Is Humanity Ready for First Contact?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Suppose there is a broader community of sentient life-forms who are remarkably advanced (socially and technologically). Do you think they would be interested in learning about humanity?  If you were in their shoes, then what would be your criteria for making first contact? What are your observations of humanity and does humanity meet your criteria?  From your perspective, is humanity ready for first contact?

Humans aren't ready to find out there is intelligent life somewhere in the Universe. 

Luckily, they're watching our campaigns, so there's nothing to worry about. 

[vorlon13]

Noticed something missing in the thread.


Aliens arriving here don't have to be any more advanced than humanity was in the 1960s. Nuclear impulse propulsion was (theoretically) worked out in the late 50s, and shortly thereafter, Feynman noted that other than the will to do it, there was nothing stopping us from building and launching an interstellar craft carrying up to 50,000 colonists.


So the reverse could happen, aliens with their equivalent of our 1960s technology might wind up here. An interesting question would be how many propulsion units would they have left over after braking into orbit around earth ?

And realize, braking into orbit is going to definitely get our attention. With no malice on their part, they are going to knock most/all of our satellites and could seriously disrupt communications and power generation on the surface via EMP effects.

And then what happens ? At that point, without even knowing we're here, they've come damn close to defeating us.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Do you think they would be interested in learning about humanity?

We study birds and bees, rocks in space, terrestrial geology, woo physics, how to build the best ICBM, philosophy, real physics, and the best strategies for winning "Jeopardy!"

I would imagine any species curious enough to build a spacecraft would be curious enough to be interested in aliens.

 If you were in their shoes, then what would be your criteria for making first contact?

Can I escape or kick their asses if they're hostile?

What are your observations of humanity and does humanity meet your criteria?  From your perspective, is humanity ready for first contact?

Humanity is our first contact with alien intelligence, brotha. Each and every one of us, when we're born, we have to make sense of these aliens around us.

[AFTT47]

Noticed something missing in the thread.


Aliens arriving here don't have to be any more advanced than humanity was in the 1960s.  Nuclear impulse propulsion was (theoretically) worked out in the late 50s, and shortly thereafter, Feynman noted that other than the will to do it, there was nothing stopping us from building and launching an interstellar craft carrying up to 50,000 colonists.


So the reverse could happen, aliens with their equivalent of our 1960s technology might wind up here.  An interesting question would be how many propulsion units would they have left over after braking into orbit around earth ?

And realize, braking into orbit is going to definitely get our attention.  With no malice on their part, they are going to knock most/all of our satellites and could seriously disrupt communications and power generation on the surface via EMP effects.

And then what happens ?    At that point, without even knowing we're here, they've come damn close to defeating us.

While possible, that is ridiculously unlikely. Considering the age spread of stars alone, the chances of that are poorer than being mauled by a polar bear in the Sahara on the same day a leopard changes its spots.

Great idea for a sci-fi novel, movie or TV series though!

[Minimalist]

No, we are not ready.

[AFTT47]

No, we are not ready.

Yeah, I could just picture that on the Enterprise view screen with Picard saying, "I've seen enough Number One. Obviously, we've arrived several hundred years too early. Set a course out of the system at warp 9.

[vorlon13]

Noticed something missing in the thread.


Aliens arriving here don't have to be any more advanced than humanity was in the 1960s.  Nuclear impulse propulsion was (theoretically) worked out in the late 50s, and shortly thereafter, Feynman noted that other than the will to do it, there was nothing stopping us from building and launching an interstellar craft carrying up to 50,000 colonists.


So the reverse could happen, aliens with their equivalent of our 1960s technology might wind up here.  An interesting question would be how many propulsion units would they have left over after braking into orbit around earth ?

And realize, braking into orbit is going to definitely get our attention.  With no malice on their part, they are going to knock most/all of our satellites and could seriously disrupt communications and power generation on the surface via EMP effects.

And then what happens ?    At that point, without even knowing we're here, they've come damn close to defeating us.

While possible, that is ridiculously unlikely. Considering the age spread of stars alone, the chances of that are poorer than being mauled by a polar bear in the Sahara on the same day a leopard changes its spots.

Great idea for a sci-fi novel, movie or TV series though!

Unlike Warp Drive, mélange, Alderson Drive, hyperspace, and a slew of other fictional technologies, nuclear impulse technology is real and can do the job.

The first civilization in the Milky Way galaxy with the technology (that includes us) with the will to use it (does not include us), can colonize the entire galaxy in some millions of years.  A far shorter period of time than the galaxy has existed.

If FTL travel is even possible, it first has to be developed.

Meanwhile, whoever gets nuclear impulse and the will to use it, if they are soon enough, wins the race.

If they arrive with 10 propulsion units leftover, they won't be much of a problem.
Considering however, Feynman estimated the voyage will take ~ 25 million of them, it's quite possible they will have some thousands of spares when (if) they get here.
I wouldn't want to tangle with North Korea if they had a 1000 nukes in orbit right now . . . . what about aliens we hope are benevolent but realistically, are going to be Darwinian instead?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Noticed something missing in the thread.


Aliens arriving here don't have to be any more advanced than humanity was in the 1960s.  Nuclear impulse propulsion was (theoretically) worked out in the late 50s, and shortly thereafter, Feynman noted that other than the will to do it, there was nothing stopping us from building and launching an interstellar craft carrying up to 50,000 colonists.


So the reverse could happen, aliens with their equivalent of our 1960s technology might wind up here.  An interesting question would be how many propulsion units would they have left over after braking into orbit around earth ?

And realize, braking into orbit is going to definitely get our attention.  With no malice on their part, they are going to knock most/all of our satellites and could seriously disrupt communications and power generation on the surface via EMP effects.

And then what happens ?    At that point, without even knowing we're here, they've come damn close to defeating us.

If they're working with 60s technology. and outnumbered fourteen million to one, I'm not gonna sweat too much.

[Kernel Sohcahtoa]

The first civilization in the Milky Way galaxy with the technology (that includes us) with the will to use it (does not include us), can colonize the entire galaxy in some millions of years.  A far shorter period of time than the galaxy has existed

Cool thoughts, Vorlon.   However, does the concept of colonization have universal validity?  Perhaps different lifeforms could find other ways to interact with their environment, which wouldn't necessarily conform to human concepts and behaviors.

[vorlon13]

The greater number of civilizations you imagine existing in the galaxy, the greater the odds of one or more of them being VERY Darwinian and very gung ho on the idea they are the fittest and they want to survive by filling all the niches in the galaxy.

That's how lifeforms usually work. Aggressors win the petri dish, peacniks get eaten.

And at a certain level of technology, the galaxy itself starts to look like a petri dish . . .