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Looking for aliens is worthwhile because discovering alien life would transform how we see the universe and ourselves, not because it’s easy. That’s like saying

Looking for aliens is worthwhile because discovering alien life would transform how we see the universe and ourselves, not because it’s easy. That’s like saying the more one looks for fundamental physics the less worthwhile it is. We would never have built a particle accelerator with that attitude. You can extend it to all of science. Why look for anything hard?

Lolaccount 3y ago
I've heard that line a hundred times. But would it? I value SETI and ideas behind it and even the line you just wrote. But would it? The whole thing will just descend into a twisted conspiracy pit of nonsense within 48 hours. _______ How long did governments know about it? Have aliens been interbreeding with humans all this time? Is Joe Biden a lizard crossbreed alien? When do we get to nuke them? ________ This is the level of humanity that we currently display, or which shouts the loudest, or which we click on and ... eventually, slowly, but surely, listen to... or, at least, take account of in our political decisions. I'm certain that any alien lifeforms out there are far more sensible and will just ... 'walk on by' ... as a human might in the presence of a tiny microbe resting on a discarded apple in the corner of a derelict building.
- digbybk 3y ago
  I think this comes down to how we're using the words "we". Galileo transformed how "we" see the world, but not a whole lot of people at the time appreciated the implications of what he was saying. I think we need to keep looking for ways to answer the big questions because it elevates us. But it's often unevenly distributed in space and time, unfortunately. Basically, I'm saying that the search for alien life is just science, and if you believe in curiosity-motivated science, there's no reason to single that out. Unless you're worried about alien malware, which isn't a crazy thing to be worried about https://youtu.be/st9EJg_t6yc https://youtu.be/st9EJg_t6yc
  - Lolaccount 3y ago
    You're right, of course. The video amused me. I got to thinking - what if the first communication was just spam!
    - digbybk 3y ago
      > You're right, of course. Possibly this is the first time that this sentence has appeared in a comment in the history of the internet.

Lolaccount 3y ago

I've heard that line a hundred times. But would it? I value SETI and ideas behind it and even the line you just wrote. But would it? The whole thing will just descend into a twisted conspiracy pit of nonsense within 48 hours. _______ How long did governments know about it? Have aliens been interbreeding with humans all this time? Is Joe Biden a lizard crossbreed alien? When do we get to nuke them? ________ This is the level of humanity that we currently display, or which shouts the loudest, or which we click on and ... eventually, slowly, but surely, listen to... or, at least, take account of in our political decisions. I'm certain that any alien lifeforms out there are far more sensible and will just ... 'walk on by' ... as a human might in the presence of a tiny microbe resting on a discarded apple in the corner of a derelict building.

digbybk 3y ago
I think this comes down to how we're using the words "we". Galileo transformed how "we" see the world, but not a whole lot of people at the time appreciated the implications of what he was saying. I think we need to keep looking for ways to answer the big questions because it elevates us. But it's often unevenly distributed in space and time, unfortunately. Basically, I'm saying that the search for alien life is just science, and if you believe in curiosity-motivated science, there's no reason to single that out. Unless you're worried about alien malware, which isn't a crazy thing to be worried about https://youtu.be/st9EJg_t6yc https://youtu.be/st9EJg_t6yc
- Lolaccount 3y ago
  You're right, of course. The video amused me. I got to thinking - what if the first communication was just spam!
  - digbybk 3y ago
    > You're right, of course. Possibly this is the first time that this sentence has appeared in a comment in the history of the internet.