Would finding life on another planet change life on earth?

[frogwoman]

I sometimes listen to a lot of space related podcasts and have read several books on the subject as well as being a fan of sci fi. Most of the time it is claimed that finding aliens would be the biggest discovery ever and would entail a change to life on earth that was completely fundamental. For example, SETI say that the decision to contact aliens or not should be a planet wide decision involving every single country. Some people have predicted it would lead to an end to wars etc as the whole of earth would have to cooperate.

But I'm not sure it would change anything tbh. Unless the aliens actually planned to interfere with our lives in any way why would it? If they found a civilisation on a distant planet and that species never contacted us at all or just sent a generic message saying 'I hope you are well' or something like that, then I think some people would be ecstatic but I can't picture world peace or even say an end to arguments on urban75 etc as a result or anything like that.

What do you all think?

 

[danny la rouge]

"Klaatu barada nikto“ is what I think.

 

[Voley]

just sent a generic message saying 'I hope you are well' or something like that

That sounds like we just got their auto-reply. Best try them again when they're back off holiday.

 

[shifting gears]

I for one welcome etc

 

[frogwoman]

That sounds like we just got their auto-reply. Best try them again when they're back off holiday.

'Your x-ray signal is held in a queue. You are space telescope no. 6'

 

[danny la rouge]

That sounds like we just got their auto-reply. Best try them again when they're back off holiday.

 

[bcuster]

I think there would be questions regarding their technological capabilities and religious views

 

[littlebabyjesus]

My guess is that life is common in the universe. Can only be a hunch given that we're working from a sample size of one, but it follows from the Copernican principle, which is usually a decent guide, and I have high hopes of discovering life on a moon somewhere in the solar system within the next few decades.

But my guess is also that most life in the universe will be at the bacteria/archaea level of complexity, making it difficult to spot and possibly, for many people, underwhelming to discover (I'd be absolutely thrilled).

Discovering any life that can conclusively be shown to have started separately from life on Earth (with a different DNA/RNA code or something) would be enormously important and answer lots of currently open questions. It wouldn't help bring about world peace, though.

Discovering intelligent life that is trying to communicate with us or that we can potentially communicate with? Would be exciting for sure. Within the near future, I rate it as much less likely, though.

 

[A380]

If it was just knowledge of other intelligent life but with no prospect of contact or FTL communication I think that for a while humanity would be shocked and it might change our thinking. But after a couple of years most people would go back to their current perspectives and the like.

But I am happy to meet with other delicious succulent meat based humans to discus this further in an isolated location.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Yeah, just knowledge of intelligent aliens wouldn't change anything fundamental, I don't think. And relativity is a bitch.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

In sci-fi there always seems to be a 'President of Earth'
Would just electing one of those cause world peace or world destruction?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

"Klaatu barada nikto“ is what I think.

"There is nobody out there"?

 

[Yossarian]

I'd hope that possibly having to describe/display our planet to aliens might help us get our shit together on issues like climate change out of sheer embarrassment

"Yeah, we were going to get around to fixing that properly but hey, we've got a lot of stuff going on..."

 

[kabbes]

It would give us a united enemy that we could focus all our resources on setting out to destroy.

 

[The39thStep]

Would hopefully lead to a huge world wide surge of support for the Posadists

 

[Yossarian]

In sci-fi there always seems to be a 'President of Earth'
Would just electing one of those cause world peace or world destruction?

That's going to be another embarrassment if we get asked about it

"The president of Earth? There's about 200 of them but most of them are dicks, and a lot of them don't preside over many people.

The one who presides over the most people? Oh, he's a total dick, one of the worst, trust me, you don't want to have anything to do with that guy..."

 

[editor]

I sometimes listen to a lot of space related podcasts and have read several books on the subject as well as being a fan of sci fi. Most of the time it is claimed that finding aliens would be the biggest discovery ever and would entail a change to life on earth that was completely fundamental. For example, SETI say that the decision to contact aliens or not should be a planet wide decision involving every single country. Some people have predicted it would lead to an end to wars etc as the whole of earth would have to cooperate.

But I'm not sure it would change anything tbh. Unless the aliens actually planned to interfere with our lives in any way why would it? If they found a civilisation on a distant planet and that species never contacted us at all or just sent a generic message saying 'I hope you are well' or something like that, then I think some people would be ecstatic but I can't picture world peace or even say an end to arguments on urban75 etc as a result or anything like that.

What do you all think?

Religions would suddenly have to start rewriting their texts.

 

[frogwoman]

It would give us a united enemy that we could focus all our resources on setting out to destroy.

Would it though? I seriously doubt that say Netanyahu would suddenly think he has to unite with all the countries he doesn't like to get a chance to kill some aliens? Especially if the aliens were so far away that they weren't really doing anything?

 

[editor]

If any alien race had the advanced technology to rock up to our planet and introduce themselves, they'd have the ability to pummel us weaklings into dust.

 

[kabbes]

Would it though? I seriously doubt that say Netanyahu would suddenly think he has to unite with all the countries he doesn't like to get a chance to kill some aliens? Especially if the aliens were so far away that they weren't really doing anything?

Then we’ll all redouble our efforts to kill each other first so we can be the ones with the honour to kill the aliens. People, eh?

 

[frogwoman]

Then we’ll all redouble our efforts to kill each other first so we can be the ones with the honour to kill the aliens. People, eh?

I mean the threat of climate change was also meant to unify earth but I don't think it's done that tbh

 

[Saul Goodman]

But my guess is also that most life in the universe will be at the bacteria/archaea level of complexity, making it difficult to spot and possibly, for many people, underwhelming to discover

A bit like like Quora.

 

[A380]

That's going to be another embarrassment if we get asked about it

"The president of Earth? There's about 200 of them but most of them are dicks, and a lot of them don't preside over many people.

The one who presides over the most people? Oh, he's a total dick, one of the worst, trust me, you don't want to have anything to do with that guy..."

She, Droupadi Murmu; she's not that much of a dick is she? I don't know that much about her...

 

[A380]

These aliens? Do they have any oil?

 

[danny la rouge]

"There is nobody out there"?

It’s a useful command to stop robots obliterating Earth for being full of murderous quarrelsome arseholes.

On a more serious note, I do think the probability is that there is life out there. Including intelligent life.

I also think it’s unlikely to be able to travel the distances to meet us. As Douglas Adams put it: “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space”.

However, if we do manage to make contact, I think it’d be a moment of huge interest to the whole planet. We’d certainly turn the news channel on. And probably have a good think about a lot of stuff.

 

[danny la rouge]

Also, if they did visit (not at all likely but let’s imagine), we’d better have vaccines ready. Europeans wiped out the biggest numbers of people in the Americans not with steel and guns, but germs.

 

[bcuster]

Religions would suddenly have to start rewriting their texts.

not necessarily

 

[bcuster]

These aliens? Do they have any oil?

gold?

 

[Orang Utan]

only if we encounter them directly

 

[BristolEcho]

I really think there is life out there, or has been and will be again. Space is so ridiculously big and I think time gets seriously warped too.

We still don't even know much about life on earth. I was reading a video about the deep bisosphere under the earth's crust and the amount of life that is there.

If we did have contact I have no doubt the people that current hold control would fuck it up unfortunately.

If anyone has any good space YouTube channels id love some links.