If you met an alien, would you be scared?

[Osiris-ODS]

What would your reaction be? Of course, at first, it'll be scary. But will you overcome that fear and try to learn something?

And if so, and you could communicate, what would you ask?

Me? I want to learn about their culture. I want to learn about their music, art, and other forms of entertainment. Do they have any? Do they like ours? Do they like the Beatles! I want to learn about how they live.

Then, I want to learn about science baby!

Any aliens capable of traveling to earth from another planet would be so advanced that any interest they'd have in humankind would be anthropological from a distance. I cannot imagine that any advanced civilization capable of interstellar travel would be interested in mingling and sharing scientific knowledge with a species that is hell bent on its own destruction. They'd be thinking "fuck that, we're not giving these assholes the secrets of the universe...they spend most of their time killing each other, that would be like giving an earth bazooka to an earth toddler"

 

[Osiris-ODS]

Honestly, I would be asking about culture first, because that fascinates me so much. I love different cultures. Even more so than science, but, that would be next.

Think about it, an alien culture? It would be nothing like ours. Music, art, food (ugh, maybe not food), and entertainment, for an alien society would totally intrigue me. Do they laugh? Can I make a joke? Or will i get killed if i do?!? But can they appreciate our music, and what kind of music do they have, because it must be far out.

So I can actually represent us on the music, art, and food side of things.

You should watch Moonfall.

 

[Osiris-ODS]

No matter what I could say, would be countered by meaningless biblical verses. And he would still think he's winning. I've done this before, and even if I win, he will say he was on my side the whole time. I've fought this guy before and won. And I see he got banned too, and came back with one of his socks. So I know what the result is going to be.

Speaking of socks, this may be Basquebromance's most entertaining one.

 

[JustAGuy1]

If one were to look at them as interdimensional as opposed to extra terrestrial it would open an alternative view point.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Any aliens capable of traveling to earth from another planet would be so advanced that any interest they'd have in humankind would be anthropological from a distance.

But why would that be? Does that describe our interest in, say, mice?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

If one were to look at them as interdimensional as opposed to extra terrestrial it would open an alternative view point.

Definitely. Albeit, a fantasy viewpoint.

 

[Feeding Crows]

It all depends.

Are you coming into this discussion with the assumption that an alien must be a peaceful being or do you acknowledge the possibility that all the alien wants to do is irradicate what it perceives as a lower life form?

I'm just asking the question. It has nothing to do with what I think. There really is no discussion that I'm attempting, just trying to get some good thoughts from people, that maybe can become a more interesting discussion. Just trying to get a feel about what people think about things, should they encounter them. The idea came from my "ghost" thread.

 

[james bond]

They'd be thinking "fuck that, we're not giving these assholes the secrets of the universe...they spend most of their time killing each other, that would be like giving an earth bazooka to an earth toddler

Us humans thought this way since creating the nuclear bomb. We're going through it now over Russia invading Ukraine.

Even with tactical nukes, would Russia use it if it would lead to strategic ones?

 

[Feeding Crows]

I personally wouldn't be afraid of them. There's billions and billions of other places they can go to harvest resources. No reason to come all the way here to just wipe us out and take ours and risk losses.

I do "hope" that if they are truly here, it is for scientific and/or benevolent reasons. And I definitely wouldn't be afraid if I ever encountered something "out of this world". I would want to learn. Hopefully I don't die from radiation due to my curiosity.

 

[Blues Man]

While that is a possibility, it seemslike a stretch. Even if they are far advanced technogically, that doesn't mean each individual will necessarily have, for example, 100x the cognitive capability of a human.

How many people do you know that use cell phones? Virtually all.

How many of them do you think could describe the quantum mechanics at work in the processor in those cell phones? Close to zero.

You see the difference.

Second, such sentient beings would recognize our sentience. Even if we are "inferior", they would recognize the cruelty in destroying or harming us. Tha may not stop them, but even we humans recognize something special about chimps vs. ants. Even dogs.

I think you are being extremely naive.

 

[JustAGuy1]

Definitely. Albeit, a fantasy viewpoint.

In your opinion, sure.

 

[para bellum]

There are a few species on earth that we can sort of communicate with. Some primates, smart birds, dogs. They kind of understand us some of the time (if they've spent the time to get to know us).

I figure if it's that hard to communicate with species that evolved right alongside us, the chances of communicating with something that evolved totally separate is more than a little bit remote.

They would observe us, and we would observe them, but communicate? It would probably be like talking to a fish...

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

I think you are being extremely naive.

