Do you think intellegent aliens exist?if yes would they have already found us?

[betazed]

To everyone who says that intelligent life is rare, I have one question.

Suppose it is not. Also suppose there are ten thousand intelligent life in Milky Way alone today.

Would we know or see any difference? If not then why do you say intelligent life is rare?

 

[Bluemofia]

Hmm, thought provoking question:

What do you consider intelligent?

Are dolphins intelligent? Are whales? Or are they not intelligent enough? And will they get more intelligent over time if people just suddenly dissapear?

 

[King Flevance]

I think its possible aliens exist. Until they invade I dont worry about or even think about it that much. But who is to say they were made before us? What if they are only as advanced as chivalry right now?

(I didn't vote.. none of the options looked appealing)

 

[El_Machinae]

What if they are only as advanced as chivalry right now?

What if they've devoted more of their excess resources to research and development?

That means that by the time we meet, they'll be more advanced.

 

[King Flevance]

What if they've devoted more of their excess resources to research and development?

That means that by the time we meet, they'll be more advanced.

What if they didnt?

 

[El_Machinae]

Well then, it wouldn't matter. BUT, their tech rate isn't something we can control. Our own tech rate IS something we can control.

And we don't know their tech rate.

 

[Masquerouge]

Well then, it wouldn't matter. BUT, their tech rate isn't something we can control. Our own tech rate IS something we can control.

And we don't know their tech rate.

You seem to assume that technology is a constant of intelligent life.
I'm not so sure about that.

 

[El_Machinae]

No, maybe not technology, per se.

But the ability to dominate more than one location will be vitally important. In that, any species that can travel and co-opt new environments will become more common than species that cannot.

 

[betazed]

Hmm, thought provoking question:

What do you consider intelligent?

Take the easiest scenario. You can assume they are as intelligent as us. Would we still be able to detect them?

@El_mac: Not only are you assuming that intelligence -> technology you are also assuming technology continuously progresses forward. There is no reason why that need be the case. technology can actually move backwards for times.

 

[Masquerouge]

No, maybe not technology, per se.

But the ability to dominate more than one location will be vitally important. In that, any species that can travel and co-opt new environments will become more common than species that cannot.

Again, you seem to assume that what we humans are doing (expanding across the globe, and trying to expand across the solar system) will be the norm.

The ability to dominate more than one location will be vitally important... how ? What if you live in a place where no one but you can live, and you can only live in that place ?
What if other intelligent lives are not focused on expanding and dominating ?

After all, there is a one-city-challenge in Civ

 

[King Flevance]

Well then, it wouldn't matter.

Which is how I see aliens. If they want to fly over us or whatever they are doing right now, wether it be playing hopscotch on planet Xu'ien or galactic domination we have more pressing concerns like homelessness, poverty, environmental disasters and such that demand our attentions. If the UFO sighting are real, let em hover - as of yet, they arent bothering us more than nature itself is.

If you see an invader, make sure you got a weapon.

 

[warpus]

What if they are only as advanced as chivalry right now?

(I didn't vote.. none of the options looked appealing)

That's statistically improbable.

The Universe is billions of years old - Human civilization is only 6,000 years old, or so.

If there is an alien civilization out there - chances are that they've been around longer than 6,000 years - and are more advanced than us.

 

[El_Machinae]

What if other intelligent lives are not focused on expanding and dominating ?

Well, that species will not become common. The species that expand are likely to be more common, and thus, it's more likely that we'll run into ETs that expand.

There is no reason why that need be the case. technology can actually move backwards for times.

Yeah, just like the stock market. For sure. But I clearly mean the 'long term' expansion of ability, the general trend of ability, despite hiccups.

 

[El_Machinae]

If there is an alien civilization out there - chances are that they've been around longer than 6,000 years - and are more advanced than us.

There's no need for them to be more advanced, even if they've been around longer. It depends on the rate of advancement too.

 

[King Flevance]

Take the easiest scenario. You can assume they are as intelligent as us. Would we still be able to detect them?

This is a good question. As in how close would they be able to get if planning an invasion? I dont think they would be able to enter our atmosphere without us knowing with a larger invasion. Now, what chance we have against that now, I dont have a clue. Hopefully, the military has been keeping secrets from us... I better find out they have if this happened. I would be pissed at them if they hadn't as a matter of fact.

However I think smaller "recon" missions would be able to be made rather easily with our current techs as I know them. Not "no worries at all" easy but fairly easy for someone with galaxy travel.

 

[Masquerouge]

If you see an invader, make sure you got a weapon.

Actually I can only hope that the willingness to violently expand into what's not yours is a trademark of mankind only. Because despite what Hollywood would like us to believe (Independence Day, Signs, blah blah blah), if an alien civilization is able to cross the Universe to come invade our planet, we will never know what hit us.

Unless, of course, the President of the United States is a jet fighter pilot and the aliens use Turbo-pascal for their computers, in which case we will be saved.

 

[King Flevance]

That's statistically improbable.

The Universe is billions of years old - Human civilization is only 6,000 years old, or so.

If there is an alien civilization out there - chances are that they've been around longer than 6,000 years - and are more advanced than us.

Even so, they still havent managed to find Earth. and if they are THAT far ahead, you can hope they are nice, hope you will be a slave, or hope death will come quick. I am shooting at them.

Unless, of course, the President of the United States is a jet fighter pilot and the aliens use Turbo-pascal for their computers, in which case we will be saved.

lol. We better start training our presidents. I won't shoot if they are ok, but I wont put my gun down till they leave.

 

[warpus]

There's no need for them to be more advanced, even if they've been around longer. It depends on the rate of advancement too.

If they were only around 5,000 years longer, or 10,000 or even 30,000 then I'd agree.. But chances are that an alien civilization has been around for millions of years longer than us - statistically speaking.

Surely, on average, you can expect such an ancient civilization to be more advanced than ours.

 

[Masquerouge]

This is a good question. As in how close would they be able to get if planning an invasion? I dont think they would be able to enter our atmosphere without us knowing with a larger invasion. Now, what chance we have against that now, I dont have a clue. Hopefully, the military has been keeping secrets from us... I better find out they have if this happened. I would be pissed at them if they hadn't as a matter of fact.

However I think smaller "recon" missions would be able to be made rather easily with our current techs as I know them. Not "no worries at all" easy but fairly easy for someone with galaxy travel.

Dude, it is pretty scary that the first thing you think of about aliens is "invasion"

Not only people advanced enough to space travel would kick our butt if they so chose, but it would be pretty amazing to be able to develop the technology to space travel only to use it to invade a random, unexceptionnal planet at the fringe of the galaxy occupied by savages whose main concern is to find ways to kill each other.

A bit like developing nukes to invade Wallis and Futuna.

 

[betazed]

Yeah, just like the stock market. For sure. But I clearly mean the 'long term' expansion of ability, the general trend of ability, despite hiccups.

I doubt there is a long term trend either. Take humanity's history for example. Do you think there is a long term trend in technology. Humans as we know have been around for about 50,000 years at least. For 45,000 (90%) of that there has been no steady progress in technology. For the next 5000 there has been halting progress. Only in the last 100 years or so there has been substantial forward progress.

Given this record can you say that there is a long term "trend" of progress. A movement on 10% of the graph's history does not determine a trend.

Let humanity survive and make progress in the next 50,000 years. Then we will say that there is a trend.