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One of the most common objections to UFOs-as-extraterrestrials that I see is that the distances between solar systems, and the amount of time required to travel
by revscat 12y ago
One of the most common objections to UFOs-as-extraterrestrials that I see is that the distances between solar systems, and the amount of time required to travel between them is so large, even at light speed, that any such visitors are simply impossible. This objection is usually backed up with relativity, and the increasing amount of energy required as C is approached.
My objection to this is orangutans.
Orangutans are amazing creatures. Placid but intelligent, social and all in all an interesting specimen from nature. But you cannot teach them calculus. It's simply impossible. Their brains are not capable of dealing with concepts that are necessary.
What does this have to do with UFOs? There is a chance that there are concepts in the universe of which our brains are unable to conceive, just like orangutans and calculus. These concepts may be necessary to achieve travel over interstellar distances.
I understand that this is an unprovable statement. It is, nevertheless, a (admittedly fluffy) rebuttal to the "relativity forbids FTL travel" objection that is raised when the subject of UFOs is discussed. We have seen glimpses where savants are able to perform mental tasks that are amazing to "normals", giving hints that such things might at least be possible.
- arjn 12y ago"Simply impossible" is not correct. "Highly unlikely" or "Highly improbable" is the right phrase to use.
- revscat 12y agoThen replace "orangutan" with "mockingbird" if you like. There are tasks that humans are capable of that other creatures are not. Extrapolate this the other direction. I do not believe that humanity's current evolutionary state is the pinnacle of what intelligence can be.
- arjn 12y agoI wasnt objecting to your intelligence theory. Its perfectly ok to assume there may be intelligences in the universe far superior to ours. I was referring to your comment on the "common objections to UFOs".
- acqq 12y agoNo, mental tasks that some persons are capable of performing don't prove anything related to the UFO's.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- justaman 12y ago>the distances between solar systems, and the amount of time required to travel between them With the one electron universe "theory" we could "theoretically" instantaneously materialize at a given point in space.
- zwtaylor 12y agoThis reminds me of something British enzymologist J.B.S. Haldane once said, "Reality is not only stranger than we suppose, it may be stranger than we can suppose." It's unprovable, but perhaps alien intelligence is already "here", existing at some level imperceptible to human faculties. Given the age of the universe, and humanity's relative youth, it's not impossible that an alien civilization could have developed transportation/communication technology far beyond anything we could possible imagine.
- dntrkv 12y agoI understand your point and agree to an extent, but teaching an orangutan to do calculus would not require you to break the laws of physics, so that comparison wouldn't really work.
- ceejayoz 12y agoThings humans do regularly likely violate what a wild orangutan would consider the laws of physics, like putting a human inside a five-inch flat piece of glass.
- denizozger 12y agoMichio Kaku says: "Lets say we have an ant hill in the middle of the forest. And right next to the ant hill, they’re building a ten-lane super-highway. And the question is “Would the ants be able to understand what a ten-lane super-highway is? Would the ants be able to understand the technology and the intentions of the beings building the highway next to them?" The chance of higher civilisations being all around us, but us being too primitive to perceive them is my favourite explanation. There is a great article about The Fermi Paradox (why we might not have been contacted - to our knowledge&proof - by extraterrestrial life): http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html