What to do if you meet an alien - Page 4 - OG Myth-Weavers

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What to do if you meet an alien

   
Because *magic*.

Seriously, though. If aliens are here to kill us. We're dead. No contest. Anything that could cross the divide between two solar systems would be *more* than capable of dropping the moon on us. And that's not even using *weapons*... simply their own engine systems.


And if, by some coincidence, they want our planet in one piece... biological warfare. Nanotech "gray ooze". Cosmic radiation wave. Graviton pulse.

The article was right about one thing... it wouldn't be machine guns vs lasers. We stand no chance.

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Originally Posted by TanaNari View Post
The article was right about one thing... it wouldn't be machine guns vs lasers. We stand no chance.
Unless they decide that it's more sporting to use only primitive weapons.

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Originally Posted by matty View Post
Also, how would you greet an alien coming in peace compared to an alien coming to wipe out the human species?
The former, as described in the linked picture. The latter, well... The only response available to us will be expeditiously, efficiently, summarily but most importantly decisively and with little hesitation dying to the last man, woman, or child.

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Originally Posted by Ikul View Post
Well, there's your problem, then.

You may want to rephrase what you wrote, because I'm not sure what you meant to say but in your current form it amounts to, "I claim this is true while I also have no reason whatsoever to do so", since such a reason would tautologically be 'credible pieces of evidence'.
Also, your argument so far defends aliens exactly as well as it does secret gopher societies and sentient brands of cheese, which you probably didn't intend it to defend.
Well, let me ask you this: what about God? Do you believe in him and claim him to be true even though you have no credible evidence to support his existence?

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Originally Posted by Scarecrow71 View Post
Well, let me ask you this: what about God? Do you believe in him and claim him to be true even though you have no credible evidence to support his existence?
That's quite different. Any deity would be a transcendent being and as such would, by definition, be neither refutable nor provable, for the simple reason that we cannot make any observations about one. Therefore, I consider any statements about deities to be baseless, pointless word-milling and do not plan to engage in it. In addition,I'm quite sure that whether or not any deities exist in reality is not a topic we're allowed to go into.
Aliens are different, because they're no more transcendent than my left sock, if considerably more enigmatic, powerful, and dangerous. So let's stay on the topic of species originating from another planet than Earth and their hypothetical presence here. What reasons does anyone have to believe in them?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ikul View Post
That's quite different. Any deity would be a transcendent being and as such would, by definition, be neither refutable nor provable, for the simple reason that we cannot make any observations about one. Therefore, I consider any statements about deities to be baseless, pointless word-milling and do not plan to engage in it. In addition,I'm quite sure that whether or not any deities exist in reality is not a topic we're allowed to go into.
Aliens are different, because they're no more transcendent than my left sock, if considerably more enigmatic, powerful, and dangerous. So let's stay on the topic of species originating from another planet than Earth and their hypothetical presence here. What reasons does anyone have to believe in them?
I have to argue with you and say that they are not different. As of right now, they are exactly the same:

1. There is no concrete proof that either exists; AND
2. People all over the world have faith that they do exist.

Believing that aliens exist is no different than believing God exists. You have the faith that your conviction is correct, without having concrete evidence or proof to show that you are right. How, in your mind, are they different from one another?

Whether or not aliens exist anywhere in the universe is a bit of a moot point. The universe is so vast and old that statistically other life has to exist/have existed. Whether or not that life still exists, is intelligent, is technologically advanced, has the technology for interstellar travel, has visited our galaxy/solar system/planet... that's where it begins to get more and more unlikely.

I absolutely believe that intelligent life exists somewhere in the cosmos other than Earth. However, anything else I won't make a decision on until I have proof one way or the other.

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Originally Posted by SethoMarkus View Post
I absolutely believe that intelligent life exists somewhere in the cosmos other than Earth.
Reminds me of a lyric from a the Galaxy Song in Monty Python's Meaning of Life. "And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space 'cause there's bugger all down here on Earth."

Lyrics remain Monty Python's copyright.

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Originally Posted by Scarecrow71 View Post
I have to argue with you and say that they are not different. As of right now, they are exactly the same:

1. There is no concrete proof that either exists; AND
2. People all over the world have faith that they do exist.

Believing that aliens exist is no different than believing God exists. You have the faith that your conviction is correct, without having concrete evidence or proof to show that you are right. How, in your mind, are they different from one another?
I've explained already. One of them is omnipotent, omniscient, and transcendent. The other is not.
To provide another example of a difference: one is biological (of some nature), the other is not.
To provide a third: one of them would have traveled here from a distant star, while being bound by the same laws of physics we are, whereas the other would be omnipresent.

There are differences. Any two things that have at least one difference are 'different' by the definition of the word 'different'. Therefore, these things are demonstrably different.

Unless you want to make an argument that any omni-whatever being is, by definition, alien. But that's not the same thing as extra-terrestrial aliens.


It's certain that out there, in the umpteen trillion trillion stars out there in the universe, we can't possibly be the only form of life. But, even being generous with the numbers, the odds of there being a living creature within ten thousand lightyears of earth that isn't actually a *native* of earth is pretty much nonexistent. And, assuming there is, it's pretty well a 50/50 chance that it'll be found in our solar system (europa has a chance, at least, of something alive- and mars might well have frozen critters for us to prod at).

But full blown sapient beings. No. Not in our solar system. We're the extent of it. And there's a solid chance we might be uniquely intelligent... at least in this arm of the galaxy.


Chances are actually better than ancient man possessed full blown fantasy magical sorcery than that ancient man has met with extra-terrestrials. And time travel (of the entirely human-curiosity type) is more probable than both combined. And chances are pretty good that ancient humans were just a whooole lot more intelligent, clever, and physically capable than we give them credit for.

Humans haven't been getting smarter- we've collected more knowledge, but we haven't actually improved our brain's ability to make leaps of logic and intuition or store information. But we HAVE been getting a *lot* weaker, more dependent on equipment than on our own bodies. I would not be surprised to learn that the people of a thousand years ago could pound the living crap out of any modern man, no matter what athletic accomplishments they think they possess.

Mind you, that's a lifestyle thing. We modern humans haven't used our bodies to their fullest potential in a loooong time. So long that, as a culture, we've actually forgotten how. But there's no reason that you or I couldn't do everything a person on a PCP high can do. Drugs don't break the laws of physics OR biology- our muscles ARE strong enough to bend steel. Our bones able to take five story falls. And our bodies can withstand bullet fire.

If ancient man knew how to push their bodies to the biological limit (just like every animal on earth other than humans can do)... well... stonehenge and the pyramids are suddenly very achievable.



Also: don't do something stupid like mention the mayan calender. There's nothing alien about that. Brilliant, sure, but entirely human achievement.

I'm honestly far more impressed by the bible. Leviticus. If you pay attention when reading that- those laws were written by someone who understood disease in ways that modern science didn't figure out until after World War 1.




 

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