275 replies to this topic

[CJCC67]

I'm still waiting for the physics.

I think we will be waiting for a while. First the boffins need to work out why they cant find the square root of -1,hmph imaginary numbers ... Name says it all.

We have no idea what is possible.Consider my grand mother born in the early 1900s. When she was 10 people were dreaming of flying when she died she had flown faster than the speed of sound.

[lusk]

* The distance. The Milky Way galaxy is really big. Around 100,000 light years in diameter.
* The nearest star is 4.5 light years away. Even if an alien race could travel at the speed of light, that makes it a 9 year round trip to our little backwater.
* Given the number of stars and the distances invloved and the likelihood of life on planets orbiting those stars, it would be reasonable to assume that the distance to the closest inhabited planet could be in the range of 150 - 200 light years. That's pretty far. Around 2,000 trillion km, in fact.
* Let's say the aliens have detected our radio signals (around 100 years ago). That means, it will be another 100 years, before they receive the signals. Another 200 years to get here. You get the idea. Why would they bother?

Pffft that's just up the road if you have warp speed.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

I think we will be waiting for a while. First the boffins need to work out why they cant find the square root of -1,hmph imaginary numbers ... Name says it all.

We have no idea what is possible.Consider my grand mother born in the early 1900s. When she was 10 people were dreaming of flying when she died she had flown faster than the speed of sound.

Indeed. Trouble is, your grandmother predated Einstein. Had she been born around 1905, then she would have been born into a time where it had been proven that it was impossible for a physical object to exceed c.

[Whatmore]

I agree that the pyramids are remarkable but why (on earth?) would visiting aliens assist us to build them? Also, it remains a fact that the SETI project has not found one shred of evidence of intelligent alien life. In fact the lack of any evidence is in itself the real mystery.

I thought the SETI project was a galaxy-wide search for the best Single Ended Triode...

[MC240]

I for one would like to change the name of our galaxy to something like the shark galaxy or maybe the lion galaxy anything but the wimpy sounding milky way galaxy.
I just hope by the time we start competing in intergalactic sporting events we've changed the name of our galaxy, it would be a huge disadvantage not mention embarrassment to hear the commentator announce us.
" Fighting tonight from the blue planet in the red corner for the heavy weight championship title of the Uni.....verse weighing in at 125 kilos the Milky Way Kid and fighting out of the blue corner from the Messier 64 galaxy weighing in at 135 kilos Thee Back Eyed Kid".

Edited by MC240, 25 April 2012 - 03:47 PM.

[proftournesol]

Maybe we could call our representative the Milky Bar Kid?

[Makka]

I'm guessing I started this

Loadsafun.
It is pretty inevitable that anyone supporting this kind of thing gets hammered by the ostritches.
No wonder many people keep quiet.

There is LOADS of evidence for landings.
But of course you have to take your head out of the sand and look around to find it.

[GraemeB]

As a postcard I saw said, "Beam me up, there's no signs of intelligent life down here". )) *sigh*dingo et al, thanks for your efforts. ;o)As someone said, LOOK (and LISTEN) to some of the children around you. WAKE UP! Enough with the self-serving intellectual masturbation.

Edited by GraemeB, 25 April 2012 - 05:09 PM.

[Makka]

My own opinion for why so many visit is that we are a fine tourist destination.
Assuming FTL travel of course.

Ours is a particularly beautiful planet after all.

[Art Vandelay]

I'm guessing I started this

Loadsafun.

There is LOADS of evidence for landings.
But of course you have to take your head out of the sand and look around to find it.

If you look hard enough for long enough you will eventually find the evidence you're searching for.

[surfpurple]

On the subject, 'War Of The Worlds' is a good soundtrack!

[Dismord]

I thought the SETI project was a galaxy-wide search for the best Single Ended Triode...

If that's as far as the aliens have advanced it's not worth searching for them.

[Dismord]

My own opinion for why so many visit is that we are a fine tourist destination.
Assuming FTL travel of course.

Ours is a particularly beautiful planet after all.

Not for methane breathing lifeforms.

[Willow]

Homo sapiens has nothing to offer aliens. With the possible exception of the works of Mozart.

Or perhaps food ZB , I've had this theory for quite some time now , and thought it would be a good time to set it free , it came to me after a conversation with a cannibal. He commented that humans " taste like veal ".

Study's have shown that humanity has been on the brink of extinction a few times now , I'm not sure of the exact numbers , but it seems every few thousand years a catastrophe of sorts occurs which leaves only a relatively few humans remaining.

