The advantages of contact with aliens

[plum]

Given the relativism (conjecturism?) involved with the hypothetical existence of advanced humanoid worlds far older than ours (on a scale of perhaps billions of years), is it not feasible that our inclusion into this "Galactic Club" would give to humanity a significant evolutionary boost? (something analogous to hitting the nitrous on your souped up drag car?)

How about things like ships X c5 or immortality?

Machines that make us humans look like rats.

Indeed, a species with a billion plus years head start on us could do some truly amazing things. And if we could find them, why wouldn't they want to share their gadgets? They would certainly not be making us a threat to their livelihood by doing so.

 

[FZ+]

Indeed, a species with a billion plus years head start on us could do some truly amazing things. And if we could find them, why wouldn't they want to share their gadgets? They would certainly not be making us a threat to their livelihood by doing so.

To play devil's advocate, the analogy of giving machine guns to fighting children may be use.

 

[plum]

You have a very pessimistic view of the human race, one which I don't share. I believe strongly in the value of technological innovation. The benefits outweigh the disasters.

 

[plum]

"Even reasonable people disagree on what is reasonable."

Sorry, but you are wrong there too.

 

[Jikx]

Originally posted by plum
I believe strongly in the value of technological innovation. The benefits outweigh the disasters.

With a technology so advanced, it would appear the distaster would be far worse than anything yet known to man..

And people would have no purpose left in life, there is no need to work, nothing to strive for scientifically, and why even bother having children when you live forever. Everyone would be the same, some kind of odd communist utopia - no pain, no want, so.. boring

 

[Zantra]

If you took a stone age man and gave him cars, then gave him the basics on how to use itn, how many people would he run over the first day? The 2nd day? Each day there after? Of course advanced technologies could be applied in multiple ways. We discover atomic energy, and instead of using it for just power systems, we make bombs. Einstein lived to see the horror of the way his discoveries were twisted to an evil purpose, and regret it. Now imagine such an energy 100 or 1000 times more powerful. What could we do with this? Would we just use to power our society, or would we devise methods of weaponry? I think you know the answer to that. One country would discover it, and so now everyone will need one of those handy bombs. We can't even get along with ourselves internally yet. No, we are definitely not ready for advanced technology- we can't even handle what we have now responsibly. Adv. Tech. would just mean we'd have to worry about destroying the solar system instead of just our planet. I'll stick with nuclear bombs for now, thanks.

 

[Sikz]

Of course, if we would destroy so much if we only had the ability, what right have we to actually exist anyway? If we are such a screwed-up race that we would end up destroying ourselves if we had the means, isn't that fate what we deserve anyway?

Also, I don't think we ever WILL reach a point where we can go "We can get along with each other internally, let's look to the exterior now." By our very nature we will have disagreements, wars, death, and general non-conformity. They are actually necessary though... If we didn't have them we wouldn't have any means of achieving cultural/technological/biological evolution.

We should be given whatever technology we can be given. Immortality, for instance, is probably not even 200 years off (many who work in the field would say less than 100 years). Whatever the aliens could give us, we will develope eventually. So why not save the trouble?

 

[Sikz]

And people would have no purpose left in life, there is no need to work, nothing to strive for scientifically, and why even bother having children when you live forever. Everyone would be the same, some kind of odd communist utopia - no pain, no want, so.. boring

Any technologies we would get from them we could develope eventually ourselves. They wouldn't destroy the purpose of our lives (and who says they are as advanced as you can get? advanced doesn't mean the highest possible). You bother to have children for various reasons, not just to somehow continue your own existence.

Are you saying you like being stuck on this planet and bound by life spans of less than 100 years?

 

[Zantra]

Originally posted by Sikz
Of course, if we would destroy so much if we only had the ability, what right have we to actually exist anyway? If we are such a screwed-up race that we would end up destroying ourselves if we had the means, isn't that fate what we deserve anyway?

Also, I don't think we ever WILL reach a point where we can go "We can get along with each other internally, let's look to the exterior now." By our very nature we will have disagreements, wars, death, and general non-conformity. They are actually necessary though... If we didn't have them we wouldn't have any means of achieving cultural/technological/biological evolution.

