One of the favorite games of Mr. Boy’s cub scout den, especially in the woods on camping trips, is to each get a stick and go hunt for aliens. Not the illegal sort, but the outer-space variety.
Most of it, of course, is spurred by Star Wars and similar epics. But it’s not as if scientists haven’t given it some thought. In fact, a lot of thought. For instance, the SETI program.
Three good essays on the subject are here, here, and here. I think they’re out there but, like most of the humans and the aliens in Poul Anderson’s Starfarers, they may well have long since turned inward in favor of exploring themselves.
Via Instapundit.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
I am absolutely sure there is intelligent life out there.
It’s virtually certain given that the Universe is infinitely large and has been around for an infinite time.
But… it’s a big old galaxy and we’re way out on an arm. It’s sort of like opening a store at the end of a dirt road and wondering why you have no customers.
I just recently learned that we are not only listening for signals, we’ve sent some out.
That’s dangerous to an extreme.
I don’t know the odds, nobody does, but what if we contact aliens and they like Earth? They will inherently have a far advanced civilization if they show up here, so we won’t be able to do much to mess with them. (Footfall is a great book about a way we could do it)
But… What if they’re Kzin instead of Fithp?
What if they’re L Ron’s Psychlo’s?
What if they think we taste good?
When we meet them, I want it to be as far away from Earth as possible.
We’re basically Mayans against Spaniards if they show up here.
It’s wishful thinking to say that any advanced civilization will be “humane”. We just don’t know.
What if the advanced civilization is descended from pure carnivores? They probably wouldn’t have the same “compassion” as omnivores.
I am absolutely sure there is intelligent life out there.
It’s virtually certain given that the Universe is infinitely large and has been around for an infinite time.
But… it’s a big old galaxy and we’re way out on an arm. It’s sort of like opening a store at the end of a dirt road and wondering why you have no customers.
I just recently learned that we are not only listening for signals, we’ve sent some out.
That’s dangerous to an extreme.
I don’t know the odds, nobody does, but what if we contact aliens and they like Earth? They will inherently have a far advanced civilization if they show up here, so we won’t be able to do much to mess with them. (Footfall is a great book about a way we could do it)
But… What if they’re Kzin instead of Fithp?
What if they’re L Ron’s Psychlo’s?
What if they think we taste good?
When we meet them, I want it to be as far away from Earth as possible.
We’re basically Mayans against Spaniards if they show up here.
It’s wishful thinking to say that any advanced civilization will be “humane”. We just don’t know.
What if the advanced civilization is descended from pure carnivores? They probably wouldn’t have the same “compassion” as omnivores.
Try the first of my linked essays. It’s quite long, but worthwhile. Shows you why there’s no need to assume any other civilization is more advanced than we are.
Unless they actually get here, in which case we will know they’ve likely found a way to conquer (or nearly so) the speed of light.
I agree that they’re as likely to be kzin as peace-loving. Maybe more likely.
We have sent out a few signals on purpose. Otherwise, our TV and radio entertainment signals apparently are too weak to go very far very fast. It would thousands of years before another planet could hear Mr. Ed.
And that’s the funny part about SETI. We assume they’re sending signals. But we’re not, for the most part, so why should they?
Try the first of my linked essays. It’s quite long, but worthwhile. Shows you why there’s no need to assume any other civilization is more advanced than we are.
Unless they actually get here, in which case we will know they’ve likely found a way to conquer (or nearly so) the speed of light.
I agree that they’re as likely to be kzin as peace-loving. Maybe more likely.
We have sent out a few signals on purpose. Otherwise, our TV and radio entertainment signals apparently are too weak to go very far very fast. It would thousands of years before another planet could hear Mr. Ed.
And that’s the funny part about SETI. We assume they’re sending signals. But we’re not, for the most part, so why should they?
I think the SETI people think that space-faring folks’ signals would bleed over.
I’ve always thought they were just trying to find stray transmissions not necessarily ones directed toward us.
I think the SETI people think that space-faring folks’ signals would bleed over.
I’ve always thought they were just trying to find stray transmissions not necessarily ones directed toward us.
In his book Summa Technologiae, Stanislaw Lem develops another thesis: due to huge technological gap between us a ET cultures our ability to detect their presence (or, indeed, to communicate with them) is practically nil. Like a possibility of a person that communicates by speech to tell something to another being that uses radio waves.
In his book Summa Technologiae, Stanislaw Lem develops another thesis: due to huge technological gap between us a ET cultures our ability to detect their presence (or, indeed, to communicate with them) is practically nil. Like a possibility of a person that communicates by speech to tell something to another being that uses radio waves.
It’s an interesting human conceit that we almost always think in terms of a superior space alien race. And, of course, usually a peace-loving one. Since superiority implies wisdom. We apparently don’t want to imagine alien warriors anymore than that we may be top dog in the galaxy.