Now imagine an alien civilization a million years ahead in evolution , their population would be in the trillions or more , they would no doubt be inhabiting much more than one planet by now. Perhaps even spanning a few star systems , to us these planets would seem far apart , but by now they have mastered interstellar travel , and not just by spaceships , ... but by teleporters , or some type of stargates , so an alien could jump from planet from planet simply by using a portal.

You would have to imagine by now they have used all of their natural resources , from raw materials to their ability to grow food stuffs , overpopulation is also another issue they must face. However with their mastery of interstellar travel and transportation perhaps they have the ability to "Seed" whole planets with whatever animal or plants they wish to grow.

If they are reptilian , there is a good chance that they are complete carnivores , so they live on a diet of meat alone , but not the way we eat meat. They probably process it for maximum nutritional benefits as well as filtering out any toxic materials.

So just as we raise pigs or cows , they allow their livestock to flourish on a planet until they need it , or its simply time to harvest them , however what if we are the livestock and these "catastrophe's" which happen every few thousand years is actually the harvesting of human beings perhaps they have ten's of thousands of planets which they routinely harvest. Choosing the best candidate that planet offers , and genetically modifying them to suit their needs ,then they simply allow the species to flourish , as maintaining all of these planets would be a waste of time in their eyes. Perhaps we’re the equivalent of free range chickens.

Science has shown we have made leaps and bounds evolutionary wise , perhaps we have been genetically modified to make better livestock , bigger brains without the ability to fully use them. Perhaps brain matter or certain components of our brains are quite tasty to our alien visitors.

So , how would they harvest us ? , With all these weapons we have , surely the world would unite.

Well , UFO's have already been documented at nuclear launch sites , being able to switch off and control all of their systems , our technology would easily be overcome , and shutdown by them remotely.

Abductee's have reported aliens being able to pull them through walls , or their roofs , changing their frequency in order to pull them through solid objects , now imagine this on a large scale , .... whole city's becoming paralysed , and pulled to a ship through their very roofs or cars. Or perhaps they would simply gain control of our minds , and make us come to their pick up points.

What would they do with us ? , transport billions of people on a giant spaceship ? , No, I don’t think so , they would probably have initial processing centres here , where they chop us up into certain pieces , .... and from there transport the meat through their transporters or "stargates" to their home planet for further processing , and as their ability to keep food fresh is far ahead of ours , they may only process one planet every thousand years or so.

In fact their " food" may be totally unrecognizable to us , after all the processing and whatever else they may do to us , I'm sure we wouldn't look very human after all , and before they leave , they " reseed" our species with young children and a few adults spread across the continents , for future harvesting.

Yet how can they do this to us you ask !! we’re human beings for Christ sake !!.

Well they know no Christ , and have evolved past the point of morality and ethic's as we know them. They work for the greater good of their species , as some have reported aliens having a "hive" mentality. And although we think we're geniuses , .... compared to them we're just not that bright.

Edited by Willow, 25 April 2012 - 06:01 PM.

[Dismord]

Or perhaps food ZB , I've had this theory for quite some time now , and thought it would be a good time to set it free , it came to me after a conversation with a cannibal. He commented that humans " taste like veal ".
You would have to imagine by now they have used all of their natural resources , from raw materials to their ability to grow food stuffs , overpopulation is also another issue they must face. However with their mastery of interstellar travel and transportation perhaps they have the ability to "Seed" whole planets with whatever animal or plants they wish to grow.
So just as we raise pigs or cows , they allow their livestock to flourish on a planet until they need it , or its simply time to harvest them , however what if we are the livestock and these "catastrophe's" which happen every few thousand years is actually the harvesting of human beings perhaps they have ten's of thousands of planets which they routinely harvest. Choosing the best candidate that planet offers , and genetically modifying them to suit their needs ,then they simply allow the species to flourish , as maintaining all of these planets would be a waste of time in their eyes. Perhaps we’re the equivalent of free range chickens.

I've had similar, and sometimes more weird ideas about aliens but no matter what we might imagine the reality, if their is one, is going to be more bizarre than anything we could dream of. Must confess though the idea of our species being food for another appeals( considering what we've done to 'lesser' species on our own planet.)
Imagine intelligent crayfish arriving from a far away ocean planet having a conversation about the best method for cooking humans. "Slowly on a rotisserie gives them a nice crunch Mzxligonj' 'No Xlyproj, boiling them alive really tenderises the flesh'

Edited by Dismord, 25 April 2012 - 06:18 PM.

