The recent E.T debate...

[Mikey213]

Did anyone see this? Apparently Stephen hawking said aliens are going to come here and rape us for our resources a week or 2 ago HAHAHAHAHA

So a few days ago this debate comes up on CNN
YouTube - Dr. Michio Kaku & Stephen Hawking, The Extraterrestrial Life Debate (1/3) (E.T. LIFE FORMS SERIES) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5pev-BIENw)

I'm with Kaku on this 100% I honestly think the Seti program is a waste of money! I can't believe all these dumb idiots who are supporting them even after the gov realized how idiotic and obsolete their forms of communication theories are.

I hope the other 3 guys aren't literally serious with themselves and they're just playing their roles. Otherwise this world is fudged up for real hahaha.

[mrmephistopheles]

Not watching the video. I heard a blurb on Hawking's statement, and I agree fully.
If you give the Drake equation even minimal likelihoods, you end up with positive results. Not saying that ETI is common or even likely, just that it exists.

Hawking's statement is essentially that if there is ETI out there advanced enough to travel from their home to ours, they'll likely be so advanced, we will seem so primitive to them, that they may not even look upon us as worthy of life.

Do I see it as a likelihood? Absolutely not. There are billions of stars out there with billions of planets around them, all of which have various concentrations of elements on them. Our planet is just a drop in an ocean - they'd have no reason to target it specifically.

On the other hand, I believe SETI is a good and noble idea. If there IS other life out there, why NOT try to find it and communicate with it? Sure, it's akin to being on one desert island the size of a pizza, and listening for sounds from another desert island on the other side of the planet, but in space, there's no wind or ocean sound to dull your listening ability.

It's unlikely we'll ever hear from any sentient life.

The universe is far too vast, and life is far too uncommon for it to be a likelihood.
It may be a futile effort, or if successful, may take 100,000 years.

What would it say about humans as a species if we didn't give care enough to TRY?

[exitspeed]

Not watching the video. I heard a blurb on Hawking's statement, and I agree fully.
If you give the Drake equation even minimal likelihoods, you end up with positive results. Not saying that ETI is common or even likely, just that it exists.

Hawking's statement is essentially that if there is ETI out there advanced enough to travel from their home to ours, they'll likely be so advanced, we will seem so primitive to them, that they may not even look upon us as worthy of life.

Do I see it as a likelihood? Absolutely not. There are billions of stars out there with billions of planets around them, all of which have various concentrations of elements on them. Our planet is just a drop in an ocean - they'd have no reason to target it specifically.

On the other hand, I believe SETI is a good and noble idea. If there IS other life out there, why NOT try to find it and communicate with it? Sure, it's akin to being on one desert island the size of a pizza, and listening for sounds from another desert island on the other side of the planet, but in space, there's no wind or ocean sound to dull your listening ability.

It's unlikely we'll ever hear from any sentient life.

The universe is far too vast, and life is far too uncommon for it to be a likelihood.
It may be a futile effort, or if successful, may take 100,000 years.

What would it say about humans as a species if we didn't give care enough to TRY?

I love you. Is that awkward to say?

[Freddy]

That a deep thought from an 8 year old.....

[ronmcdon]

Im not entirely convinced it would be in our best interests to make contact.
Say it doesnt work = $$$ & resources wasted.
Say it works,

as per the video,
theres a huge risk that alien contact wouldnt be in our best interests.
Were presuming these are altruistic, friendly aliens.
Even if they are, there is a risk they may carry deadly diseases or lord knows what liabilty.
I liked the anology of considering aliens as Conquistadors terrorizing the Aztecs.
As a skeptic, im always most concerned with the worst case scenario.

Id rather the same resources be devoted to space travel & exploration.
Better we find them first and then decide whether or not to initiate contact on our own terms imo.

[drift freaq]

Im not entirely convinced it would be in our best interests to make contact.
Say it doesnt work = $$$ & resources wasted.
Say it works,

as per the video,
theres a huge risk that alien contact wouldnt be in our best interests.
Were presuming these are altruistic, friendly aliens.
Even if they are, there is a risk they may carry deadly diseases or lord knows what liabilty.
I liked the anology of considering aliens as Conquistadors terrorizing the Aztecs.
As a skeptic, im always most concerned with the worst case scenario.

Id rather the same resources be devoted to space travel & exploration.
Better we find them first and then decide whether or not to initiate contact on our own terms imo.

