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And you are comfortable being the dog in this cosmic relationship then?

by beAbU 1y ago

conartist6 1y ago
it's that we're made out of meat: https://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/thinkingMeat.html https://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/think...
- carpo 1y ago
  Man I love that story.
estimator7292 1y ago
Does it make you uncomfortable to think an alien civilization might be somehow superior to humans? That's a pretty immature thing to be insecure about.
- dustfinger 1y ago
  If they mean us harm, then yes, I am insecure about it.
  - ZenoArrow 1y ago
    What if they're indifferent about our existence? Would you be insecure knowing that a superior species existed that didn't think we were interesting enough to be bothered with?
    - dustfinger 1y ago
      As long as they don’t plan to demolish Earth to make way for an intergalactic highway (a reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), we’re fine. Humans are not out to get ants, but imagine how many ant colonies we have destroyed to build our highways. Indifference does not preclude a threat.
- goopypoop 1y ago
  Given that my opinions are correct, a superior being would have opinions which tend toward mine. So I'll be fine, dunno about the rest of you punks
- godelski 1y ago
  If they were to visit us then they would be de facto technologically superior to us. But I'm sure we'd figure out a way to feel superior to them. And what's it matter? There's lots of people superior to me. I'm not really concerned unless they're trying to do me harm. But that anger isn't due to their superiority, it is due to their harm.
  - BLKNSLVR 1y ago
    > But I'm sure we'd figure out a way to feel superior to them You mastered interstellar travel and yet you arrived in THAT!?
    - BLKNSLVR 1y ago
      Why did you bring your wife's ship?
  - pndy 1y ago
    > But I'm sure we'd figure out a way to feel superior to them Imagine all these scifi fans who aren't able to see actors in their favorite franchise but the characters. All of this bumped by factor of 10: pestering aliens why they aren't using e.g. photon torpedoes... Still I'd be more concern about truly xenophobic people who'd either want to cease any contact - if it would happen or attack aliens to keep Earth and humanity "pure". Toss in religious fanatics seeing devils to spice things up.
- beAbU 1y ago
  An alien race arriving at our shores cannot be anything but disastrous for us, IMO. Why go through the massive expense to come all the way here if the intention is something that is not conquering or total dominion over us? We did this to our own fellow humans a couple of hundred years ago. So yeah, call it immature or insecure. But I prefer they just leave us alone to be honest.
  - anonzzzies 1y ago
    But we hardly evolved past apes at this point (on any cosmic/earth timescale); these aliens have transportation that is technologically something akin to whatever scifi we came up with and deem mostly ideas that are not possible in reality. They could be around for 10s of millions of years while we are here just for a few 300k or so years with our real advancements just starting. They might have gone beyond the 'you land, I take, you die' kind of 'animal' thing we humans have?
    - lelanthran 1y ago
      > But we hardly evolved past apes at this point And? Evolution is not "Progress to this $UTOPIC_POINT". Evolution does not mean "progress at all", using "progress" as you seem to use it in the rest of your post. They may have evolved to not have any compassion for any species that is not their own. They may have evolved to a point of having no compassion whatsoever.
      - anonzzzies 1y ago
        I didn't say that about evolution, you knee jerked it. There is some (human, ape) logic that if you can survive millions of years while being technologically advanced, you probably have some compassion as if not, you would be extinct. But that's just human thinking; who knows. I would like to know.
LexiMax 1y ago
Comfortable? I'd call that the best case scenario. If they treated us like dogs they'd already be better stewards of humanity than we are.

And you are comfortable being the dog in this cosmic relationship then?

by beAbU 1y ago

And you are comfortable being the dog in this cosmic relationship then?

it's that we're made out of meat: https://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/thinkingMeat.html https://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/think...

carpo 1y ago
Man I love that story.

estimator7292 1y ago

Does it make you uncomfortable to think an alien civilization might be somehow superior to humans? That's a pretty immature thing to be insecure about.

dustfinger 1y ago
If they mean us harm, then yes, I am insecure about it.
- ZenoArrow 1y ago
  What if they're indifferent about our existence? Would you be insecure knowing that a superior species existed that didn't think we were interesting enough to be bothered with?
  - dustfinger 1y ago
    As long as they don’t plan to demolish Earth to make way for an intergalactic highway (a reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), we’re fine. Humans are not out to get ants, but imagine how many ant colonies we have destroyed to build our highways. Indifference does not preclude a threat.
goopypoop 1y ago
Given that my opinions are correct, a superior being would have opinions which tend toward mine. So I'll be fine, dunno about the rest of you punks
godelski 1y ago
If they were to visit us then they would be de facto technologically superior to us. But I'm sure we'd figure out a way to feel superior to them. And what's it matter? There's lots of people superior to me. I'm not really concerned unless they're trying to do me harm. But that anger isn't due to their superiority, it is due to their harm.
- BLKNSLVR 1y ago
  > But I'm sure we'd figure out a way to feel superior to them You mastered interstellar travel and yet you arrived in THAT!?
  - BLKNSLVR 1y ago
    Why did you bring your wife's ship?
- pndy 1y ago
  > But I'm sure we'd figure out a way to feel superior to them Imagine all these scifi fans who aren't able to see actors in their favorite franchise but the characters. All of this bumped by factor of 10: pestering aliens why they aren't using e.g. photon torpedoes... Still I'd be more concern about truly xenophobic people who'd either want to cease any contact - if it would happen or attack aliens to keep Earth and humanity "pure". Toss in religious fanatics seeing devils to spice things up.
beAbU 1y ago
An alien race arriving at our shores cannot be anything but disastrous for us, IMO. Why go through the massive expense to come all the way here if the intention is something that is not conquering or total dominion over us? We did this to our own fellow humans a couple of hundred years ago. So yeah, call it immature or insecure. But I prefer they just leave us alone to be honest.
- anonzzzies 1y ago
  But we hardly evolved past apes at this point (on any cosmic/earth timescale); these aliens have transportation that is technologically something akin to whatever scifi we came up with and deem mostly ideas that are not possible in reality. They could be around for 10s of millions of years while we are here just for a few 300k or so years with our real advancements just starting. They might have gone beyond the 'you land, I take, you die' kind of 'animal' thing we humans have?
  - lelanthran 1y ago
    > But we hardly evolved past apes at this point And? Evolution is not "Progress to this $UTOPIC_POINT". Evolution does not mean "progress at all", using "progress" as you seem to use it in the rest of your post. They may have evolved to not have any compassion for any species that is not their own. They may have evolved to a point of having no compassion whatsoever.
    - anonzzzies 1y ago
      I didn't say that about evolution, you knee jerked it. There is some (human, ape) logic that if you can survive millions of years while being technologically advanced, you probably have some compassion as if not, you would be extinct. But that's just human thinking; who knows. I would like to know.

LexiMax 1y ago

Comfortable? I'd call that the best case scenario. If they treated us like dogs they'd already be better stewards of humanity than we are.