KFL@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU ("Keith F. Lynch") (03/11/86)
From: ihnp4!ihwpt!knudsen@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (mike knudsen) Yes, running into a more advanced race could be quite a shock. It could, but actually I think that the notion of advanced aliens has pretty much soaked into the popular culture. It would be headlines for a while, but wouldn't shake many people's faith to the core. It might even cause less emotions than the shuttle disaster or the Kennedy assassination. Certainly such interaction would change us, but are you sure it wouldn't be for the better? Ignoring the possibility of warlike aliens, all interactions would be voluntary. No goods would be traded unless we perceived what we were getting to be worth more than what we were giving. No information we obtain would have to be used, unless we decided that using the information is better for us than ignoring it. It's the plain old free market principle. No reason it couldn't work between alien races, assuming we are similar enough to WANT to trade anything. It is not likely that we will catch any diseases from aliens. Earth bacteria and viruses can infect us only because they have had millions of years of experience infecting mankind (or our close evolutionary relatives) and countering our defenses. I don't think that alien germs present any threat to humans. The notion that cultures are deserving of preservation is commonly held today, and it is certainly a better attitude than the older attitude that unfamiliar cultures should be wiped out. But is it reasonable in all cases? Why is it said to be bad for Indians to leave the reservations or for Blacks to talk like Whites? My opinion is that the choice of culture should be entirely up to the inhabitants of that culture. Anyone who wants to leave the reservation to join mainstream society should be welcome to do so. Anyone in Quebec who wants to use English should be free to do so (this is actually illegal for some things!). Any American who wants to adopt oriental culture should be free to do so (a friend of mine has often been criticized for speaking in Korean with Koreans and for eating foods such as dog and live squid). And after after the alien contact, anyone who wants to adopt the habits of the aliens in lieu of their own culture should be free to do so. If that ultimately means the end of our own culture, so be it. I see nothing wrong with that so long as it is purely a matter of voluntary choice. In other words cultures and ethnic groups have no rights, only individuals (and VOLUNTARY groups) do. As for the possibility of warlike aliens, all we can do is make sure our defenses are strong and our diplomatic skills good. This is precisely what is being done worldwide, for reasons having little to do with space. Of course it is quite probable that the alien military technology is far beyond ours. In that case, perhaps what we do have is sufficient to cause them unacceptable losses, as happened to us in VietNam, and as happened to England during the revolutionary war. And of course it is possible that the SDI critcs are right and that even technologies that can travel routinely between the stars would not be able to defend against our nuclear weapons. Incidentally, if we do encounter a friendly race that makes us look pretty inferior, our mental health may be preserved by some myths ... I don't think myths are needed. We are way beyond the stage of worshiping what we don't understand. If aliens with an advanced technology do show up, people will simply assume that their history is longer than ours, that we would have had very similar technology after not too many more decades or centuries ourselves rather than assuming that they are smarter or otherwise better than us. Even if they DO prove to be smarter than us, it is generally believed that human intelligence enhancement should be possible within a few decades, by computer implants or whatever. And of course we can enhance intelligence even today, simply by improving the schools. ...Keith
mc68020@gilbbs.UUCP (Tom Keller) (03/12/86)
In article <[MC.LCS.MIT.EDU].846042.860310.KFL>, KFL@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU ("Keith F. Lynch") writes: >> Incidentally, if we do encounter a friendly race that makes us >> look pretty inferior, our mental health may be preserved by >> some myths ... > > I don't think myths are needed. We are way beyond the stage of > worshiping what we don't understand. If aliens with an advanced > technology do show up, people will simply assume that their history is > longer than ours, that we would have had very similar technology after > not too many more decades or centuries ourselves rather than assuming > that they are smarter or otherwise better than us. Even if they DO > prove to be smarter than us, it is generally believed that human > intelligence enhancement should be possible within a few decades, by > computer implants or whatever. And of course we can enhance > intelligence even today, simply by improving the schools. > ...Keith Oh, really? We are beyond the stage of worshiping what we don't understand, are we? I know one hell of a lot of people who worship "God", "Buddah", "Allah", or whomever. The *BELIEVE*, they have *FAITH*, many of them mistakenly claim to *KNOW* that their godhead is truth. But none of them, to my knowledge, understand, or claim to understand, their god(s). You also made claims to the effect that there would be no reason to be paranoid of aliens, and that therefore we wouldn't. Come now. Probably the single greatest factor in international politics on this planet is paranoia. If we can't even learn to trust our neighbors on this planet, do you actually expect us to believe that we'll trust aliens from another? I know that I would very much like to meet some aliens. I doubt that I ever will (not because I don't think they're out there, but because I have rotten luck). I would like to think that I would be calm and rationaly, if presented with an alien lifeform. I cannot, however, state categorically that this is so, as I have never experieinced anything even remotely similar, and therefore have no idea what my reaction would actually be. -- ==================================== Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim any and all responsibility for disclaimers. tom keller {ihnp4, dual}!ptsfa!gilbbs!mc68020 (* we may not be big, but we're small! *)
cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (03/18/86)
> In article <[MC.LCS.MIT.EDU].846042.860310.KFL>, KFL@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU ("Keith F. Lynch") writes: > >> Incidentally, if we do encounter a friendly race that makes us > >> look pretty inferior, our mental health may be preserved by > >> some myths ... > > > > I don't think myths are needed. We are way beyond the stage of > > worshiping what we don't understand. If aliens with an advanced > > technology do show up, people will simply assume that their history is > > longer than ours, that we would have had very similar technology after > > not too many more decades or centuries ourselves rather than assuming > > that they are smarter or otherwise better than us. Even if they DO > > prove to be smarter than us, it is generally believed that human > > intelligence enhancement should be possible within a few decades, by > > computer implants or whatever. And of course we can enhance > > intelligence even today, simply by improving the schools. > > ...Keith > > You also made claims to the effect that there would be no reason to be > paranoid of aliens, and that therefore we wouldn't. Come now. Probably the > single greatest factor in international politics on this planet is paranoia. > If we can't even learn to trust our neighbors on this planet, do you actually > expect us to believe that we'll trust aliens from another? > If you mean fear of other nations, you are right -- that is the single greatest factor in international relations. And with good reason. War is a very large part of human activity, and always has been. The fears that the Soviet Union and the United States have of each other are rational fears. It would be nice to ascribe these fears to "paranoia", but they aren't. Tom, go read some history -- "all hacking and no humanities makes Tom a dull boy." > tom keller