All of the above are very good points, that I completely agree with. I am an optimist but at the same time, I would prefer contact with possible ETI on our own terms, not on theirs. LOL

[I LUV MY S13]

currently drakes equation equals 10,000...which is the number of civilizations that are communicative in this galaxy alone...now think of it this way, if we spot a planet with plant life 100,000 lightyears away, we are seeing it as it was 100,000 light years ago, which is not enough time for evolution to take its course..

now we've already found planets that are "earth like"..look up gliese 581c..so if we detect any civlization, chances are they've found us already

now another thing to look at is radio frequency..currently the star gamma crucis or something like that is pickin up frequencies from the first rose bowl in 1920ish as we speak, so if there is intelligent life out there we'd pick up some sort of frequency before we'd encounter them

[drift freaq]

currently drakes equation equals 10,000...which is the number of civilizations that are communicative in this galaxy alone...now think of it this way, if we spot a planet with plant life 100,000 lightyears away, we are seeing it as it was 100,000 light years ago, which is not enough time for evolution to take its course..

now we've already found planets that are "earth like"..look up gliese 581c..so if we detect any civlization, chances are they've found us already

now another thing to look at is radio frequency..currently the star gamma crucis or something like that is pickin up frequencies from the first rose bowl in 1920ish as we speak, so if there is intelligent life out there we'd pick up some sort of frequency before we'd encounter them


This is true as well and so far we have not picked up anything.

[kingkilburn]

The stuff we thought we picked up turned out to be pulsating variables. People spent decades trying to decode the signal. It's like decoding the knocking of a woodpecker in Morse code.

As far as contact with ETI I would want to push both sides of it. I want to actively listen for life as well as go out and look for it. A mix of Contact and Star Trek. We really don't want a Star Gate scenario.

[BustedS13]

things that exist:
alien life
things that don't exist:
god

deal with it chump

[kingkilburn]

/\ Did you even read the thread?

[Bushido]

larry should had Dr. Edgar Mitchell on instead of Dan Akroid, he came off as a total nutjob even though i understand where he is coming from...

[ronmcdon]

Well, Dan Akroyd was in "Ghostbusters".

http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/aykroydghostbusters.jpg

I just take the show as a bunch of dudes bullshiting over something semi-interesting.
It would have been better if there were drinks added to the equation imo.
(Dan could have used one or more)

[NismoDriverS13]

absolutely agree with Hawkins and mrmophistopheles.

i think u have to be an idiot or just a simple minded person to thing that we are the only living organisms in the whole existance of endless space.

[I LUV MY S13]

things that exist:
alien life
things that don't exist:
god

deal with it chump


dude your an idiot, what the fuck does that have to do with anything? if you cant cntribute to the thread then shut the hell up" oh gods not real aliens are, why? cuz i know"...seriously... wanna even TRY to make some arguement on that topic here yah go bud
http://zilvia.net/f/loud-noises/296669-big-questions-think-outside-box.html


anyways i was thinking about this topic earlier, and what serves the purpose of us trying to make contact with other civilizations?

i mean yeah we could learn a whole lot, but with what risks does that come with?

[drift freaq]

absolutely agree with Hawkins and mrmophistopheles.

i think u have to be an idiot or just a simple minded person to thing that we are the only living organisms in the whole existance of endless space.

There is no doubt the building blocks of life exist in the cosmos. There is no doubt micro organisms could exist. The question is the existence of intelligent life and intelligent life we could communicate with or discover.

The mathematical probabilities say it should be possible. Though as of yet we have not found any.

The other thing to remember is like others have pointed out in the thread, should we find them? We would be hearing them at a less advanced stage then they would currently be at.

In other words by the time they do hear us or us them? Either one would be a lot more advanced or possibly not even exist anymore.

[Csomme]

If ET's are so advanced, and we aren't, and we are trying to make contact with them, shouldn't they have already found us and made contact with us?


Has anyone ever thought about that?

[I LUV MY S13]

dude its all over this thread already, read through the posts and figure it out...

[SimpleS14]

now we've already found planets that are "earth like"..look up gliese 581c..so if we detect any civlization, chances are they've found us already

This is very interesting. I honestly never knew about this until I read your post.

I believe there are other life forms out there, but I'm not too keen on dumping money into trying to "communicate". Instead focus R&D on space exploration and travel.

[bshotts]

Do you think these beings willed themselves into existence...or any lifeform for that matter? Or did all the necessary processes to support and sustain life happen spontaneously?

[drift freaq]

If ET's are so advanced, and we aren't, and we are trying to make contact with them, shouldn't they have already found us and made contact with us?


Has anyone ever thought about that?

Yes and that is a good point. Now aliens have visited earth fanatics would say they have and they are watching us. Or that we are children of aliens.

OH OH wait that's Scientology.

Seriously for the longest time I wanted to believe shit like that.

LOL I am getting a bit jaded and cynical, I have not seen any aliens, have you? Or UFO's

Nor have I seen concrete proof we are descended from them.

