h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

AS we cannot eradicate them PC Prat, we have to learn to get along with them.......

I read some years ago, that in a Total Global Thermonuclear War there would be but one surviving species.......





Cockroaches!!!


GT

PZed offer links to 4 different takes on this issue and adds his own:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/04/hawkings_aliens.php

Then again.........

What about us????


Could we be the result of alien 'seeding' of Earth, hundreds of millions of years ago????



GT

No.

Yes.
But, it would have to have been about 40 hundred million years ago. And is more complicated and less likely explanation that it developing here all by itself.

It was 65 million years ago.
First we killed off all the dinosaurs with iridium bombs.
Then our transport ships brought down our ancestors in their millions and we began settling in small holes in the ground until the 'nature' of this planet began to 'evolve' us into something not unlike the original dominant species of dinosaurs. We grew big and hairy and smarter and meaner and started eating meat. That's the trouble with tribbles. Y'cant win.

~jwf~

At what stage did we build the Nazca Spaceport?

aliens not as we know it jim?

You would *defineitely* recognise Aliens, Fireball!!!


GT

we are properly living with them all ready
but we don't know it yet

If there are aliens out there and they intend to come here then we should warn them to "stay away"> we can't even get on with each other. 1, Where would they land? America? They would try and keep it hush hush and gain all the technology they could from them to use for their own benefit, lets face it most country's would. China? or Russia? now wouldn't that cause a few arguements down here. America shouting they want a share and closed china Thats just one thought, What happens if they land in Israel or Egypt?
I don't know about alien life, but human life I do know about and there is no need to speculate. Any form of alien contact depending on who they contact first would create massive power struggles, like kids in the playground argueing over who's a better mate with the new boy and therefore gets to play with all the neat new toys before anyone else. Until humanity "grows up" and learns to live in peace with each other all alien life should steer clear.

A good pint in a Grauniad article on the issue:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/apr/30/stephen-hawking-right-aliens


Why would aliens be interested in our resources? They can get them from any old planet. Our intelligence doesn't add value.

Good point, ntm...

Aliens would be most likely to be more interested in Jupiter, which they could mine for Hydrogen. Using doubtlessly Fusion Technlogy, they could generate whatever they wanted...


GT

Jupiter is just a big bag of gas. But that doesn't mean we would let
aliens come along and take it all without a fight. I mean it's a BIG bag
of gas. And if it wasn't there all the other planets in the solar system
would be thrown out of their orbits.

The whole gyroscope that is our planetary system would collapse if
something as big as Jupiter were taken out of the equations.


~jwf~

there might want to come here and have us as food
just think
theres 6 billion of us that will last them a life time
there could even farm us .

Aliens are no threat .. human beings are, however

History shows that they are violent in their love of wealth .. they are not content just to survive .. they want more and more, and are prepared to oppress others to achieve it.

I speak collectively, of course, there are many admirable people in all countries of the world, suppressing their greed and are thoughtful of others.
Alas, nationalism and ignorance is on the increase.
Peace

I agree, we are a bigger threat to any alien lifeforms than they are to us.

All you have to do to see the evidence for yourselves is look at our own history. How many nations were enslaved and their wealth plundered by invaders from other country's?

We have not learnt or changed.If we were to come across any planet of value to us then of course a massive invasion would be mounted and pursued. Their life forms would be seen as barbaric in comparrison to us and treated as such, Religious orders would go out to convert the masses to their cause, yadda yadda yadda. Just one big repeat of previous mistakes.

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Unless you've met an alien then you can't possibly say, aliens may wqell be worse than us, they might not be. I can't see any way of knowing for certain without meeting them

> Unless you've met an alien then you can't possibly say

So what! Do you know anybody who's met an alien?
What I'm saying is verifiable .. the existance of aliens is purely supposition.

Why worry about a threat from something that we have no knowledge, when there's a lot more reason to be concerned about our own selves?
Peace

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No I don't know anyone who's met an alien which was my whole point. Until we meet one the only knowledge we have is our own experiences and guessing.

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Yes what you say about humans being can be verified but it doesn't stop what other people say being wrong or valid.

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Just because we have no knowledge on a threat doesn't mean we can't ignore it or the possibility of it occurring. I don't know about a wide range of things in any great detail but that doesn't stop them possibly being a threat.