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> Realistically, though, it's too much of a coincidence that such a probe would first arrive so soon after we gained the ability to conceive of it. Are you sur
by tobyjsullivan 6y ago
> Realistically, though, it's too much of a coincidence that such a probe would first arrive so soon after we gained the ability to conceive of it.
Are you sure it's a coincidence? Imagine you are an intergalactic species that advances yourself by invading other worlds and stealing the inhabitants' knowledge and technology. What would be the best time to invade? I would suggest waiting as long as possible in their technological advancement but just before they develop the ability to defend themselves.
- kentonv 6y agoLight sails are not very fast. The probe would have had to have been launched thousands of years ago at least, maybe millions. Either way, long before our current level of advancement could have been predicted.
- motohagiography 6y agoI'd argue development isn't linear, as we seem to have millennia with pretty static tech, then in the span of a (increasingly long) lifetime, electricity, flight, and the internet. On that scale, our last 150 years could have occurred randomly at any time.
- ekianjo 6y ago> as we seem to have millennia with pretty static tech, That's not even remotely true. Even between antiquity and middle ages there were constant technological improvements. Of course everything sped up once we had access to steam and later fossil fuels as machinery to replace manual work became a reality.
- booleandilemma 6y agoWould a species that has mastered intergalactic travel really have anything to learn from us? I think they would either kill us, eat us, enslave us, or maybe all of the above.