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They would have been there the whole time, they didn't just pop into existence because it got observed. I don't think you need to worry anymore then usual
by tayo42 5y ago
They would have been there the whole time, they didn't just pop into existence because it got observed. I don't think you need to worry anymore then usual
- swarnie 5y agoDoes something exist if you can't/don't observe it?
- carlio 5y agoIf a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
- wglb 5y agoDon't know, but I have always wondered if the other trees laugh at it.
- ddingus 5y agoI love that. I feel a sense of perspective change that I like. Reminds me to remain vigilant about my sense of play. Losing it happens slow, and yes I have and have noticed. Little bits add up. I like this one. ( scroll right on by, as this is one of those things we might say for the benefit in saying it, not so much value otherwise)
- jandrese 5y ago> If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If you define sound as a wave of air (or any other medium) particles then yes. If you define sound as something a person had heard then no.
- pradn 5y agoGoing from "unknown if alien civs with megastructures" to "proof of alien civs with megastructures" is new information that would change the trajectory of humanity.
- jandrese 5y agoHow? Other than focusing our efforts at communication with alien species I don't think the day to day life of your average person would be at all different. They are basically a curiosity. Even if we did finally find some, they would likely be so far away that round trip communications would take decades or centuries.
- pixl97 5y agoWell, for one all those religious people that believed they were the centre of the universe will be doing some random scrabbling to explain the change in the status quo.
- jotm 5y ago"Oh, of course there's life on other planets, God made them, too". Tbh, churches funding an interstellar mission (to convert the heathens) would be a mostly good thing
- lucb1e 5y agoUntil someone commandeers the Mormons' generation ship to push an asteroid into the sun
- pc86 5y agoIf the pandemic is any indication, the people for whom alien life doesn't fit into their world view will simply insist that it's been faked.
- dylan604 5y agoEver read/see any sci-fi at all? Lots of them have provided story lines of humantiy not handling this information well. From religious cults to doomsday preppers to all sorts of irrational behavior, the way humanity accepts we're not alone is not always thought to be positive.
- 5y ago
- simulate-me 5y ago> I don't think you need to worry anymore then usual Or, you realize that your usual level or worry is totally inadequate and that you should have been worrying much more in the past.
- meetups323 5y agoYes, because if you had been living a life full of worry you'd be much better prepared to take on the alien invasion.
- sgustard 5y agoThis is also why I don't go to the doctor.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoSticking your head in the sand doesn’t make a problem go away. Face life with openness.
- Trasmatta 5y agoWorrying is only useful inasmuch as it compels you to act. What actions could we have taken in the past to prevent a future alien threat? Besides never sending electromagnetic signals into space?
- contravariant 5y agoAnything more than a few dozen lightyears away could have conceivably detected us and taken action to erase the threat.
- ISL 5y agoSchrodinger's civilization :).
- throwawaycities 5y ago> They would have been there the whole time, they didn't just pop into existence because it got observed. Unless they are quantum beings. But more seriously, at cosmic scales it is possible we observe something/some civilization in our present that actually no longer exists. There should be something like the Drake Equation to determine the likelihood of a civilization we observe actually currently existing based on the observed distance. To your point the oldest radio broadcasts are just over 100 years old, since they travel at the speed of light they will need 100,000 years to travel the length of the Milky Way, so if a civilization as advanced as ours were on the other side of the galaxy in the future to receive them, what are the odds humans will still be around? Assuming we are around, then it would be about another 100,000 years for them to send a directed communication at the speed of light, so I think you are correct it’s not worth the effort to worry.
- a_wild_dandan 5y agoI don't follow. Are you saying that new information doesn't justify new reactions? Like if I get a cancer diagnosis, I shouldn't worry more, because the misbehaving cells were there the whole time?
- tayo42 5y agoI think going with this metaphor if you have cancer then it's like already being under attack by this civilization.
- ALittleLight 5y agoRather, you shouldn't fear a doctor's visit because if you learn you had cancer, well, you'd have it whether you knew or not, but now you know and can act. Of course, if there was nothing to do about the cancer but wait to die, and nothing to do about the aliens but wait for their bombs to arrive, then you may prefer not visiting the doctor or looking through the telescope.