I think we're missing something here, and that's behavior. A lot of scientists like to speculate that sentient aliens can be billions of years more advanced than us, but I disagree. At most, we're talking a few thousand years.
Think about it: it took four and a half billion years for our species to evolve on our planet. I'm willing to bet other worlds need a similar amount of time.
Our system is still pretty young, as far as solar systems go. The universe and the galaxies didn't form evenly across the cosmos. There could, in theory, still be other solar systems forming right now.I think we're missing something here, and that's behavior. A lot of scientists like to speculate that sentient aliens can be billions of years more advanced than us, but I disagree. At most, we're talking a few thousand years.
Think about it: it took four and a half billion years for our species to evolve on our planet. I'm willing to bet other worlds need a similar amount of time. Plus, we evolved to be the petty, shortsighted race we are because that aided survival. While they may look different, aliens might act just like us. Chilling thought.
And what if they're on a planet with fewer resources? You can't build a spaceship if you don't have enough metal to put together a cannon. We might have primitive, tribal societies out there. Instead of being the dumbest, we could be one of the smartest people in the room.
Considering NASA estimates there to be about 20 billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy alone, I think it's safe to say intelligent life is all but certain.I think that Aliens are going to be different from humans; but, we all are the same. If you get what I mean.
The universe and all of the wonderful galaxies and shit we have are each different than the galaxy we live in. So, I believe that Aliens are going to have similar things and not similar things to humans. We will just have to wait until we find out that if we are alone or not.
If we are alone in this universe, then I am going to be so upset.
Assuming it hasn't blown itself up or become completely unintelligible to us. Think back to the time of the Romans and try to explain what bacteria/germs are to them: Even if they conceptually understood you, they lacked the tools necessary to be able to detect microscopic organisms. They were so far backwards in comparison to us, that even something as commonly understood as germ theory was a complete unknown to them, and at a level where they would have had no chance of ever stumbling upon bacterial life, as it took hundreds of years of technological development to make it a thing. Now, keep in mind, this is a terrestrial lifeform--one that exists basically everywhere on Earth, across every tiny inch of space and we spent thousands of years not even knowing they were there.So yes, @Asuras, I guess a race a few billion years ahead of us is possible. Assuming it hasn't blown itself up before then.
Assuming it hasn't blown itself up or become completely unintelligible to us. Think back to the time of the Romans and try to explain what bacteria/germs are to them: Even if they conceptually understood you, they lacked the tools necessary to be able to detect microscopic organisms. They were so far backwards in comparison to us, that even something as commonly understood as germ theory was a complete unknown to them, and at a level where they would have had no chance of ever stumbling upon bacterial life, as it took hundreds of years of technological development to make it a thing. Now, keep in mind, this is a terrestrial lifeform--one that exists basically everywhere on Earth, across every tiny inch of space and we spent thousands of years not even knowing they were there.
Now throw in the Fermi paradox, where by sheer statistical probability, even a single alien civilization should have been able to spread across the entire galaxy with ease before our planet even formed, and it becomes a great deal of fun to ponder. Maybe in spite of all our technological progress, we are simply too infantile a species to be able to even remotely comprehend what's out there yet. We are ants.
Rico is with you.The last answer on the poll is still not winning.
Not posting superior cgi commander Rico. For shame.Rico is with you.
I remember a short story I read quite a few years ago about a human encountering an alien, throwing moonshine at it, then running for his life as said alien chased him... only to find out the alien wanted more moonshine. Story ended with this guy having a very nice trade deal going on with a whole host of aliens interested in purchasing his "product."When aliens come, probably the best thing they can tell us is not "we want to help you" or "we come in peace" but rather "we want to sell you something!". The former two, they're probably lying. The last one, they're probably not (though, they're possibly lying about how awesome whatever they want to sell you is). It would also imply that they're unwilling or unable to attack us.
Oh, as for the topic of "will aliens be peaceful or not":
There exists an argument that aliens with FTL will necessarily be peaceful, otherwise they'd wipe themselves out. This is not necessarily true. They could be hive-minded like the Borg, for example. They could love each other, but hate everyone else. Nazi-Aliens are not an impossibility. Neither are Communist Aliens.
When aliens come, probably the best thing they can tell us is not "we want to help you" or "we come in peace" but rather "we want to sell you something!". The former two, they're probably lying. The last one, they're probably not (though, they're possibly lying about how awesome whatever they want to sell you is). It would also imply that they're unwilling or unable to attack us.
Except for the moonshine... can't forget the moonshine! So, what you're saying is, they'd only come here for "recreational" purposes?There is literally nothing on Earth but pure exploratory information that an alien species would ever really want or need.