Could Alien science and epistemology be incomprehensible to humans?

[peter grimes]

^ what warpus said.

After all, bees and ants and such have been on earth millions of years longer than we have and they haven't developed any non-organic technology. They aren't sending radio signals to the stars nor exploring the other bodies of our solar system.

Contrast that with humans: in less than 100,000 years we've gone from stone, bone, skin, fiber, and wood technology to nuclear. Not all intelligence is capable of letting the wider solar system know it's here.

I have a hunch that we will find life on other bodies in the solar system. But I'm afraid they'll be DNA based - which would almost certainly mean that the life is from Earth. It's already been shown that some microbes can survive for quite a long time in space. It only stands to reason that some microbes have been whisked out of our atmosphere via collisions. It doesn't take much energy to accelerate a bacterium to escape velocity.

 

[Leoreth]

It's hard to imagine insectoid-like hive minds utilizing tools, which was a major step in the history of the evolution of human intelligence, and is probably essential in developing a civilization.

 

[TheLastOne36]

It's hard to imagine insectoid-like hive minds utilizing tools, which was a major step in the history of the evolution of human intelligence, and is probably essential in developing a civilization.

It's hard to imagine because there is nothing like that on Earth.

 

[Darkwind]

It's hard to imagine insectoid-like hive minds utilizing tools, which was a major step in the history of the evolution of human intelligence, and is probably essential in developing a civilization.

Actually hive mind may actually helps the development of a civilization; the biggest reason that human civilization can be formed is due to agriculture/farming, where one worker can create enough food to support more than one person. Civilization can only be formed when you have "lazy people" that do not have to worry about food 24 hours a day.

In a hive mind species, the separation of work is there naturally already; some ants like the Queen and the "prince"; never need to leave hive to find food anyways, they also have longer life spans compare to the mass population, all of which helps in forming civilizations.

The downsize is of course they all share the same DNA, one disease can wipe out the entire "civilization". A hive mind intelligence lifeforms should probably have some ways to diversify their DNA (which also increase chance of mutation/ evolution).

All in all, I think it is possible; as long as the evolution advantage is there for having higher intelligence.

**I did some research on wiki, and I am surprise to find out that there exist "hive mind" mammals!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_mole_rat

This kind of rat only have one queen and several male that can reproduce in one "community". It is direct evident that hive behavior can exist in highly complex lifeforms.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

The problem with a hive mind is that information cannot be exchanged quickly or efficiently enough over the greater distances between each organism as over the short space of synapses between cells. Chemical signalers just cannot move fast enough to cover such distances before diffusing too much to be properly analyzed or conveying only obsolete information. An intelligent hive mind in which each member has the ability to communicate through electromagnetic transmissions might be able to function though.

 

[Berzerker]

I don't think a hive mind in the sense of a bee or ant colony or something like that would have the chance of being intelligent enough to develop a civilization and space travel, unless it was designed by some external intelligent agent.

some people call that God

the design is just older than we are...

 

[warpus]

God created the bees?