Haha..."naive"... as opposed to your extensive knowledge of and experience with intelligent extraterrestrials....um...

I might say the same of you. "You read too many sci-fi books."

I do get your point, but comparing it to us meeting ants ignores the differences in kind.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

figure if it's that hard to communicate with species that evolved right alongside us, the chances of communicating with something that evolved totally separate is more than a little bit remote.

But we don't find it hard to communicate with them, save for ideas they cannot understand. And they communicate with us. Yes, it is limited by their ability.

Scale it up...

 

[para bellum]

But we don't find it hard to communicate with them, save for ideas they cannot understand. And they communicate with us. Yes, it is limited by their ability.

Scale it up...

Are you anthropormophizing? IOW, how do you know what they are thinking? Is it a trained response or does it represent genuine understanding?

Whenever I hear someone describe a motive for an animal behavior, I get very suspicious. Please don't tell me what that fish was thinking when I hooked him up- you aren't a fish. Right?

Scale it up, scale it down. What is the unit of measurement?

Does the alien being that is capable of galactic travel see us the way we see fish? Should we assume they have the same senses as us, or communicate ideas that are compatible with our understanding of things?

Why?

Are they water based? H20 is 18g/mol, NH3 is 17 g/mol. Maybe there are ammonia-based gigantic intelligent jellyfish swimming in the atmosphere on some gas giant?

Life on earth has several different patterns- maybe they are radially symmetrical? Ever have a conversation with a starfish?

You can name a few species that you believe you can communicate with here on earth- there are a great many more that you cannot communicate with, agree? My dog will fetch the stick if I say "Go get the stick!" but if I ask him to go check the mail, he just sits there and looks at me.

We assume a lot when it comes to even communicating with our pets, but how much is actual understanding and how much is trained responses is open to debate.

So say we discover an earth-like planet, and it has life on it. What are the chances that it is similar enough to us to make communication even possible? The only thing I have to go by is life on earth. On earth, there are many species that evolved in parallel with us. Very few of them are ones we can communicate with at any level, and when we can it is extremely basic, and only after a lot of effort.

When I think of communicating with aliens, I first consider our ability to communicate with species that are not alien, and I find that is not very easy to do.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Are you anthropormophizing?

They would at the very least understand things about us, just as we can observe and understand things about animals on earth. We can even communicate with dogs, and vice versa. There is nothing complicated to communicate, as dogs are not complicated.

They would understand us as sentient and aspossessing a language with syntax, abstract concepts, etc. I believe this would almost certainly be true, because I believe they would also necessarily possess language.

 

[para bellum]

They would at the very least understand things about us, just as we can observe and understand things about animals on earth. We can even communicate with dogs, and vice versa. There is nothing complicated to communicate, as dogs are not complicated.

They would understand us as sentient and aspossessing a language with syntax, abstract concepts, etc. I believe this would almost certainly be true, because I believe they would also necessarily possess language.

This is anthropormophizing. You are attributing human qualities to non-humans.

Dogs and humans have been together for a long time, precisely because we can communicate at some level. Pets and lab monkeys are the exceptions, not the rule. The other 99.99% of species on earth are the ones we cannot communicate with.

What if these aliens are a hive mind that communicates with chemicals like ants, or with dances like bees? Or light and color, like some animals on earth. Or maybe they are telepathic and think we are dumb because they don't have eardrums? We can't hear their thoughts, and they can't hear the noises we make.

The possibilities are endless, so I have no idea why I should lean to the improbable assumption that we would have anything at all in common. The odds are not in favor.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

This is anthropormophizing. You are attributing human qualities to non-humans.

No. That is incidental. I am arguing from basic concepts related to intelligence. Note how I can argue from the same concepts regarding dogs and chimps. Not just humans. I am arguing what i think will be likely.

 

[Stryder50]

What would your reaction be? Of course, at first, it'll be scary. But will you overcome that fear and try to learn something?

And if so, and you could communicate, what would you ask?

Me? I want to learn about their culture. I want to learn about their music, art, and other forms of entertainment. Do they have any? Do they like ours? Do they like the Beatles! I want to learn about how they live.

Then, I want to learn about science baby!

A lot would depend upon what it/they look like and how they initially act towards me and/or humanity.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

What would your reaction be? Of course, at first, it'll be scary. But will you overcome that fear and try to learn something?

And if so, and you could communicate, what would you ask?

Me? I want to learn about their culture. I want to learn about their music, art, and other forms of entertainment. Do they have any? Do they like ours? Do they like the Beatles! I want to learn about how they live.

Then, I want to learn about science baby!

Yes, was not fun at all