We should be given whatever technology we can be given. Immortality, for instance, is probably not even 200 years off (many who work in the field would say less than 100 years). Whatever the aliens could give us, we will develope eventually. So why not save the trouble?

I think eventually we will get to the point of harmony- it's still a long ways off, but I believe it's coming. However I'm not sure I agree with the immortality part. Are we talking about extending life by curing disease, or reversing the aging process? If we're talking about the former, that's not enviable. Have you ever seen someone who's over 100? that's not a great existence. Now imagine how bad someone would be at say 300. Not a pretty picture, and I'd prefer death over that existence.

 

[Adam]

Advantages of contact with aliens?

Space chicks.

 

[Zantra]

Originally posted by Adam
Space chicks.

score one for adam.

But what if they're ugly aliens? I take that point back.

EDIT I'll give that point back, because what if they have some better form of sex?

 

[Adam]

Well, it all worked out for James T. Kirk, so I'm willing to bet the alien women are groovy.

 

[Zantra]

Originally posted by Adam
Well, it all worked out for James T. Kirk, so I'm willing to bet the alien women are groovy.

Well bones, I....think you may be onto something, THERE

Groovy baby? I'm going to shag them like a carpet.. yeaAAAHHH baby!

 

[the_truth]

Plum, your avatar says it all. Eventually someone will detonate a hydrogen bomb in the ocean and the entire surface of the planet will turn into plasma. Though I agree with you, I think humanity should just go it's course until we blow ourselves up, frankly the idea of perpetual technological stagnation is pathetic. I want my species to go the same way as the rest of them.

 

[plum]

You guys who say humanity is doomed are beginning to sound rather pathetic. We have gone from manned flight to supersonic flight in less than fifty years. And I believe we will make contact with aliens through the advent of superluminal spacecraft technology in the next 50 years. You try to sound authorative and realistic by being pessimistic, but all you are really doing is being ignorant. Some human beings are not as dumb as you think.

 

[plum]

btw, my avatar only signifies the demented and wrongful (ideological) uses of technology. In the long run, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

 

[Zantra]

Originally posted by plum
You guys who say humanity is doomed are beginning to sound rather pathetic. We have gone from manned flight to supersonic flight in less than fifty years. And I believe we will make contact with aliens through the advent of superluminal spacecraft technology in the next 50 years. You try to sound authorative and realistic by being pessimistic, but all you are really doing is being ignorant. Some human beings are not as dumb as you think.

Are we now? You mean the same way the governments of the world are being by stockpiling nuclear weapons far beyond any possible usefulness? Two dozen or so well chosen nukes would plunge the world into nuclear winter, yet we have 10's of thousands. That to me is ignorance, not accepting it. You need to get off your idealistic horse and come back to earth. As long as nukes exist, so will the temptation to use them. That's not pessimism, that's reality. Sorry if that sounds a little bit scary to you, but that's the truth. But if you want to believe we will never ever use that, more power to ya. I'm sure none of them are really enabled either. I'm sure they're all just duds. Ya, that's it...duds.

 

[Sikz]

I think eventually we will get to the point of harmony- it's still a long ways off, but I believe it's coming. However I'm not sure I agree with the immortality part. Are we talking about extending life by curing disease, or reversing the aging process? If we're talking about the former, that's not enviable. Have you ever seen someone who's over 100? that's not a great existence. Now imagine how bad someone would be at say 300. Not a pretty picture, and I'd prefer death over that existence.

Both. The most likely field (most feel) for the curing of all disease is nanomachines- they would also cure aging (although you wouldn't be able to go back to say, 5 years old, you could maintain a body of around 20, and if the machines were induced at 5 you could probably sustain that age if you chose to). If we cure all disease, there is still the biological clock- which limits (naturally, this isn't proven, but it is highly suspected) the total amount of cell divisions our cells can make. Our bodies are physicly incapable of surviving indefinitely, even in the absence of disease. However, nanomachines would rectify that.