parents were aliens. My first use of language was not English. We did just fine.

My apologies for having a bit of tangental fun at your expense.

Hello Ed, no need for any apologies at all, unless you also have a parallel account under the silly moniker orionblamblam ! My first use of language was not English, either, and I think I'm doing just fine as well, so we're copacetic .

Copacetic. It's been years since I've heard that.

 

[Arjen]

copacetic — Wordorigins.org

13 January 2021 Copacetic is an Americanism that means fine or satisfactory. The origin is not known with certainty, but we have a pretty good guess. As far anyone can tell, the copacetic , in its earliest incarnations spelled copasetic , pops up first in Irvin Bacheller’s 1919 novel A Man fo

www.wordorigins.org

 

[martinbayer]

Martin, Martin... My parents were aliens. My first use of language was not English. We did just fine.

My apologies for having a bit of tangental fun at your expense.

Hello Ed, no need for any apologies at all, unless you also have a parallel account under the silly moniker orionblamblam ! My first use of language was not English, either, and I think I'm doing just fine as well, so we're copacetic .

Copacetic. It's been years since I've heard that.

English has a lot of underused terms, but this being my favorite language I try to add some diversity to my vocabulary .

 

[stever_sl]

I used to have fun at work with our secretary (excuse me, "Office Administrator") who was pretty credulous about a lot of things, by simply inserting these three words in front of nouns: "...of your Earth..." - as in "I need to reserve the conference room for thirty OF YOUR EARTH minutes." Try it sometime, you'll get a lot of odd looks!

 

[edwest4]

I used to have fun at work with our secretary (excuse me, "Office Administrator") who was pretty credulous about a lot of things, by simply inserting these three words in front of nouns: "...of your Earth..." - as in "I need to reserve the conference room for thirty OF YOUR EARTH minutes." Try it sometime, you'll get a lot of odd looks!

Gosh. I don't say that and I still get odd looks...

 

[Orionblamblam]

I used to have fun at work with our secretary ....

... and that's when HR gets involved.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

I mean, I guess it's too much to hope this offtopic topic can stay on topic? Removed some political brouahaha with no relation to aliens.

 

[Orionblamblam]

I mean, I guess it's too much to hope this offtopic topic can stay on topic? Removed some political brouahaha with no relation to aliens.

Yeah, but... if aliens show up, do you think it *won't* get political? If they just flash across the solar system in a fleet of uncommunicative world ships, or a giant space kraken eats Enceladus and them pops back into the warp, or city-sized flying saucers hovers over every major capitol and, as one, announces "neener neener" then vanish in a puff of violet smoke... people will fight about the politics of it.

 

[edwest4]

When I was old enough, I helped my father fill out the yearly Alien Address Form. It was available at the US Post Office and was the size and shape of a standard IBM punch card. The people in the government wanted to know where "those people" were living.

 

[edwest4]

I mean, I guess it's too much to hope this offtopic topic can stay on topic? Removed some political brouahaha with no relation to aliens.

Yeah, but... if aliens show up, do you think it *won't* get political? If they just flash across the solar system in a fleet of uncommunicative world ships, or a giant space kraken eats Enceladus and them pops back into the warp, or city-sized flying saucers hovers over every major capitol and, as one, announces "neener neener" then vanish in a puff of violet smoke... people will fight about the politics of it.

Politics shmolotics. Look at what's happened since 1947 - nothing. And Official Explanations from the government today - nothing.

Cities disintegrated so far - none.

So I'm expecting more nothing.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Politics shmolotics. Look at what's happened since 1947 - nothing. And Official Explanations from the government today - nothing.

Cities disintegrated so far - none.

So I'm expecting more nothing.

Since 1947, there have been no space aliens. So the situation is not comparable to what might happen if something verifiable and incontrovertible occurs.

 

[Arjen]

So - Extraterrestrials: Hope or Threat? - the answer could be anything in between. Or something completely different. Where have I heard that before.

 

[edwest4]

The answer is: No OFFICIAL Announcement of anything, just so-called whistleblowers.

Bob Lazar, who claimed to work at Area 51 and to have seen alien spacecraft. That was in 1989. And then he did a movie in 2018. Big yawn.

Amazon.com: Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers : Bob Lazar, George Knapp, Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, Mickey Rourke, Joy White, Phyllis Tucker, Layne Keck, Mario Santa Cruz, Zack Slizewski, Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, Jeremy Kenyon, George Kna

Amazon.com: Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers : Bob Lazar, George Knapp, Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, Mickey Rourke, Joy White, Phyllis Tucker, Layne Keck, Mario Santa Cruz, Zack Slizewski, Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, Jeremy Kenyon, George Knapp, Jim Martin, Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell...

www.amazon.com

 

[Orionblamblam]

 

[edwest4]

And so The Parade of Nothing continues on.

 

[Justo Miranda]

I collect illustrations of flying saucers... Is anyone else interested?

 

[Justo Miranda]

Post-2

 

[martinbayer]

You have any flying cup illustrations to make it a two stage system?

 

[Orionblamblam]

And so The Parade of Nothing continues on.

Hard to be a parade of something when all there is is nothing.

 

[Justo Miranda]

You have any flying cup illustrations to make it a two stage system?

 

[Justo Miranda]

You have any flying cup illustrations to make it a two stage system?

 

[edwest4]

And so The Parade of Nothing continues on.

Hard to be a parade of something when all there is is nothing.

But on TV, it's: "Hey. We've got something."

No you don't.

Quit lying. Quit forming committees and government agencies that end up telling everyone nothing and doing nothing.

Or, in the gibberish version: "Heyyyyyyy. We know something."

No you don't.