Are We Alone in the Universe?

[Steve O]

As I said in a similar thread, either we're alone in the universe or we are not. Either way it kind of boggles the mind.

[CosmicBills]

I think he's talking about boxing.

Foxxy Boxing?

[PromoTheRobot]

I'll bet you're a real hoot at parties.

Well that's only one scenario. Lets face it, there are many ways civilizations can get wiped out. Some bad luck like a meteor strike, and others self-inflicted like a massive war, pollution, using up resources, etc.

 

Also consider that our "advanced" civilization has only been that way for less than a hundred years. 100 out of 4-5 billion! It's quite possible that any alien race we spy will be extinct by the time we respond, if they are anything like us.

 

This topic is discussed, among many others, by the top minds in the world on the TED Talks website. (I'd share a link but I'm posting on my phone right now.) Very thought-provoking.

 

PTR

Edited April 24, 2012 by PromoTheRobot

[dpberr]

I think the human race is a short story with a surprise ending.

 

The surprise being that for all of our wars and disagreements, religions and beliefs and pursuit of extraterrestrial life and belief in aliens...

 

...there is nothing out there. We've been talking about, worried about and occupied about...fiction.

 

There's no apocalypse coming. No zombies. No God from the heavens. No leprechauns granting wishes, no gods answering prayers.

 

No aliens in spaceships.

 

Life will just keep going and going and going for as long as the sun is around. Rather boring in a way.

 

I've always wondered if the human race would be better off knowing conclusively that we are the only game in town and that there is nothing "out there" and you don't go anywhere after you die. You're just dead.

 

Wonder if life would be valued more. Or society would fall apart without anything to believe in or dream about.

Edited April 24, 2012 by dpberr

[DC Tom]

by the top minds in the world on the TED Talks website.

 

Deference to "top minds" is nothing more than a crutch intellectually weak.

[Just Jack]

Deference to "top minds" is nothing more than a crutch intellectually weak.

So Sarah Silverman is not a top mind? (yes, she did have a TED talk)

[PromoTheRobot]

Deference to "top minds" is nothing more than a crutch intellectually weak.

Says the man who knows everything.

 

PTR

[DC Tom]

Says the man who knows everything.

 

PTR

 

Because I figure **** out on my own and don't defer to "Well, that's what top minds say..."

[PromoTheRobot]

Because I figure **** out on my own and don't defer to "Well, that's what top minds say..."

Oh really? Then maybe you can enlighten me on string theory and how it relates to a possible multiverse? Or how about describing how antiangiogenisis kills cancer cells? Or did you not understand what I meant by "top minds" as in people who actually study and understand things important to mankind?

 

People with their heads lodged in their colons think they can figure s**t out because s**t is all they know.

 

PTR

Edited April 25, 2012 by PromoTheRobot

[DC Tom]

Oh really? Then maybe you can enlighten me on string theory and how it relates to a possible multiverse? Or how about describing how antiangiogenisis kills cancer cells? Or did you not understand what I meant by "top minds" as in people who actually study and understand things important to mankind?

 

People with their heads lodged in their colons think they can figure s**t out because s**t is all they know.

 

PTR

 

Yeah, the first I can because...y'know...I actually did study it. The second...I can't, because I haven't. But notice I'm not claiming to know anything about it either, and certainly not because I saw a video including "top minds" discussing it.

 

But I'm the one who's full of ****. Not you. Sure.

[PromoTheRobot]

Yeah, the first I can because...y'know...I actually did study it. The second...I can't, because I haven't. But notice I'm not claiming to know anything about it either, and certainly not because I saw a video including "top minds" discussing it.

 

But I'm the one who's full of ****. Not you. Sure.

Your act is predictable...and boring. It's the mantra of the Right. Anyone smart is stupid. Ignore anyone or anything you disagree with. Just keep heading toward the light in the tunnel.

 

PTR

Edited April 25, 2012 by PromoTheRobot

[DC Tom]

Your act is predictable...and boring. It's the mantra of the Right. Anyone smart is stupid. Ignore anyone or anything you disagree with. Just keep heading toward the light in the tunnel.

 

PTR

 

I never said smart people aren't smart. I said people who reflexively defer to "top minds" aren't smart.

 

And I'm not a Republican, dumbass.

[Acantha]

So....we're pretty much screwed.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dylp6jr_sY

Edited May 2, 2012 by Faustus

[CosmicBills]

To go along with Faustus's post ... even Anonymous is getting in on the debate.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vm2iEFfQVM0

 

 

Promising that they now know the secrets of the Illuminati and are going to release the evidence to the world in short order.

Edited May 2, 2012 by tgreg99

[PastaJoe]

An alternative theory to UFOs being from another planet is that they are from our future, traveling back to observe history (and perhaps altering it).

[CosmicBills]

An alternative theory to UFOs being from another planet is that they are from our future, traveling back to observe history (and perhaps altering it).

That's one plausible theory. If you watch that (scary) video Faustus posted, they claim that their not aliens but inter-dimensional beings that the US Gov't first made contact with early on in the space race. And those beings have infiltrated our military and are preparing to wipe out the bulk of humanity.

 

Me? I like ET.

[ajzepp]

If I saw the sky look like it does at the 3min mark of the Faustus video (Russia, I think it was), I would honestly sh*t myself. I had heard about that jerusalem video but don't remember seeing it...that was really, really freaky. The fact that it was caught from a few different angles pretty much sold me that SOMETHING clearly happened, but what was it?

[Jim in Anchorage]

To go along with Faustus's post ... even Anonymous is getting in on the debate.

 

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vm2iEFfQVM0

 

 

Promising that they now know the secrets of the Illuminati and are going to release the evidence to the world in short order.

What are the Illuminati? It is daily referenced here. Is it a big movie or TV show I missed?

[ajzepp]

That's one plausible theory. If you watch that (scary) video Faustus posted, they claim that their not aliens but inter-dimensional beings that the US Gov't first made contact with early on in the space race. And those beings have infiltrated our military and are preparing to wipe out the bulk of humanity.

 

Me? I like ET.

 

I'll use a common movie quote here to express my view..."if they were going to kill us, they'd have done it by now."

[CosmicBills]

What are the Illuminati? It is daily referenced here. Is it a big movie or TV show I missed?

Illuminati are the Bigfoot of the conspiracy world. According to the myth, they're a group of elites with bloodlines that go back to the Pharaohs. They were given the gift of knowledge about the mankind's true existence and believed that information to be too dangerous for common people to come to terms with -- so they kept it secret. Passing it on in secret societies for generations while guiding the fate of humanity from the shadows. They're humanity's true rulers.

 

If you believe in that sort of thing of course.

 

I'll use a common movie quote here to express my view..."if they were going to kill us, they'd have done it by now."

I tend to agree with this as well. IF aliens do exist and IF they are aware of our planet and IF they have been or are continuing to visit us, it's probably not to do us harm. Doesn't mean it's necessarily for our benefit though.