How would the world change if intelligent extra-terrestrial life were discovered?
Suppose we received a message from some planet a few hundred light years away. At the time the message was sent, which was a few hundred years ago, the senders were at about the same stage of development as we are now and live lives not very different from or own, so they did not have any advanced knowledge to impart. Do you think that the confirmation of the existence of civilization elsewhere would make any difference to the average person?
After the initial excitement wore off, I don’t think things would change much. Life would go on pretty much the same as before. In particular, religious people would not question why the Bible makes no reference to life on other planets any more than they questioned the lack of mention of North and South America.
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To the average person? No. To scientists, yes. I think there would be a great effort made to be able to contact this other life source. As far as the religious aspect of it, I don’t see why finding life on another planet would affect their religious beliefs at all but I guess it depends on what religion we are talking about. You made reference to the Bible so I will too- no, most people who believe in the Bible (myself included) probably wouldn’t question why the Bible makes no reference to the things you list, because there is no point in questioning those things as it makes no difference whatsoever.
I think even a simple message from an extraterrestrial civilisation would still effect rather profound cultural changes, actually. We would all have to officially accept that we are not the only intelligent life forms in the universe, which puts us in a completely different position in the world than the one we occupy now. Especially if the aliens are more intelligent than we are.
That sort of perspective would have ramifications for ethical issues like how we treat animals. If there can be other life forms “superior” to us, and they treat other life the way we do, that would put us in a rather unfavourable position.
It would finally take outer space out of the realm of science fiction and distant NASA missions, and into the realm of relevant aspects of the real world. We would finally stop living our lives like the earth is all there is to the universe.
It would be a lot of help to linguistics (my field) to have a look at a non-human language, so we can tell what parts of our own languages are human-specific and what parts are necessitated by the way communication in general has to work.
And if they include a picture of themselves, maybe we’ll finally get some intelligent aliens in fiction that don’t look exactly like us with wrinkled foreheads or blue skin.
And with a bit of bad luck, they’ll dream up another few dozen religions revering the aliens as quasi-gods, or deciding they are the same race that inhabited Atlantis, or that Ashtar Sheran was their spokesman and they’re going to come over and solve all our problems and help us to evolve into beings of pure energy.
Have you seen or read Carl Sagan’s Contact, by the way? I think that’s a fairly realistic description of what would happen.
On the other hand there would probably be Christians who feel compelled to spread the word so that those on the other planet, regardless of their level of knowledge, could finally be saved.
It is ironic that we are destroying life on this planet at the same time that we are looking for life on other planets. The actual discovery of extra-terrestrial life would not change things.
I contend that it would, on the above grounds.
while thinking people would be really excited,
some religious people would want to spread their beliefs to the aliens
some would scream “Demons! Devils! We must destroy them!”
some would scream “Oh noes, the antichrist sent us a message!”
some would say it never happened
some would say it was a weather balloon
that of course assumes that the governments of the world would not keep that discovery secret, because as soon citizens start thinking of themselves as inhabitants of a global society and no longer as inhabitants of a nation, the whole system on nationalism that keeps leaders in power, collapses and they lose control over “their” citizens.
Does a mouse that as been brought into the lab for experiments know the difference?
If they exist, they are already here. We just do not notice it, or comprehend it.
If we want to inject Sci-fi into it.
I will go with them showing up with an instruction book titled, How to Serve Man.
I would look good on a plate with roasted potatoes, and a salad.
Just a heads up ET.
@ChazMaz
What in tarnation are you talking about, good man?
“If they exist they’re already here”? Why would you say that? Is it impossible for aliens to exist lightyears away instead of here?
If there were any life forms on earth that are not from here, we would know it. Biologists would notice this thingy here different from everything native, it doesn’t have earthly DNA, it doesn’t fit into any of the classes that earth life forms can neatly be sorted into on the basis of various objective criteria, it doesn’t fit anywhere in the phylogenetic tree.
But all the life forms we do know all relate to each other in regular ways. They all have similar looking skeletons, or they all have green leaves, or they all have similar mitochondria, or what have you. Lots of ways to tell the difference between earth life and non-earth life.
@Fyrius , old Chap, he is talking (sarcasticly I have to add) about intelligent visitors that would naturally try to conceal their presence here.
I think it would be a great source of inspiration for mankind, that we are not alone. I think some things would change, and most would not.
Well, of course, there’d be people searching for ways to monetize the whole thing, if they could.
__There goes the neighborhood.__
I am sure Bill Gates is texting them now from his new phone.
Perhaps with the introduction to life that has surpassed us in the veins of health, science and marketing. I would hope we would have:
1. A cure for cancer and AIDS, diabetes and a ton of other things.
2. The truths about gene splitting and genetic coding.
3. A way to finance schools for young children and teachers.
Hopefully, we would become less arrogant, but I doubt it.
