UFO's. What Do You Think?

[DaShi]

I thought we were assuming that they had the technology to get here fairly easily. The question is, what would they do when they discovered that there was other sentient life in the universe?

[MRT144]

what do they matter? my life isnt changed if they do exsist or dont

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by MRT144
what do they matter? my life isnt changed if they do exsist or dont

Why? Don't you want to be abducted and have sex with hot alien babes?

[FinnishGuy]

I'd say that 99% of UFO cases are delusions, mass hysteria, simply faked or can be explained by natural phenomena.

Then there's the 1% that makes you wonder.

[bipolarbear]

UFO's are fulsome and only provide further fodder for the feeble faculties of the frenzied fruitcakes to fuel their freaked out fantasies.

[Vesayen]

Originally posted by Seeker
Ok some serious things...

Why would a really advanced civilization be 'into' the whole colonize and explore other planets thing? What would they gain? Surely a civilization capable of interstellar journeys has solved any population problem and is tapping the energy of their star for whatever needs they have.

Transporting resources that a super-advanced civ just can't make in it's own system?? I doubt it...

Just for kicks? Too much time invested..

Military reasons? Why would they be interested in planetary surfaces when stations or asteroids are more convenient industrially?

In fact, there are many compelling reasons to want to be left alone, if only to avoid the inevitable power politics and competition.

Science? Surely they would explore like we do, by observing with sensitive equipment at a distance.

IMO, a really really advanced civ probably just stays in their own system and develops it to some unimaginable degree, like dyson spheres or matrix like simulated universes, and only moves in case their sun becomes unuseable. The certainly aren't interested in the rectal contents of a distant primitive species that hasn't even mastered the engineering of their own bodies.

The so-called UFO phenomena is not new...they used to be called angels or faeires or the Wee Folk. There is a long tradition of hallucinatory visions of tiny humanoids...one researcher in Sudbury believes this is because of a strange rare effect of geomagnetism on the brain of individuals in a state between sleep and wakefulness which tends to create intensely emotional (fear/love) hallucinations often involving shadowy anthropomorphic figures.

The rest is just what I'd call 'Fantasy Prone Personalities' and honest mistakes.

While we are not all that advanced, lots of humans find the idea of exploring the universe, personally(as in doing it with human beings, not necessarily going themselves) worth while.

Also...... its spreading your seed into the wind. Some catastrophe, including another unknown life form or some unseen phenomena could wipe out your planet. Exploration and colonization guarantees survival of the species.

Also throwing in 2 more cents… are you assuming that a society which is sufficiency advanced enough to make interstellar colonization as reasonably possible, would have a society which lives in perfect harmony?

I am doubtful any sentient society composed of individuals of free will could ever be entirely without dissent. The dissenters, leave.

Heck, I’d bet a society is likely able to develop some way to travel interstellar distances in a reasonable time(I am betting on entirely unknown technologies and technological progress) BEFORE they reach some zen like state of societal unity.

I think you are overestimating the difficult of colonizing another planet. Its hard, but we don’t know how hard it is for an extremely old and far more advanced civilization.

[Lorizael]

Most UFOs are probably nothing.

What really interests me are the UFO stories from ancient history. While most fantastical experiences in the past were attributed to angels and demons and such, some were attributed to men in metal suits that came down from the sky and shot beams of light. Those make me wonder.

As far as aliens go, I can't imagine that some sort of interstellar extraterrestrial life doesn't exist. But I don't think we can begin to fathom its motivations.

It's quite possible that other species do not evolve in order to perpetuate their own existences, and instead exist and advance for other concepts. If that's true, we can't possibly know why they would want to come to our planet and stick probes in our butts.

[Richelieu]

On a night without clouds it's fairly easy to spot satellites. I once saw the ISS but only because somebody who knew it would be visible pointed it out to me.

[Vesayen]

Originally posted by Lorizael
Most UFOs are probably nothing.

What really interests me are the UFO stories from ancient history. While most fantastical experiences in the past were attributed to angels and demons and such, some were attributed to men in metal suits that came down from the sky and shot beams of light. Those make me wonder.

