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I think, Jasper (and this is only my opinion) that the comment you made goes right to the heart of successful communications. The being(s) involved in communication have to have a certain level of intelligence.
When you think about communications, three things are required for something to be called "successful" communication. The first is a sender (of a message), the second is a receiver of the message, and the third thing is feedback that demonstrates to the sender that the original message was successfully received.
To accomplish that, the intelligence level has to be equal to the task of receiving the communication. We, as adults, communicate differently to children than we do to other adults (or should! lol ). That's because adults have used their intelligence for a higher level of vocabulary and conceptual/contextual understanding.
Same with aliens (if they do exist). The fact that they can use tools, communicate at a higher level (collaborate), and solve complex problems would lead one to believe that we should be able to develop a common way to communicate beween us and them (the way civilizations here in the world have).
Just my $.02
Well said. We have been sending radio signals out for decades, But we dont know if thier technology (Presuming they exist, Which I think they do) would even pick it up. They could be primitive, Or advanced to such a degree they are light years ahead and radio is obsolete, if that format or any even like it existed.
It's a great question to ponder. You look up at the night sky, And wonder if somewhere out there, So very far away That an intelligent life-form is looking up wondering the same thing. What are their lives like? What drama is unfolding on their world, if any? So many questions.
I think the OP is pessimistic ... and perhaps doesn't know much about science.
I say this because physical laws of gravity, chemistry, and physics are constant throughout the universe. Taking oxygen and hydrogen atoms and smashing them together makes water no matter where you are in the universe. Carbon is one of the most prevalent compounds in the universe, as are other base gases and the building blocks of life as we know it. Further, observations from the Kepler observatory in space confirms that Earth-like planets may be quite common in the universe.
Further, radiation in the form of light, heat, magnetic waves, gravity, and the spectrum of radiation from infra-red light, our visible spectrum, through ultraviolet and into radio, microwave, UHF, and beyond, all react the same here as it does 1000 light years from here. Further, radiation reacts the same in gases, which tells me that other beings out there use the same or similar methods of communication, whether it be organic naturally or artificially like us.
So far from me to presume us to be "unique" in any way, instead I think we are common and life is teeming out there. The fact that we haven't communicated with any yet just speaks to the vastness of space, and the low power with which we can detect signals yet (since even laser communications disperse with distance, the chances of us picking anything up beyond random noise is slim).
The biggest hurdle I see to us communicating is both the vastness of space and the hurdle of language, as well as our preconceived notions of what it takes to make life (i could totally see exotic life forms of crystalline structures be quite intelligent given the right interfaces, think living computers). I have no doubts in my imagination that one day we will prevail against ourselves and our petty issues, and make contact.
But knowing the way "man" is here on earth, if we ever got to another planet, of (course we are going to bring weapons to protect ourselves), then we will probably try to take over the planet, and force democracy and all our our retarded rules on them.
I hope if that ever happens the life on another planets kill us all and we can never destroy another place like we are doing here.
we think we are the smartest in creation, we may not be. we think we have the right way of life, we not be.
If we were meant to be on another planet we would be, but were not, so we dont belong there.
we cant even get it right here, look at our country, were a mess.
We have been sending out tremendopusly powerful radio waves in the electric power frequencies of 50 and 60 hertz for about 120 years. I think we should be searching th cosmos for these instead of HF signals.
I also think we should try communicating with some of the cetaceans in our own oceans before we worry about alien civilizations.
It may have already happened.
Just may be that the general public does not know about it.
It is erroneous to base it on the level of our own technology.
There could possibly be beings out there who some of us would view as 'gods' because of their understanding of the universe and mastery of traversing it.
And of course there are theories that religion may in fact have been inspired by extraterrestials or extra-dimensionals visiting this earth. And who is to say some may not be among us blending in trying to decide whether it is worth it to reveal themselves wholesale.
I know it sounds like sci-fi fiction but when it comes to this subject we really do not know for sure.
And one has to think how some humans treat humans that are different.
Any set of beings that could travel here might avoid us so as not to be mistreated or be forced to defend themselves against some of us.
We've always been an incredibly egocentric species, and throughout history the conventional wisdom has been proven to be wrong more times than most people would want to admit.
A thousand years ago, if you had said that the Earth was round, you would have been laughed at.
A mere few hundred years ago, if you had stated that the Earth was not the center of the universe, you would not have been merely laughed at, but the ruling powers-that-be would have taken steps to insure that such heresy was banished from public discussion.
We don't know exactly how long mankind has currently existed as a sentient species, but for the sake of argument, let's say it's 10,000 years (personally I think it's much longer than that, but that's another thread). For 9,750 of those years, we didn't even develop such basics as electricity. Motorized transportation hasn't existed for over 9,800 of those years. It took us 9,900 years to figure out how to defy the law of gravity for a mere 63 seconds, and yet a mere 66 years after that first 9,900 we not only figured out how to stay aloft longer but we put members of our species on another celestial body.
The point is, we're in our infancy when it comes to our understanding of the Universe around us, and if our history is any guide, just about everything we think we know will inevitably be proven wrong.
I have faith that there's tons of life out there in all sorts of forms we can't even begin to imagine, and we're every bit the primitive culture to that life that we perceive ourselves to be to other cultures on this planet. My hope is that our exponential increase in our understanding increases enough in my dwindling lifetime to make that civilization-changing discovery as well.
The only destructive animal on earth is man. Man has or is in the process of polluting every drop of water, fouling every breath of air, and over populating to the point where millions of people starve. If we were to contact another life form, assuming intelligence, how do you think man would be received?
Humans plot against humans not for the sake of survival but instead for the purpose of profit. The manipulators on Wall St gamble on commodities making billions in profits at the cost of millions of people in Africa starving to death or dying from a variety of diseases. In India 70% of the country is without toilets with over population defecating everywhere and spreading disease in the process.
I believe the thing to do is for humans to hide. Pretend we don't exist. For if we are discovered we may have to explain or greed, deceit, and corruption.
The fossil record shows a large number of creatures that have been extinct far longer than man has been on this planet. More than likely they all lacked the proper "fear" instinct required when associating with other creatures of their time.
I agree with you that we should "hide", but for other reasons. Look at what happened to man, when men from other civilizations came upon them. I am not talking about subjugation or violence. I am talking about diseases caused by microbes that were not seen before. The travellers had developed immunities to these microbes so far in the past, they probably didn't even remember the disease. If there are other humanoid forms out there, what would they bring? What would they get from us at the same time? If we have been visited in the past, they may have already found that we are "disease ridden" and will never attempt contact again.
I hope what ever is out there we do not come in contact with, because we will most probably ruin it.
If there was other life somewhere out there, and we happen to land on their planet, I hope they kill us for intruding, because again, we will probably try to take them over and ruin it for them.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightcrawler
I hope what ever is out there we do not come in contact with, because we will most probably ruin it.
If there was other life somewhere out there, and we happen to land on their planet, I hope they kill us for intruding, because again, we will probably try to take them over and ruin it for them.
That gives us and, probably, whatever else is out there way too much credit.
I don't think it's realistic to expect that an advanced species would bear the consumption of a voyage to this planet merely to say "hi". If we have visitors, we're very likely totally effed. Think about how disadvantaged the Iraqi military was against our own. The difference in gear between the two was separated by at most two linear generations. What kind of disadvantage would "rocket age" humans be at to interstellar travelors?
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). That's because adults have used their intelligence for a higher level of vocabulary and conceptual/contextual understanding. 
