Writer's Block: Take me to your leader!

[i_amthecosmos]

[Error: unknown template qotd]When I was four, I looked up into the night sky and saw a "UFO". I later figured out that it was a plane flying at night. I have a skeptical outlook, but a mind informed by too many sci-fi and horror movies. When I see a small brown thing run across my kitchen floor out of the corner of my eye, I think "brownie or gnome" before I think "mouse in the kitchen!". And it's always a mouse.

The mind can come up with anything it wants, but there is no evidence to support UFO's. Do I believe there is life on other planets? Sure. Do I believe there is intelligent life on other planets? It seems possible. Do I think many, many ships from intelligent life forms on other planets are coming here for no known fucking reason? NO. If they *are* coming, and I am wrong, then Stephen Hawkings is probably right and we should metaphorically run like hell.

Comments

[mark356.livejournal.com]

I was like that for years. I'd look up and say "It's a UFO!" and my dad would say, "No, Mark, that one's a plane."

I'm sure that there is intelligent life on other planets too. And it would be so awesome to get to know what they're like!

[i-amthecosmos.livejournal.com]

"It's a great big universe, and we're all really puny/we're just tiny little specks about the size of Mickey Rooney"-Animaniacs.

Considering how big the universe is, the very fragile conditions for life must have been met somewhere else as well. But we'll probably never know who these people/Sleesaks/giant bees/squids are, as inventing ships than can go a huge enough distance to make our podunk planet is pretty fucking hard. And if they're coming that far, I see no reason to assume they are friendly.

[firiel77.livejournal.com]

I grew up on Star Trek. So for me, like on other planets is a given.

Whether they ever stumble onto us is another thing. I read somewhere that the fact that we've only had electronic communication for say, 100 years, would make us difficult to detect.

[i-amthecosmos.livejournal.com]

Talked it over with my husband and he described it as a paradox: if there was a civilazatin advanced enough to have insteller travel, why isn't it here yet?

Then we talked about how rare life might be (hard to figure out, since we have only one example known to us), and then, from that, figured out that intelligent life didn't exist for billions of years.

So, I think there is life (bacteria, protozans, jellyfish?) on other planets. I think there is possibly intelligent life on other planets (humanoids, incredibly smart squids?).

I don't think we will ever meet them. And if we do, the historical relationship between people of advanced technology vs. those with less advanced has never gone well for the less advanced civilization. So, best not to draw attention to ourselves.

[firiel77.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's another point. Even with life on other planets, the galaxy is so vast that we all may never bump into each other, especially since we are kind of located on the fringe.

And definitely, I don't want to belong to the less advanced civilization should this meeting take place.

[i-amthecosmos.livejournal.com]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy probably had it right: "A small planet in the unfashionable part of the universe".

Of course, we have big mouths and are broadcasting our tv shows and music and god knows what else out into the universe all the time. Let's hope it fades off after a few light years.

[firiel77.livejournal.com]

With any luck, they'll hear Celine Dion and decide to stay away.