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THE aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist — but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact.
The suggestions come in a new documentary series in which Hawking, one of the world’s leading scientists, will set out his latest thinking on some of the universe’s greatest mysteries.
Alien life, he will suggest, is almost certain to exist in many other parts of the universe: not just in planets, but perhaps in the centre of stars or even floating in interplanetary space.
Hawking’s logic on aliens is, for him, unusually simple. The universe, he points out, has 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars. In such a big place, Earth is unlikely to be the only planet where life has evolved.
“To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” he said. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.”
The answer, he suggests, is that most of it will be the equivalent of microbes or simple animals — the sort of life that has dominated Earth for most of its history.
One scene in his documentary for the Discovery Channel shows herds of two-legged herbivores browsing on an alien cliff-face where they are picked off by flying, yellow lizard-like predators. Another shows glowing fluorescent aquatic animals forming vast shoals in the oceans thought to underlie the thick ice coating Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter.
Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity.
He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.”
I don't think Hawking lies awake worrying about space aliens; he is very fond of making fun of those who claim to see them.
But he does make a good point when he questions the logic of space programs actively trying to communicate by sending signals and probes into space with directions on how to find us. What we're doing is about the same as stripping naked in the jungle and yelling "Fresh Meat!!!" at the top of our lungs. We don't know who or what will hear us and come calling and no way to defend ourselves if they aren't friendly.
I think Hawking also pointed out that an extra-terrestrial civilization capable of getting here would be so beyond us that there would be scant reason for them to use and abuse us. But they would probably think nothing of stepping on us too, just like we wouldn't worry too much about stepping on an anthill.
No thanks. I would rather not listen to what some pencil neck scientist has to say anymore than I would care about a neo-nazi's opinion. To the sciences I say a big loud three words that the Rationalist would like to see banned from public speech...
No thanks. I would rather not listen to what some pencil neck scientist has to say anymore than I would care about a neo-nazi's opinion. To the sciences I say a big loud three words that the Rationalist would like to see banned from public speech... STURM UND DRANG!
Well...kinda glad there weren't many like you around when they proved Einstein and Fermi's take on the nuclear fission. We'd all be goose stepping now...at least all of us 'cept the Jews. They wouldn't be with us any longer.
BEST C&P I Could Get. First of several letters on the subject:
Albert Einstein Old Grove Rd. Nassau Point Peconic, Long Island August 2nd 1939
F.D. Roosevelt President of the United States White House Washington, D.C.
Sir:
Some recent work by E.Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the im-mediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seemto call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the partof the Administration. I believe therefore that it is my duty to bringto your attention the following facts and recommendations: In the course of the last four months it has been made probable through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in America - that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reactionin a large mass of uranium,by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated.
Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future. This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs,and it is conceivable - though much less certain - that extremely power-ful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of thistype, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroythe whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However,such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation byair.
The United States has only very poor ores of uranium in moderatequantities. There is some good ore in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia.while the most important source of uranium is Belgian Congo. In view of the situation you may think it desirable to have more permanent contact maintained between the Administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in America. One possible wayof achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a personwho has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an inofficialcapacity. His task might comprise the following:
a) to approach Government Departments, keep them informed of the further development, and put forward recommendations for Government action, giving particular attention to the problem of securing a supply of uranium ore for the United States;
b) to speed up the experimental work,which is at present being carried on within the limits of the budgets of University laboratories, byproviding funds, if such funds be required, through his contacts with private persons who are willing to make contributions for this cause,and perhaps also by obtaining the co-operation of industrial laboratories which have the necessary equipment.
I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovakian mines which she has taken over. That she should have taken such early action might perhaps be understood on the ground that the son of the German Under-Secretary of State, von Weizsäcker, is attached to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin where some of the American work on uranium is now being repeated.
Yours very truly,
(Albert Einstein)
Last edited by Melvin.George; 04-26-2010 at 12:42 PM..
Well...kinda glad there weren't many like you around when they proved Einstein and Fermi's take on the nuclear fission. We'd all be goose stepping now...at least all of us 'cept the Jews. They wouldn't be with us any longer.
You mean the Nazis? Well, guess what? Nazi racism grow out of the scientific Racism of the Eugenics movement, which was completely Rational and throughly horrible.
All the science of Einstien's nuclear bomb did was do a poor job of cleaning up the mess the science of Eugenics created. Ohh, and I am black, so I have the unscientifc civil rights movement to thank for my freedom, including BAPTIST REVERENDS like Martin Luther King.
still shouting the words no Rationalist want to hear...
I'm sure there's plenty of other areas in space these aliens can go for resources. There's really no need for them to pay us a visit for such things, especially when we're doing a good job of using the planet's resources up for ourselves. There may not be much left by the time they get here.
Still, I suppose it's not a bad idea to keep an eye out for Klingon Warbirds.
I agree with Hawking. After aliens see what we have done with our world, why should they respect us? It isn't science that has messed up the world, although misuse of it has some responsibility. It's overpopulation.
You mean the Nazis? Well, guess what? Nazi racism grow out of the scientific Racism of the Eugenics movement, which was completely Rational and throughly horrible.
Eh no, Nazi rascism grew out of 1000+ years of Christian anti-semitism in Germany and most of Europe. Hitler was Luther's #1 fan. Read Martin Luther's "On The Jews and Their Lies" and be educated, sparky.
First on the main issue I kind of don't agree that a higher technology always harms the people of a lower technology. However I also always thought the idea that an advanced civilization must be peaceful seemed a bit like wishful thinking.
Maybe shouting to the Universe isn't like shouting "Eat me" to a Jungle, but it might be like going to a club you've never been to before and showing everyone your credit card. Maybe most alien species are polite and nice and won't do anything, but maybe others will decide to take Australia or make us work in sweatshops to make their equivalent of Nikes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by victorianpunk
A scientist's opinion? Last time I checked, they were the ones who totally F***ed up the world:
I like some things you say, but I think you are overly harsh to science. Science is the method for understand natural repeatable phenomenon. We destroyed species before we even had the scientific method as such. Science might be the way we'll help or preserve nature.
And in a world without nature I likely would have died years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by QuixoticHobbit
Eh no, Nazi rascism grew out of 1000+ years of Christian anti-semitism in Germany and most of Europe. Hitler was Luther's #1 fan. Read Martin Luther's "On The Jews and Their Lies" and be educated, sparky.
Yes and that's why the Lutherans killed all the German Jews in the sixteenth century. Only, wait if they killed them all back then how did Hitler have German Jews to kill
Christian Antisemitism does not lead to the Holocaust in itself. Houston Stewart Chamberlain's The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century and the writings of Ernst Haeckel were far more important to Nazi genocide. Luther's antisemitic writings were possibly just something they brought up to get Lutheran votes. Okay they were a bit more than that, but Hitler's influences really were more volkish and pseudoscience. Some leading Nazi ideologues, like Alfred Rosenberg and Himmler, weren't Christians at all but were instead some kind of Neo-Pagans. Martin Bormann deemed Christianity and Nazism incompatible. Hitler was nominally Catholic, but detested the hierarchy and arguably worked for a form of Christianity that rejected the Old Testament as "Jewish."
Even if one credited your cliche claim it totally fails to deal with Nazi programs like Action T-4 or the Porajmos of the Romany/Gypsy people under Hitler.
Last edited by Thomas R.; 04-26-2010 at 07:45 PM..
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