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In general we don't assume that of everyone. What we do assume is that at least some aliens would be interested, because we assume intellect comes with innate c

by Udo 6y ago

In general we don't assume that of everyone. What we do assume is that at least some aliens would be interested, because we assume intellect comes with innate curiosity. In an advanced culture, even a small number of individuals exhibiting an interest would be enough to form a field of study, just as it is here on Earth. Asserting that nobody us studying is because we're uninteresting to every single alien creature is a baffling statement, given the odds. The odds are far greater in my opinion that we're alone or at least functionally alone, even though I must admit I hate the notion. We also don't assume everyone builds megastructures or emits huge technosignatures, but it throws us off that apparently nobody does.

bluGill 6y ago
I would assume curiosity is a requirement for an advanced civilization. You can be a cow eating grass on the plains avoiding the tiger trying to catch you by instinct alone, and it might work. However one of the early steps to advanced civilizations is figuring out if there is a better way - maybe you avoid the tiger better, maybe you store up grass for winter, but curiosity is at the root of advanced civilization.
bluetomcat 6y ago
> We also don't assume everyone builds megastructures or emits huge technosignatures Popular culture skews our expectations towards two-legged creatures flying on saucers, roughly our size, but forms of intelligent life can manifest in radically different ways at micro and macro levels. Perhaps, what looks like a sand particle to us might be a complex microorganism, in a complex interconnected self-regulating network, with no physical artifacts of "civilisation". Those microorganisms would also be able to form "mega-structures" by mutating the environment around them, just not at the pace and scale we are accustomed to.
- Udo 6y ago
  Unless every single civilization out there is made up of inert sand particles, that's not a solution for why we don't see anyone. You're right of course that we tend to assume somewhat similar properties to ourselves, because that's what we know, and we tend to assume that we're at least in some ways "normal" - or at least not unique. > with no physical artifacts of "civilisation" I would not be surprised if there are quite a few intelligent organisms out there that are not tool users. Earth itself has a few, as well. These would potentially make great candidates for a visit, if we could detect their biome from afar. > just not at the pace and scale we are accustomed to I don't disagree that these are probably out there. But that's not the same as asserting that every single culture besides our own is on a completely different and imperceptible scale than us. We'd expect at least some organisms to build tools that we can detect, that is unless we're one of the first civilizations in the universe. Another solution would be that FTL travel is possible and/or thermodynamics can be at least partially circumvented, but even if such techology existed, it would have to be ubiquitous in order to explain why we don't see anyone.

by Udo 6y ago

bluGill 6y ago

I would assume curiosity is a requirement for an advanced civilization. You can be a cow eating grass on the plains avoiding the tiger trying to catch you by instinct alone, and it might work. However one of the early steps to advanced civilizations is figuring out if there is a better way - maybe you avoid the tiger better, maybe you store up grass for winter, but curiosity is at the root of advanced civilization.

bluetomcat 6y ago

> We also don't assume everyone builds megastructures or emits huge technosignatures Popular culture skews our expectations towards two-legged creatures flying on saucers, roughly our size, but forms of intelligent life can manifest in radically different ways at micro and macro levels. Perhaps, what looks like a sand particle to us might be a complex microorganism, in a complex interconnected self-regulating network, with no physical artifacts of "civilisation". Those microorganisms would also be able to form "mega-structures" by mutating the environment around them, just not at the pace and scale we are accustomed to.

Udo 6y ago
Unless every single civilization out there is made up of inert sand particles, that's not a solution for why we don't see anyone. You're right of course that we tend to assume somewhat similar properties to ourselves, because that's what we know, and we tend to assume that we're at least in some ways "normal" - or at least not unique. > with no physical artifacts of "civilisation" I would not be surprised if there are quite a few intelligent organisms out there that are not tool users. Earth itself has a few, as well. These would potentially make great candidates for a visit, if we could detect their biome from afar. > just not at the pace and scale we are accustomed to I don't disagree that these are probably out there. But that's not the same as asserting that every single culture besides our own is on a completely different and imperceptible scale than us. We'd expect at least some organisms to build tools that we can detect, that is unless we're one of the first civilizations in the universe. Another solution would be that FTL travel is possible and/or thermodynamics can be at least partially circumvented, but even if such techology existed, it would have to be ubiquitous in order to explain why we don't see anyone.