Hawking always makes me smile.

[Paul the Human]

According to the Times of London, physicist Stephen Hawking believes that extraterrestrials almost certainly exist - but that instead of looking for them, we should avoid all contact with them at any cost (or, as Gawker so nicely phrased it, "we should avoid them because they will probably come to earth and kick our asses like in the movies").

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Hawking concludes that seeking out intelligent life in space is "a little too risky." He added: "If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans."

Full Article: Here.

Don't you just wanna give him a hug?

[Shinylight]

I have always wanted him to say my name in his Robot voice

[Atheist_named_Christian]

cute stephie

One of his main errors is thinking the aliens are similar to us.

[Paul the Human]

He's become overly cautious of late. He also warned that the LHC was too dangerous, because there is a possibility, however teeny-tiny, that it could cause a black hole or twist space time and kill us all, so... we should not perform the experiments at all. Where is his sense of adventure?

[Atheist_named_Christian]

He's become overly cautious of late.

well that is a very nice circumscription. I rather think he tries to attract the media by making stupid statements that are nice stories. For me as a physicist both his statements sound just plain stupid (dangerous black holes from LHC as well as the threat of an alien attack).

[fr0d0]

Haha! I like how that gives kudos to all those crazy movies

[Shinylight]

He's become overly cautious of late.

well that is a very nice circumscription. I rather think he tries to attract the media by making stupid statements that are nice stories. For me as a physicist both his statements sound just plain stupid (dangerous black holes from LHC as well as the threat of an alien attack).

I don't know why he would be cautious, he has a rocket chair.

[TheMultiverseTheory]

Hawking is only one opinion on this matter.

There are alien species that could very well be violent in their approach of absorbing resources. It is possible that aliens so bitter and violent (perhaps like the religious behavior) could never make it into an advanced civilization that would be able to travel space. Look at the middle east, this region is filled with scumbags and just the type of species Hawking described.

There is also the possibility that the alien races could have shed the scales of that violent nature and become truly civil in their travels for other life. As curious as we are to learn about all there is to in this universe.

It could be possible, like us, that only the intellectuals of the species would travel space due to Private Sectors taking priority instead of corrupt organizations or beings on the planet itself. Leaving those interested in the science and knowledge to be the ones we contact.

I can not imagine that brute bastards would be intellectual enough to not destroy their own civilization and only be interested in killing everyone elses.

[Autumnlicious]

I believe that Stephen Hawking has contributed a great amount of understanding of the universe. However I fear that his age and condition leave much to be desired now.

[leo-rcc]

Sorry but I agree with Hawking on this one.

Let's assume that these aliens are technologically so far advanced that they can reach the Earth. We would indeed be in the same position as the native Americans. We could do nothing against them whether their intentions are good or bad.

There are various scenario's that could play out if a technologically advanced civilization makes contact with a less advanced one, but if history has taught us anything, it rarely ever turned out for the better for the less advanced one.