Comments on: Alien Invasion

By: edhardyly

edhardyly — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 06:35:41 +0000

they should not already have been here, but already be deconstructing our solar system for use as raw materials. And their Dyson spheres should be practically filling the sky.

By: Travis

Travis — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:49:48 +0000

Ya i guess the debate on whether pluto is a planet or not is dwarfed by the threats of aliens, i think we should monitor humans waving at the galleons

By: A realistic look at a close encounter of the third kind « David Kirkpatrick

A realistic look at a close encounter of the third kind « David Kirkpatrick — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:10:17 +0000

[...] @ 4:09 pm This post from J. Storrs Hall at Nanodot, the blog of the Foresight Institute, offers a dystopian, and realistic, view of how mankind’s first encounter with extraterrestrial intell… will likely play [...]

By: Troythulu’s Fluxus Quo « The Call of Troythulu

Troythulu’s Fluxus Quo « The Call of Troythulu — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:30:22 +0000

[...] Alien Invasion — Here’s a piece on what alien contact might likely be like — not biological ETIs, but sentient nanotech robots, who would probably not ride around in a starship — they’d BE the starship. This has a nice usage of the Kardashevian concept of Type I , II , and III civilizations, the most likely candidates for extraterrestrial contact for those of us living on this pale blue dot… [...]

By: Ryk E. Spoor

Ryk E. Spoor — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:12:27 +0000

I’ve seen those arguments before, and they encounter a number of roadblocks — at least if, as you appear to, they are stated as “this IS the way things MUST be”.

First, of course, is the Fermi Paradox; if it was like that, why haven’t they already come through here and converted our solar system? If any other intelligent beings had evolved in our galaxy, and your description of their progression was inevitable, a few million years headstart on us (hardly an eyeblink on the cosmic scale) and they should not already have been here, but already be deconstructing our solar system for use as raw materials. And their Dyson spheres should be practically filling the sky.

Second, speaking purely as a meaty intellect who’s read Frankenstein and watched Terminator, there’s some reason to believe that the meaty types might be highly reluctant to MAKE hyperintelligent AIs. I have little interest in seeing some non-human set of machines one day deconstruct planets and build Dyson Spheres. Human beings doing those things as the directors of the machines, yes. But not creating machines that would consider me to be nonintelligent. Thanks, no, been there, read that story.

Third, unless there’s some immensely important reason to travel to other solar systems, star travel using your assumptions is, well, unlikely. Why WOULD you send out nanoconversion probes to begin with? What do you get out of it?

By: patrick stephens at psjs.net » Alien contact

patrick stephens at psjs.net » Alien contact — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:44:42 +0000

[...] came across this the other day (HT Instapundit) which cheerily discusses the problems inherent in plausibly [...]

By: my conscience

my conscience — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:08:01 +0000

I might suggest doing a little research into the Mayan “Tun” calendar. The development of consciouness as a whole on/of our planet, in our galaxy, and apparently in our universe next may yield interesting results. “You are only conscious of what you pay attention to…” may make the temperment of alien life-forms directly related to how we (the conscious collective) percieve them. I’d like to elaborate, but using an on-screen keyboard is killing me…… percievably

By: robomatic

robomatic — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:31:39 +0000

Visualize a world at peace. Visualize a world that has overcome violence and weapons of mass distruction, that has come to universal peace and harmony.

Now visualize us taking over that world, because they’d never be able to defend themselves from us in time!

By: James

James — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:19:19 +0000

I like the concept of nanotechnology AI robots as a mode of space exploration. My problem with the article is it assumes an alien culture would have similar values and judgments as to what the consider “expensive”.
It is not logical to assume motivations and standards of an alien species to be relative in that manner.
If this article were presented as merely an option of possibility instead of the “most likely” I would have no real problem with this article.
Broad assumptions are not science and they are ultimately destructive in the process of heading towards scientific truths.

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:07:15 +0000

Fef:Brett_McS
I’m with you, my dad always said I was nothing like him.
As for Pan spermia the guilt will always be with me, mea culpa,mea culpa. I have now moved to wetwipes.