(May 1, 2015 at 11:27 pm)Minimalist Wrote: How would an alien tell the difference?
The ones who could have the capability of interstellar travel would be really, really smart, so they would figure out the difference between things that are presented as fiction and things presented as fact. We even provide helpful clues on this, as we have lists of who plays the characters in pure fiction, which we call "credits." And we have the occasional documentary or talkshow in which actors appear and talk about the characters they play. So it would not be too difficult for them to figure this out, once they have viewed enough material and have also figured out our language(s).
Once they have the two separated out, they will then be able to look at the stuff that is presented as fact, and see plenty of examples of extreme stupidity. That will be enough to get them to not want to bother visiting us, regardless of what they might think of our fiction.
If their aesthetic taste resembled ours (which does not seem particularly likely), they could enjoy Bach and Mozart and Beethoven from our broadcasts, and not need to bother with actually coming here.
In my opinion, there is no reason for a truly advanced civilization to visit this planet.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