As far as aliens go, I can't imagine that some sort of interstellar extraterrestrial life doesn't exist. But I don't think we can begin to fathom its motivations.

It's quite possible that other species do not evolve in order to perpetuate their own existences, and instead exist and advance for other concepts. If that's true, we can't possibly know why they would want to come to our planet and stick probes in our butts.

It is hard to assume ANYTHING about other life forms in the universe, however.... that a life form is self perpetuating seems one of the safer assumptions. While a life form could be created and become sentient through some unknown process, it seems more likley that in most cases, it is the result of evolution and natural selection, in the same way it was on earth(though with wildly different results).

Evolution demands a species places high value on self perpetuation or it wont survive to be sentient.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Vesayen


It is hard to assume ANYTHING about other life forms in the universe, however.... that a life form is self perpetuating seems one of the safer assumptions. While a life form could be created and become sentient through some unknown process, it seems more likley that in most cases, it is the result of evolution and natural selection, in the same way it was on earth(though with wildly different results).

Evolution demands a species places high value on self perpetuation or it wont survive to be sentient.

Not necessarily. It's quite possible that self-perpetuation is merely a side effect of the "purpose" (I know there is no actual purpose to the biological process, but things do happen because of it) of evolution.

Bah. This is an idea I explore rather heavily in my science fiction, but any explanation I gave as to why I believe this would probably just sound like advertisement.

[Japher]

I'm not sure about UFOs, but I know ETs exist... they just all live in Finland

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Vesayen


Also...... its spreading your seed into the wind.

More like down a well. If a catastrophe where to destroy the planet of this alien civilization, having a couple fetishists floating around in a flying saucer on some backwater planet isn't going to do them any good.

Exploration and colonization guarantees survival of the species.

Hardly. At best it merely prolongs the inevitable.

I think you are overestimating the difficult of colonizing another planet. Its hard, but we don’t know how hard it is for an extremely old and far more advanced civilization.

I think you watch too much sci-fi.

[Lorizael]

You have absolutely no imagination.

[SlowwHand]

I say give the earth to him. Getting to be not worth much anymore anyway.

"Trade you Earth for Mercury and an asteroid to be named later."

[Vesayen]

Originally posted by Lorizael


Not necessarily. It's quite possible that self-perpetuation is merely a side effect of the "purpose" (I know there is no actual purpose to the biological process, but things do happen because of it) of evolution.

Bah. This is an idea I explore rather heavily in my science fiction, but any explanation I gave as to why I believe this would probably just sound like advertisement.

Evolution is not a purpose and is more of an abstract natural process then what we usually think of. Salt crystalizing is a natural process. Evolution is not really a "process" in the same way. I still think it is likley that most sentient life in the universe has evolved to be self perpetuating, though of course this could be wrong but from a human perspective it seems likley.

Originally posted by General Ludd

More like down a well. If a catastrophe where to destroy the planet of this alien civilization, having a couple fetishists floating around in a flying saucer on some backwater planet isn't going to do them any good.



Hardly. At best it merely prolongs the inevitable.



I think you watch too much sci-fi.

It won't? How come people built bomb shelters to survive what they thought would be a nuclear war wiping out most of the planet? How much we have extensive rescources devoted to the survival of our high ranking goverment officials in a worst case scenario?

Obviously if the home planet is destroyed and the populace are dead, it won't matter to THEM, however it may matter to their still alive cousins on some other world.

Ludd, all species try to perpetuate themselves. There is not a compelling reason to think this would be otherwise. "Delay the inevitable"? What the hell does that mean? Oh noes! Entropy will kill us all with the heat death of the universe so manking should stop eating tommorow because we are all doomed....

Survival matters to people on an individual basis and survival of the species matters to people on an individual basis. If the earth was destroyed and the humans there on, dead-most of those humans would be happy that some humans still live, somewhere.


All of this is also assuming that interstellar travel will always be so enormously difficult that there will not be any economic incentive to settle on other planets. If that is the case, remains to be seen.