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There's a very strong argument to be made that making first contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species would be the most significant single event in h

There's a very strong argument to be made that making first contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species would be the most significant single event in human history. I can't say I have high hopes given the odds of making first contact, but it'd still be a huge milestone for our civilization if we can survive it.

kurthr 3y ago
Even just knowing they are there/coming or might arrive in 1000y would have huge effects on human society. Not being alone as a species has fundamental existential meaning and religion. Would the effects be good? The truth can have bad effects, but so does not confronting reality.
- nradov 3y ago
  Would it really though? I would still have to attend that early meeting tomorrow. Still have to go grocery shopping. Still have to pay my mortgage. Finding signals from aliens on some distant planet would be interesting for one news cycle. Then everything would continue on as before.
  - dvsfish 3y ago
    I actually believe it would - it would inspire generations to work towards something greater than even humanity. Whether that resulted in beauty or disaster is besides the point. It might bring some greater sense of unity amongst humans, and direct our efforts for millennia.
  - sockaddr 3y ago
    I think that speaks more about you than society
  - bbor 3y ago
    Our society - and your life - are controlled far more by culture and far less by material scarcity/“innate human nature” than most people believe, at least partially because the powerful perpetuate the phenomenon wherever they can. How would your mortgage change if the whole city/country/world decided that they shared some meaningful goals? Plus, more fundamentally, I think most people intuitively find knowledge itself valuable. Even if bringing much joy to many people doesn’t erase mortgages, this dismissive attitude seems unjustified. Imo
  - f6v 3y ago
    Your confusing the long-term impact on humanity and short-term impact on your life. That guy who took the shit out of the stables still had to do it for the rest of his life even after the Renaissance happened.
  - burnished 3y ago
    Failure of imagination on your part I think. Its easy to get thinking that the world cannot and has never changed.
- edgyquant 3y ago
  For most of history people knew we weren’t alone, given the existence of gods angels etc, so I don’t think this would change things all that much.
  - analog31 3y ago
    Indeed, and those things have often been bad news for humanity. Whether they exist or not, we try to prepare for their arrival, obey people who know their habits, impose their rules on ourselves, and fight their wars.
  - f6v 3y ago
    The difference is that aliens aren’t magical and all-powerful. They’re likely having similar struggles and fight the issues using technology. It’s a big difference to a god who just waves the hand and creates the universe.
    - burnished 3y ago
      Heads up; that isnt an even remotely accurate reduction of religion or deities as a concept. I could see the misunderstanding if your only exposure to religion was via christian sermons - they are real big on describing their god as the perfect being that is all powerful and blah de blah - but even their creation myths don't portray an omnipotent being, and much of their bible depicts a deity that strives and mistakes as we do (albeit writ large). The truly salient difference is that aliens unlike gods aren't focused around our loves but their own.
      - stephenhuey 3y ago
        Not sure what Christian creation story you read, but omnipotence is commonly believed to be a core trait of God. And there's a difference between God allowing bad things to happen and making a mistake. Even when having a dialogue with a human in which it sounds like God is changing his mind, the implication is that God is letting the human work out what, if anything, he needs to change in his heart, and also letting the human exercise his faith in reaching out to God for help, and learning to trust God (similarly to how we have a need to interact over time to build trust in relationships with other humans). And I would argue that God is not ultimately focused just on us, but one of his interests is in helping us to get to know him since that is beneficial to us and he loves us. A big difference with an alien is that they would be a created being just like us (in Christian understanding). If they exist, we can't really presume to know whether they'd be just into their selfish interests, or perhaps know God and be committed to loving others the way God calls us to, etc.
- mongol 3y ago
  After one week, the headlines will be about Trump again.

kurthr 3y ago

Even just knowing they are there/coming or might arrive in 1000y would have huge effects on human society. Not being alone as a species has fundamental existential meaning and religion. Would the effects be good? The truth can have bad effects, but so does not confronting reality.

nradov 3y ago
Would it really though? I would still have to attend that early meeting tomorrow. Still have to go grocery shopping. Still have to pay my mortgage. Finding signals from aliens on some distant planet would be interesting for one news cycle. Then everything would continue on as before.
- dvsfish 3y ago
  I actually believe it would - it would inspire generations to work towards something greater than even humanity. Whether that resulted in beauty or disaster is besides the point. It might bring some greater sense of unity amongst humans, and direct our efforts for millennia.
- sockaddr 3y ago
  I think that speaks more about you than society
- bbor 3y ago
  Our society - and your life - are controlled far more by culture and far less by material scarcity/“innate human nature” than most people believe, at least partially because the powerful perpetuate the phenomenon wherever they can. How would your mortgage change if the whole city/country/world decided that they shared some meaningful goals? Plus, more fundamentally, I think most people intuitively find knowledge itself valuable. Even if bringing much joy to many people doesn’t erase mortgages, this dismissive attitude seems unjustified. Imo
- f6v 3y ago
  Your confusing the long-term impact on humanity and short-term impact on your life. That guy who took the shit out of the stables still had to do it for the rest of his life even after the Renaissance happened.
- burnished 3y ago
  Failure of imagination on your part I think. Its easy to get thinking that the world cannot and has never changed.
edgyquant 3y ago
For most of history people knew we weren’t alone, given the existence of gods angels etc, so I don’t think this would change things all that much.
- analog31 3y ago
  Indeed, and those things have often been bad news for humanity. Whether they exist or not, we try to prepare for their arrival, obey people who know their habits, impose their rules on ourselves, and fight their wars.
- f6v 3y ago
  The difference is that aliens aren’t magical and all-powerful. They’re likely having similar struggles and fight the issues using technology. It’s a big difference to a god who just waves the hand and creates the universe.
  - burnished 3y ago
    Heads up; that isnt an even remotely accurate reduction of religion or deities as a concept. I could see the misunderstanding if your only exposure to religion was via christian sermons - they are real big on describing their god as the perfect being that is all powerful and blah de blah - but even their creation myths don't portray an omnipotent being, and much of their bible depicts a deity that strives and mistakes as we do (albeit writ large). The truly salient difference is that aliens unlike gods aren't focused around our loves but their own.
    - stephenhuey 3y ago
      Not sure what Christian creation story you read, but omnipotence is commonly believed to be a core trait of God. And there's a difference between God allowing bad things to happen and making a mistake. Even when having a dialogue with a human in which it sounds like God is changing his mind, the implication is that God is letting the human work out what, if anything, he needs to change in his heart, and also letting the human exercise his faith in reaching out to God for help, and learning to trust God (similarly to how we have a need to interact over time to build trust in relationships with other humans). And I would argue that God is not ultimately focused just on us, but one of his interests is in helping us to get to know him since that is beneficial to us and he loves us. A big difference with an alien is that they would be a created being just like us (in Christian understanding). If they exist, we can't really presume to know whether they'd be just into their selfish interests, or perhaps know God and be committed to loving others the way God calls us to, etc.
mongol 3y ago
After one week, the headlines will be about Trump again.