If an Alien Life Form...

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commonsense
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If an Alien Life Form...

Post by commonsense »

If an alien life form could observe global human behavior, what would be the human events and activities that would make the greatest impression on the alien?

What would stand out as the most ordinary or representative behaviors? What would be the most unusual or extraordinary human endeavors? What could the alien conclude from observations about preferences, tendencies or values?

Assume that the alien might comment on overall impressions about all human beings, might compare and contrast some segments of humanity, or might catalog and describe differences among and between various cultures.

Assume also that the alien has been observing us since the start of the millennium and can speak every human language.

Assume what you will about the life form’s own behaviors, values and culture.
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QuantumT
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by QuantumT »

Must the aliens be from this universe (dimension), or can they be from a higher?
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Lacewing
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Lacewing »

I'm guessing that advanced alien life/energy forms would view humans as very primitive... going through the motions of evolution.

Depending on the aliens, they could view us with compassion (and want to protect or help us)... or with disgust (and want to take advantage of us or wipe us out). Both potentials seem reasonable and could exist simultaneously.
Impenitent
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Impenitent »

they'd kick the mound and watch the ants scramble...

-Imp
Dubious
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Dubious »

commonsense wrote: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:04 pm What could the alien conclude from observations about preferences, tendencies or values?
That planet Earth has become the main habitation of those who finally Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
gaffo
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by gaffo »

commonsense wrote: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:04 pm If an alien life form could observe global human behavior, what would be the human events and activities that would make the greatest impression on the alien?

none. such beings would already know the actions of germs - from viewing their own germs.
commonsense wrote: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:04 pm What would stand out as the most ordinary or representative behaviors? What would be the most unusual or extraordinary human endeavors? What could the alien conclude from observations about preferences, tendencies or values?
nothing would stand out - all observations would only confirm we are germs.

commonsense wrote: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:04 pm Assume that the alien might comment on overall impressions about all human beings, might compare and contrast some segments of humanity, or might catalog and describe differences among and between various cultures.
only comment - if observations are even worth the time to comment - is "There is nothing worth commenting about. These germs act as our own on our world, as expected"


report addendum - "why the fk did we bother to come here?, there ain't shit see"





Assume also that the alien has been observing us since the start of the millennium and can speak every human language.

Assume what you will about the life form’s own behaviors, values and culture.
[/quote]

"why the fk did we bother to come here?, there ain't shit see"
gaffo
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by gaffo »

Lacewing wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:17 am I'm guessing that advanced alien life/energy forms would view humans as very primitive... going through the motions of evolution.

Depending on the aliens, they could view us with compassion (and want to protect or help us)... or with disgust (and want to take advantage of us or wipe us out). Both potentials seem reasonable and could exist simultaneously.
you ignored the third and most probable.

utterly ignore us. not worth the time to save or conquer - being on a higher plan why would they even give thought to even our existance?

do you ponder not killing/killing the germs on your spoon you put into your dishwasher?
gaffo
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by gaffo »

Impenitent wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:39 am they'd kick the mound and watch the ants scramble...

-Imp
don't flatter yourself, we are not that important.
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Lacewing
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Lacewing »

gaffo wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 1:35 am you ignored the third and most probable.

utterly ignore us. not worth the time to save or conquer - being on a higher plan why would they even give thought to even our existance?
True!
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Sir-Sister-of-Suck
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Sir-Sister-of-Suck »

I think the answer is far more complicated than people realize. Usually, there's this generic answer - typically played in a self-masturbatory fashion that's really just an attempt to inflate that person's own opinion of human culture, because they're apparently as 'woke' as an alien race would be - that they would view us as primitive and barbaric. But I don't think that's true. I also don't think that the reverse is necessarily true, because what I'm getting at is that all assumes that their brain even work in the exact same way that ours do; Basically, it's the sci-fi idea of an alien, which is really just taking our own intelligence and extrapolating it. This seems wrong to me, as it's just a projection based on our own human psychology. Just by taking some of the most unique brains from the animal kingdom, like squids and spiders, we can see that they clearly don't just function in a dumbed-down way - the way they think about things is fundamentally different, and pretty incomparable. They have instinctual abilities that we don't, and vice-versa.

It's assumed that an alien race is much more intelligent than us based on the ability that they've achieved practical space travel, which is fine, but the point I'm getting at is they may not be intelligent in all the same ways. Their need for technological advancement may have been fueled by a highly sophisticated instinctual one, and not by a self-aware curiosity. They may not be able to formulate subjective opinions about things like we can, at all.

Their brains might just be biologically primitive to ours, in certain respects.
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Lacewing
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Lacewing »

Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 2:29 am Usually, there's this generic answer - typically played in a self-masturbatory fashion that's really just an attempt to inflate that person's own opinion of human culture, because they're apparently as 'woke' as an alien race would be - that they would view us as primitive and barbaric.
I think you're projecting some of your own attitude into your assessment of a certain answer. Such an answer is just as reasonable as any other. Everything you said in your post has validity (to me)... but I would like to point out that the questions in the OP set up the situation:
commonsense wrote: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:04 pm If an alien life form could observe global human behavior...

Assume that the alien might comment on overall impressions about all human beings

Assume also that the alien has been observing us since the start of the millennium...
I am one of those people who think that such aliens would see us as primitive because HELL, MANY OF US EVEN SEE OURSELVES AS PRIMITIVE.