[I LUV MY S13]

Do you think these beings willed themselves into existence...or any lifeform for that matter? Or did all the necessary processes to support and sustain life happen spontaneously?

well how can you will yourself to exist, if you dont exist to begin with?

and to your second question, well life is just one big mystery

[dOMEmE]

not going to bother reading all of the thread, but i did skim through it....i do believe that there is alien life out there and we in our lifetime will not come in contact with it....but one day we will and thats going to scare the shit outta everyone! haha

[ronmcdon]

idk, technically we could discover some special type of harmless ameoba on mars.
think the chances of us finding extraterrestrial life isn't outlandish & not necc within reach over the next few decades.
now finding intelligent life forms that make an actual difference in our lives is another matters.
That's more improbable.

[J3123MY]

think the chances of us finding extraterrestrial life isn't outlandish & not necc within reach over the next few decades.
now finding intelligent life forms that make an actual difference in our lives is another matters.
That's more improbable.

lol. that sounded really philosophical.

Its funny how they put corny alien video shit up while Stephen Hawkins was talking.

This video is like something straight out of Men in Black or something. It's a bunch of smart people talking about something they really don't know. I would actually think that humans would be more advanced then other alien life forms. I mean shit, look at the iPad, laptops, internet, wifi, space flight, nuclear weapons; you have to admit, that our species has come a long way from when we once dwelled in caves. I think once everyone is able to do space flight, and it becomes equivalent of today's driving, then I think we will see some crazy life forms.

[kingkilburn]

You have to remember that we live on a relatively young planet. There are earth like planets out there more than three times the age of the Earth. Also he are a pretty new species as far as Earth goes.

There could conceivably be some alien species out there that is older than our planet. I would be very surprised if we found them first AND we were more technologically advanced.

[drift freaq]

lol. that sounded really philosophical.

Its funny how they put corny alien video shit up while Stephen Hawkins was talking.

This video is like something straight out of Men in Black or something. It's a bunch of smart people talking about something they really don't know. I would actually think that humans would be more advanced then other alien life forms. I mean shit, look at the iPad, laptops, internet, wifi, space flight, nuclear weapons; you have to admit, that our species has come a long way from when we once dwelled in caves. I think once everyone is able to do space flight, and it becomes equivalent of today's driving, then I think we will see some crazy life forms.

Wow spaceflight like driving cars? LOL Go back and study Physics. Solar system travel? possible though long and tedious. Interstellar, ah go back to watching Science fiction films.

Even Stephen Hawking has talked about black holes( the only possible
way to transverse light years) and commented on the fact that...

A: the ones that bridge time are to small and B: That at a larger size you would run into Paradox's.

Now if you think we are technologically advanced? Well yes compared to cavemen. Though socially we are still a pretty damn primitive culture.

When man can actually act without attacking his fellow man, not letting his actions be ruled by shear emotion i.e. anger and whatnot. Then we will be truly advanced. I do know that I am not at that point. LOL

At this time, I feel a another life form advanced enough, to be able to discover something outside our current knowledge of Physics?That would make like travel possible. Would find us terribly backwards.

[lflkajfj12123]

Our universe is like a martha stewart party- fuck no the aliens aren't gonna be partying here. They're off traveling into other universes that are throwing parties like its 1999.

[lflkajfj12123]

Anyways, this whole "debate" comes from Stephen Hawking's new mini-series on Discovery channel called Into the Universe. I just finished watching the whole thing and all I have to say is WOW. It's really cool and the CGI is amazing and sort of gives me a better mental image of space than I had previously imagined.

I recommend everyone check it out.

Stephen Hawking : Discovery Channel (http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/stephen-hawking/)

[J3123MY]

Wow spaceflight like driving cars? LOL Go back and study Physics. Solar system travel? possible though long and tedious. Interstellar, ah go back to watching Science fiction films.

Lol. I just finished watching cowboy bebop. Don't shatter my dreams of flying around in a one man spacecraft.

Interesting concept about our social evolution, but I think humans will always be like that. It is human nature to be led by one's emotions.

So then, I think what Stephen Hawkins is saying is correct about if Aliens do in fact contact us. Aliens are not gonna travel billions of light years to say whats up. lol. They are going to want to colonize us.

[Mikey213]

AHHH ok, I've read everyone's reply. A lot of you do make sense but the reason why im 100% with kaku on this is because he's the only one answering things on a modern theory scale. (way out of the box) For example, I think SETI's way of using radio waves to communicate is useless because it's like someone living on an atom banging a fucking triangle hoping for a scientist (who's probably jacking off right next to the petri dish that the atom of the musician lives on) hears it. The sad truth is we're even on a more minute scale than someone just living on an atom. But I'm not saying we shouldn't try to communicate.

We should be trying to communicate "intelligent" life form on a more dynamic approach. Because just like the molecular world, you find intelligence on different dimensions. We don't necessarily have to jump from "the person on the atom to the scientist scale," I just say that because that is what I think is god. But the way we're trying to search we'll only be finding life forms but not on a grander scale of intellect than us, unless we really do look out the box.