Batali@MIT-OZ@sri-unix (10/27/82)
From: John Batali <Batali at MIT-OZ> In the context of the discussion about SETI, I ought to ask the question: Do we really want contact with ETs? Perhaps they will bring us superneat technology and perhaps they will be incredibly cute, but I am very uneasy about the prospects of meeting some civilization more advanced than ours. Here are some reasons: 1. Science is fun. Science and technology are not the answers, but the process of finding them. If some BEM told me, for example, the precise half-life of the proton, or why faster-than-light really is possible, or how to cut unemployment without raising inflation, I would be interested, and grateful. But a good deal of the fun of the search would be gone. 2. Humans may be tasty. This may be silly, but it is a reasonable fear when the more general possibility is considered: What do "more advanced" (ie stronger, smarter, cleaner) creatures do when they enter a new territory? Ans: they do whatever they want, eating, changing and generally mucking up anything in their way. (I note that Carl Sagan's cute little plaque on the Voyager probes contains the chemical composition of humans, as well as a map back here. ET: soups on!) 3. Who wants to grovel? I didn't like Childhood's End for the same reasons that I don't like the Bible: I'm a humanist, and I don't like the dignity of humanity to be placed under some other creatures. I don't want them coming here and imposing their will on us, no matter how much it is in our interest. Even >knowing< about ETs might be bad for us, it might cause us to be complacent about fixing our problems as we wait fir the aliens to arrive with the solutions. I would prefer to wait until we are ready to go check out silly radio shows from somewhere in Sagitarius. At least we might get lunch.