[CJCC67]

Wasnt that in stargate?

[pchan]

Maybe the movie Skyline?????

[surfpurple]

Bump.....'War Of The Worlds'......relating to actual 'music' here on SNA!

[Paul Spencer]

We have a couple of questions here:

1. Does intelligent life exist anywhere else?
2. Is it really possible to visit?
3. Are we really that interesting?
4. Has it been done?
5. Has anyone noticed?
6. If we came into contact, how would we act?

1. I doubt intelligent life exists anywhere else. Sometimes I doubt it exists here!

The universe is huge, but one thing bigger than the universe is the improbability of intelligent life existing at all, anywhere else, right now. I think we fail to realise just how improbable life is, much less intelligent life. I don't believe either are inevitable. So I think it's more than likely that the first obstacle has actually defeated the alien scenario before it had a chance to get off the ground.

When I was a boy, I used to be fascinated by the idea of alien life coming to visit. I used to dream about meeting aliens. I also love sci fi, the idea of alien life has a lot of fictional interest, but I think that's as far as it goes. Something to explore in fiction, where you can go anywhere in the universe in less time than it takes to travel interstate. You can accelerate to light speed in a few seconds without being splattered against your seat.

On a tangent, would be nice to see a movie about aliens that is original, more than just a slight variation on everything else.

2. It's probably not possible to travel far enough to get to anywhere that intelligent life might exist. Even if we could travel at the speed of light, that would be too slow. If indeed enough fuel does exist, saddling the ship with it would then make it too heavy. Crew would not live long enough for the trip. There are many layers of impossibility. Who knows what will be possible in 10,000 years? My nan and pop lived from a time when horse and buggy was transport through to the information age.

The universe is accelerating. Mankind is also accelerating, much more than we realise.

3. We probably aren't interesting enough. It's one thing to divert some funds towards an interesting project. If an alien race has the ability, it's not certain that they actually would be willing to make the sacrifice involved. It's not a casual endeavour.

4. It almost certainly hasn't been done.

5. If they are smart enough and have a strong enough reason to get through all those obstacles, they probably aren't going to crash here like novice astronauts. They also probably aren't going to blunder around like clumsy twits. They probably would know to turn the headlights off. They probably would design space ships that don't look like the work of Spielberg, with spinning fans and a big light show on the underside.

[proftournesol]

Bump.....'War Of The Worlds'......relating to actual 'music' here on SNA!

OK alien and space travel music:

2000 Light Years from Home - The Rolling Stones
almost any Hawkwind track
Space Oddity - Bowie

[Paul Spencer]

I have spoken to professional fisherman who fish off the southern coast and into Bass Strait. They have many accounts dating back decades of sightings in the sky, and of unexplained lights deep in the Straits. They generally keep it to themselves unless they believe they will not be ridiculed.

Why do aliens need headlights?

O.K. I knew I would take a beating if I stuck my hand up. I now concede that there is no intelligent life in the universe, no possibility of travel that does not involve an airbus, no chance that earth would be of interest to anyone but us, and never trust your own eyes.
That's it from me on this topic.
learning to shut the .....up, Dingo.

What can I say but that you've covered all options right there. Either aliens have been here on vacation many times, or there's no ingelligent life at all in the universe. No other options at all!

[Super Mustud]

I for one would like to change the name of our galaxy to something like the shark galaxy or maybe the lion galaxy anything but the wimpy sounding milky way galaxy.
I just hope by the time we start competing in intergalactic sporting events we've changed the name of our galaxy, it would be a huge disadvantage not mention embarrassment to hear the commentator announce us.
" Fighting tonight from the blue planet in the red corner for the heavy weight championship title of the Uni.....verse weighing in at 125 kilos the Milky Way Kid and fighting out of the blue corner from the Messier 64 galaxy weighing in at 135 kilos Thee Back Eyed Kid".

I think that Latte Lad has a future.

[Super Mustud]

Enough with the self-serving intellectual masturbation.

I understood that it is the only thing that separates us from the apes and chimps. Are you advocating a reverse in our evolutionary voyage?

I suppose it would fix carbon emissions.

[Willow]

OK alien and space travel music:

2000 Light Years from Home - The Rolling Stones
almost any Hawkwind track
Space Oddity - Bowie

Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager

Prog rockers with a classical bent ( see ZB's and Cato classical references : posts 6 & 8 ) , join the dots prof , you're a smart man , it makes sense.