I think that your poo-pooing what you consider a "generic answer" is your own self-masturbatory attempt to inflate your own suggestions. :twisted:

We're ALL guessing!
gaffo
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by gaffo »

Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 2:29 am I think the answer is far more complicated than people realize. Usually, there's this generic answer - typically played in a self-masturbatory fashion that's really just an attempt to inflate that person's own opinion of human culture, because they're apparently as 'woke' as an alien race would be - that they would view us as primitive and barbaric. But I don't think that's true. I also don't think that the reverse is necessarily true, because what I'm getting at is that all assumes that their brain even work in the exact same way that ours do; Basically, it's the sci-fi idea of an alien, which is really just taking our own intelligence and extrapolating it. This seems wrong to me, as it's just a projection based on our own human psychology. Just by taking some of the most unique brains from the animal kingdom, like squids and spiders, we can see that they clearly don't just function in a dumbed-down way - the way they think about things is fundamentally different, and pretty incomparable. They have instinctual abilities that we don't, and vice-versa.

It's assumed that an alien race is much more intelligent than us based on the ability that they've achieved practical space travel, which is fine, but the point I'm getting at is they may not be intelligent in all the same ways. Their need for technological advancement may have been fueled by a highly sophisticated instinctual one, and not by a self-aware curiosity. They may not be able to formulate subjective opinions about things like we can, at all.

Their brains might just be biologically primitive to ours, in certain respects.
my view is from a more extreme viewpoint.

viewing first life as unicellular RNA 4 billion years ago to man - (assuming man is the highest form of life on earth now (and per my thought experiment - he may not be - which i'll post some below) - to "What in 4 billion yrs?

our sun will not allow life to live on earth beyond 4 billion yrs - but smaller stars allow for 10, 20 and even 30 billion yrs!

universe is 14 billion yrs old, there have been enough heavy elements for planets and life to form for the last 12 billion yrs - that means there are probably some "Aliens" that are 8 billion yrs more advanced than Man - i.e. TWCE more advacanced WRT to US, than we are WRT to viri/long change organic molecules.

"IF" such beings were here - or have been here for eons and eons and are still here - right here in from of you and me ----------------would we even be able to see them? i don't think so.

and now per the assumption of man being the most abvanced native being on earth - it appears so, but maybe we are not on top and the beings on top are too far above us for us to percieve - and have been here all along - Earth's most advanced beings. granted sun's lifetime does limit the advancement to less than 1/2 billion yrs beyond us - and maybe that is not enough for them to be invisible to us - and so we are top dogs amoung Earth born beings.

just a though/thoughts no the matter.
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Sir-Sister-of-Suck
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Sir-Sister-of-Suck »

Lacewing wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 3:48 am
Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 2:29 am Usually, there's this generic answer - typically played in a self-masturbatory fashion that's really just an attempt to inflate that person's own opinion of human culture, because they're apparently as 'woke' as an alien race would be - that they would view us as primitive and barbaric.
I think you're projecting some of your own attitude into your assessment of a certain answer.
Well, thankfully I'm not quite at that level where I think so highly of my own opinion, that I project that opinion onto a highly advanced alien species.

In an attempt to not give human thoughts to an alien, they actually end up projecting their own human thoughts onto it. Ironic.
Such an answer is just as reasonable as any other.
Everything you said in your post has validity (to me)... but I would like to point out that the questions in the OP set up the situation:
I actually didn't give an answer; It is extraordinarily difficult to say how an intelligent species may have evolved on a planet light-years from us, but I don't think that means any answer is acceptable. It's probably a lot easier to say what an alien species wouldn't have. For example, I'd expect that they wouldn't be bi-pedal, because that's a trait only a few animals obtained from a climate pretty specific to earth. I'd also assume they would not have a brain comparable to that of a mammal.

I was just trying to convey some common issues in such a discussion. Though, looking back on it, I realize it kind of looks like I went off on a tangent by gliding right over what he told us to assume...Although the assumptions make my response a lot less interesting, because I'm just going to say: the most intelligent people on earth give us some perspective on what a highly intelligent alien race that thinks and acts like us, would be like.

In other words, smart aliens that are like people are like smart people; I guess that's what you guys wanted me to say.
I think that your poo-pooing what you consider a "generic answer" is your own self-masturbatory attempt to inflate your own suggestions.
To some extent everyone has an arrogant view of their own opinion. I'm perfectly fine with that, it's just this shenanigan of seeming like you're so modest to admit that an alien race would think our people suck, when, in fact, you actually think our people suck. So, you're saying that a highly intelligent alien literally shares your opinion; This is just sneaking under the table to sniff your own fart. Hopefully the aliens would find this as irritating as I do.
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by attofishpi »

Lacewing wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:17 am I'm guessing that advanced alien life/energy forms would view humans as very primitive... going through the motions of evolution.

Depending on the aliens, they could view us with compassion (and want to protect or help us)... or with disgust (and want to take advantage of us or wipe us out). Both potentials seem reasonable and could exist simultaneously.
Or, they might have a sense of humour and decide to do stand-up about such things.
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Lacewing
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Re: If an Alien Life Form...

Post by Lacewing »

Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 6:57 am ...it's just this shenanigan of seeming like you're so modest to admit that an alien race would think our people suck, when, in fact, you actually think our people suck. So, you're saying that a highly intelligent alien literally shares your opinion
That's your way of interpreting it... and that's why I said you're projecting. The way I'm looking at it is that evolution is natural, and an alien race that has been watching the human race (as the OP suggested) would likely recognize our level of evolution would not be as aware as the race that was watching us. We would be primitive in comparison.

I think you're smelling your own farts. Lighten up and take some Gas-X. :D
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