UTMC

British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, 68, said in a new documentary that aliens are out there, but it could be "too risky" for humans to interact with extraterrestrial life.

He said a visit by extraterrestrials to Earth would be like Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas, "which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans".

He speculates that most extraterrestrial life will be similar to microbes, or small animals - but said advanced life forms may be "nomads, looking to conquer and colonise". AP

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I'd guess the former, consider he is now hawking (I crack myself up!!!) a new TV show on the Discovery channel.

A few years ago Hawking was going off about how we'll all be enslaved by robots in the future. Now it's the aliens.

If I was a Suuuu-per Genius trapped in a defective body, I'd probably go a little nutty too.

If we survive to colonize other systems you can bet that we will be total assholes about it, as usual. This suggests that others would also. What, all the others are going to be nice, and we are the exception? And if cushy planets like ours are harder to find, it makes them better candidates for the nomadic predations that Hawking suggests.

Now that we know that planets are common (as opposed to very recently when extra-solar planets were mere conjecture) I don't see a way to call Hawking out as a nut. He has made a few points then, that we need to be able to get off this rock in order to have hope for longer term survival, and ET may not be nice. I'll go along with that.

Look at it this way, we get to have colonies AND blasters!!! What could be more fun?


Oh. I just watched the news clip. What dicks! Yes, even the woman. "What an imagination Huh Huh Huh" These people are intellectual cockroaches compared to our man Hawking.

I dunno. Lots of colonies fail, too.

Sisyphus wrote:I dunno. Lots of colonies fail, too.

Thats why we have 10 billion people on this planet, to have extras when colonies die.

Good point.

Also, consider that our sun is relatively young. There are lots of systems out there that are older, so for those beings that do make the jump to space faring, presuming that such capabilities are allowed by physics n stuff, they are likely to be waaaay ahead on the growth and learning curve. Possible bad news there. And when you consider that the chances of running into an ET that is really on par with us, as opposed to being very behind or very advanced, is remote, either we get to point and giggle at the cute inferior creatures or they do.

Ugly bags of mostly water!

When you consider Clark's third law of prediction,

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

we would probably have just about no chance what-so-ever should aliens take an interest in our planet.

I for one welcome our new alien overlords.

Maybe he'll defend us from the alien invaders?

Ames wrote:When you consider Clark's third law of prediction,

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

we would probably have just about no chance what-so-ever should aliens take an interest in our planet.

I for one welcome our new alien overlords.

The thing is, to anyone who has the means to actually get here, we would have absolutely nothing that they could possibly want.

rolly wrote:

Ames wrote:When you consider Clark's third law of prediction,

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

we would probably have just about no chance what-so-ever should aliens take an interest in our planet.

I for one welcome our new alien overlords.

The thing is, to anyone who has the means to actually get here, we would have absolutely nothing that they could possibly want.

Bacon.

I forget who said it, but there are probably 3 scenarios.

1) Unfriendly aliens. We are fucked.
2) Aliens are friendly, we attack them. We are fucked.
3) Aliens are friendly, we welcome them. Things might turn out OK.

I agree, the Venn Diagram where my intellect, and Mr. Hawking's intersect would have to be drawn on two separate chalkboards.
Just a lame attempt at humor.

Just saying...

RexAddict wrote:

rolly wrote:

Ames wrote:When you consider Clark's third law of prediction,

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

we would probably have just about no chance what-so-ever should aliens take an interest in our planet.

I for one welcome our new alien overlords.

The thing is, to anyone who has the means to actually get here, we would have absolutely nothing that they could possibly want.

Bacon.

Funny. I was thinking either brains or ass.

Jonny wrote:

RexAddict wrote:

rolly wrote:

Ames wrote:When you consider Clark's third law of prediction,

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

we would probably have just about no chance what-so-ever should aliens take an interest in our planet.

I for one welcome our new alien overlords.

The thing is, to anyone who has the means to actually get here, we would have absolutely nothing that they could possibly want.

Bacon.

Funny. I was thinking either brains or ass.

A rabbi and a catholic priest are sitting across from one another on a train reading their newspapers...



--Jaeger

erosvamp wrote:British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking...

Oh shit, he's British?!? I never picked his accent...

BackDoorBarbie wrote:

Jonny wrote:

erosvamp wrote:British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking...

Oh shit, he's British?!? I never picked his accent...

i think he takes elocution lessons

Okay, you know how you can have your mobile direction thingy (the electronic one that tells you where to go, not your spouse) with John Cleese's voice? We gotta find a way to switch that with Professor Hawking's voice modulator so that he can sound both British and appropriately condescending!