It all depends on the messages and our capability to understand them. If it goes beyond “Hello, we’re natives of the Tau Gruis system” in a ‘Voyager Golden Record’ fashion, a lot on Earth might change. Suppose they transmit their DNA. Suppose they transmit a theory of quantum gravity. Suppose they transmit a formula how to achieve cold fusion or a machine diagram showing how to convert dark energy into electricity or even a artificial wormhole generator. Well, if they got the latter they already might be on their way! Will we welcome them?
Good question. Will we welcome them?
Supreme beings. Knowing more then us, possibly healthier then us.
And, knowing what is best for us.
Sounds like the potential for a lynching to me.
In my question I had stipulated that extra-terrestrials were no more advanced than we are. I did that because I wanted to focus on the impact of knowing for sure there was intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe. The chances are though that any civilization we contact would be way ahead of us. We have only had the ability to listen to radio waves for a short time, so any civilization transmitting radio signals will most likely have had the necessary technology far longer than we have.
Well, I guess indisputable proof of extra-terrestrial life, intelligent or not, would have an impact on religion, which would change the interpretation of the universe. If we have contact with life it will be from within the galaxy. We would learn that life in the universe is not a coincidence but a common phenomena, since there are some one billion galaxies out there.
“intelligent or not, would have an impact on religion”
I do not think so. Religion would just broaden its sense of existence to include others besides themselves.
Even if the ET’s said we seeded your planet. Adam and Eve came from our planet. Then the question would be where did you come from? And we are right back to where we started from.
@ChazMaz Well, to include other ET species in the religious belief, would need some form of change of view, wouldn’t you say?
i’d expect the fundies of the judeo-christian persuasion to riot, calling them demons, devils, minions of the antichrist, horsemen of the apocalypse, etc., especially if the aliens reveal to have seeded life/humans on this planet.
I wouldn’t.
In general it would be insignificant to concern ourselves with others on other planets.
As far as the Bible is concerned, it is how we live our lives that counts.
They might have the same doctrine.
@ragingloli Wouldn’t that mean they made us in their image?
@oratio
not necessarily.
if they come from a planet similar to earth, e.g. class M, then they might have, or they might have done it in a general way (largely humanoid, but not in detail). Or they might have taken indigenous species and modified them genetically so that they would largely retain properties of the original (apes).
If they come from a non class M planet, they would be forced to “design” humans in accordance with what the planets supports and what would be evolutionary advantageous within earth’s ecosystems.
@ragingloli Lol. True. You know, that sounds extremely Babylonian.
@oratio
This also reminds me of the gripe i have with those researchers who say that the roswell greys are not a realistic example of extraterrestrial life, because they would have to have evolved independently from us and thus would make it unlikely for them to be humanoid.
I disagree with that. I think when we are talking about a species that is able to manipulate their environment in detail, which is the requirement to become a technological civilisation, that evolved on a rocky planet with substantial gravity, it severely limits the outcomes an alien’s evolutionary path can take and the humanoid shape is one of them.
@ragingloli Hmm pondering about here on what physical forms would be able to evolve and being able to form and use tools. They would need a big brain, but would they need humanoid hands?
Discussing earth religions, we forget that aliens might have religious concepts as well. How would that affect them? Likely such religious concepts would merge and form new religions. Or at least create spin-off abrahamic religions.
@oratio
you need to remember where our hands came from. they were originally fins to propel the lifeform forward in the water and to steer into different directions. the fingers were originally nothing more than internal support structures. both of them i think are evolutionary necessities.
aliens might have religious concepts as well
they might. but i think it is more likely that they have long abandoned religion altogether.
@ragingloli Well, octopuses are very smart (well, I guess for a frigging fish) and they don’t have either bone nor fingers, but tentacles. Is it unlikely they would create technology and civilizations? I am not sure.
True. I agree, I would be surprised if they were utterly religious. But then again, who knows what aliens would consider important.
“but i think it is more likely that they have long abandoned religion altogether.”
Like the Egyptians, Aztecs, greeks, American Indian and such.
Seems every great “world power” adapts to a new-er adaptation of a higher authority.
@ChazMaz
correct me if I’m wrong, but neither of those had interstellar spaceships or anything that could be considered high tech.
It is all semantics. People of the time, believed they were high tech.
All the answers, and plugged directly into the supernatural.
When the wheel was invented, I bet you society saw it as a supreme form of travel.
As we see ourselves now, one day, will be seen as cavemen pushing a wheel around.
@ragingloli – If there are extraterrestrials who are more intelligent than us, I think they wouldn’t attack. They would observe us without us noticing. Maybe you’ve heard about the zoo hypothesis. We would be the chimps. Why is the zoo hypothesis plausible? Evolution. Intelligent species either evolve beyond wars against each other or they become extinct when misapplying their own technological progress. They would never become so advanced to be able to build starships visiting Earth.
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