When Mom Said Don't Talk to Strangers...

...I don't think she had this in mind:

Don't talk to aliens, says Stephen Hawking

THE aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist — but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact.

The suggestions come in a new documentary series in which Hawking, one of the world’s leading scientists, will set out his latest thinking on some of the universe’s greatest mysteries. . . .

Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity.

He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.”

He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is “a little too risky”. He said: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

Now to say that Stephen Hawking is bright doesn't quite do him justice. He's an applied mathematician and theoretical physicist. But I still find this a bit startling and apparently I'm not alone--this was all over the media on Sunday.

Yet when you hear Hawking's logic, it doesn't seem so strange. He basically says to just do the math. There are so many planets in the universe that it doesn't seem strange to him to anticipate life out there. Maybe it's his risk assessment that throws me off.

My philosophy prof assigned a paper on how the discovery of alien life would impact our worldview (weltanschauung for the pretentious philosophy majors). I was a sophomore so it was probably pretty lame but I do remember observing that the total destruction of our planet would definitely alter my perspective. Fortunately, the professor had a great sense of humor.

So do you think that by the time the get here they'll have seen Independence Day and be afraid to mess with us?

 

Posted via web from Ferndale Tonight