[proftournesol]

Astronomy Dominae, Interstellar Overdrive, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - Pink Floyd

Space Truckin - Deep Purple

[comfortablynumb]

Yes - they are already here

Quite right.....they support Collingwood

[Willow]

Astronomy Dominae, Interstellar Overdrive, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - Pink Floyd

Space Truckin - Deep Purple

Alien Sex Fiend - Drive My Rocket

[surfpurple]

Astronomy Dominae, Interstellar Overdrive, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - Pink Floyd

Space Truckin - Deep Purple

I knew we could relate this to 'Deep Purple' somehow!

[surfpurple]

................................

Edited by surfpurple, 25 April 2012 - 08:20 PM.

[comfortablynumb]

OK alien and space travel music:

2000 Light Years from Home - The Rolling Stones
almost any Hawkwind track
Space Oddity - Bowie

Don't think I would like to listen to Space Oddity when travelling in a spaceship. A bit like watching Aircrash Investigations the night before a flight !!

[surfpurple]

Deep Purple have a song called 'contact lost' about the Space Shuttle that exploded upon re-entry to Earth some time ago. It is a solo guitar piece by Steve Morse dedicated to a female astronaught fan who took Deep Purple music up into the space shuttle to listen to in space on that fateful voyage!

[MC240]

My own opinion for why so many visit is that we are a fine tourist destination.
Assuming FTL travel of course.

Ours is a particularly beautiful planet after all.

Again another reason to change the name of our galaxy, there's now way we are going to attract the the big ticket intergalactic safari tourist with a name like the milky way.

[proftournesol]

Rocket Man - Elton John (of course)

[Willow]

Again another reason to change the name of our galaxy, there's now way we are going to attract the the big ticket intergalactic safari tourist with a name like the milky way.

As a name " Earth " doesn't sound very inviting either.

[Jake]

As a name " Earth " doesn't sound very inviting either.

How about Hooters?

[rantan]

"calling occupants of interplanetary ,most extraordinary craft"

[Willow]

Rocket Man - Elton John (of course)

Jefferson Starship - Earth

[Willow]

How about Hooters?

That'll do the trick..... , with dollar drinks

[Dismord]

We have a couple of questions here:

1. Does intelligent life exist anywhere else?
2. Is it really possible to visit?
3. Are we really that interesting?
4. Has it been done?
5. Has anyone noticed?
6. If we came into contact, how would we act? - - - - - - - - - -

An heroic attempt to address the question but it's probable is we've always posed these questions the wrong way.
1.Why 'anywhere else' when it could exist right under our noses and we'd not even recognise it.
2. Visit? Questioning the possibility assumes 'aliens' interact with space and time as we do.
3. Are we really that interesting? Possibly not but we could be seen as a threat, a food source, a form of entertainment or an experiment - amongst other possibilities we've not even thought of.
4. Has it been done? Would we necessarily know?
5.See 4.
6. If we came into contact how would we act? That depends upon what we came into contact with and if we were even permitted to act.
Another presumption we make that cannot be justified or proven is that intelligence necessarily requires a life form to exist or that a life form capable of conquering our species needs to be intelligent in any way we'd recognise.

Edited by Dismord, 25 April 2012 - 08:51 PM.

[MC240]

As a name " Earth " doesn't sound very inviting either.

Exactly what sort big ticket intergalactic safari tourist is going to want visit a place named after dirt,

Edited by MC240, 25 April 2012 - 08:49 PM.

[Dismord]

Duplicate post deleted.

Edited by Dismord, 25 April 2012 - 08:50 PM.

[Dismord]

Exactly what sort intergalactic tourist is going to want visit a place named after dirt,

Giant Intelligent earth worms ?

[Art Vandelay]

David Bowie, Space Oddity / Star man.
Bowie has also visited other worlds.

[surfpurple]

The astronaut Kalpana Chawla took two Deep Purple CDs (Machine Head+Purpendicular) and Rainbow's Down To Earth (Roger Glover and Don Airey were Rainbow members when this album was recorded) with on the trip. She said she was a big DP fan and she wakes up with Space Truckin' every morning.
The whole band sent emails into the universe and the crew wrote back. I don't know how long they have known each other but I think it was very hard for the band when they saw the exploding shuttle...

[Willow]

David Bowie, Space Oddity / Star man.
Bowie has also visited other worlds.

The man who fell to Earth.?