What is this thread about?

ALIENS!!!! ...but mostly not.

we could use such an announcement to unite the world right about now

do you really believe it would?

Certainly not. But it sure as hell would change a lot.

To some extent, all of the nations that wouldn't join and cooperate in some sort of planetary alliance (like the UN) would not be major players and would slowly fade away.

doubtful, (if we were to discover a single sentient alien race) I think we would fight amongst ourselves as to who get to be their friend. And who's to say they wouldn't do exactly the same thing with us?

i totally got suckered in by this!

I feel like such a gullible TIT!

if(getThingFlags(source) & 0x8){
  do her}
elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
else{
  do a dude}

Pretty sure that IF that were the case that a civilization visiting us would have to be advanced enough they probably wouldn't be primitive in their thinking either like us.

How could you have *any* idea how an alien race would think? There are so many potentially different factors that their entire history would be based on, that it would really be impossible to say what their culture would consider primitive. Not to mention that we have thousands of different cultures with different viewpoints and beliefs. Who's to say this hypothetical alien race wouldn't?

I know it's impossible to say "Yes, this is what they would be like." It's just more probable that a civilization that's advanced enough to build something to travel that far across the galaxy would most likely be advanced enough to not be warlike.

Although I guess it's equally probable that they could be a completely aggressive race... But how they'd become civil enough to conquer space travel would be a connundrum..At least for me.

You think we figured out jets because we all held hands and sang kumbaya? Did we go to the moon as a friendly gesture of unity?

Going to the moon is one thing.

Going to Andromeda is another. And it's going to take a much more advanced civilization than us. I'm not saying we all have to sit around campfires and sing Kumbaya to make it happen, and neither would an alien race.

I'm just trying to say we have zero reason to believe that a civilization must be peaceful and unified in order to accomplish something, except for maybe wishful thinking.

I agree it is wishful thinking. But I would rather take that than pessimism.

I think I've seen enough Star Trek episodes to have a phD in this subject...

It's simple. Here's a scenerio: On Planet Droog, there is one large continent. Resources are spread throughout, but there are certain areas that have a denser concentration of certain resources than others. As the Droogians evolve, they naturally spread and populate the entire continent.

After a while, their tribes become villages, villages towns, towns become cities, and throughout all this, they develop nations. Now because no one area has ALL the resources an advanced civilization need, they need to work out a way to get other resources they don't have.

Now lets say that on Planet Droog, there used to be a LOT of very large predators. The Droogians evolved with sharp teeth and claws and a fierce group mentality, because they needed all of these to defend themselves against the huge predators.

So we have this species which evolved fighting for survival. Now Nation Droogwin wants some resources from Nation Droogawesome. Instead of offering a trade, they decide to just take it.

So it gets to the point where there are only two nations left, Droogwin and Droogfight. Droogwin has a secret program to develop a spaceship capable of firing weapons from space. They do. They win.

Now Droogwin is the single unified nation of Droog, and they decide to explore a nearby planet for more resources. They find a primitive life form there, proving that they aren't alone in the Galaxy. Because they are hostile, they assume all other races will be hostile. In the next 50 years they make huge advances in space weapons and propulsion technology, and because their entire planet is able to work together under one nation, they are able to settle all 7 planets in their solar system in that time.

Fast forward another 150 years, the Droog have discovered and enslaved two other species in new solar systems, when they discover a little planet called Earth...

I would go so far as to say you could even be completely off base about that. We could be dealing with a race of semi-intelligent beings who happen to have some genetic disposition that gives them a huge advantage towards space travel (ie, incredibly long iife spans for individuals, or the ability to live/travel through vacuum, come to mind instantly).

OMFG SPACE TORTOISES