Stephen Hawking claims aliens exist and are likely hostile

[MessiahDecoy123]

How serious should we take this? He is one of the smartest men alive but his theory sounds like something you would read in High Times magazine.

http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/stephen-hawking-says-aliens-exist/19453924http://www.aolnews.com/nation/artic...d-near-president-barack-obamas-plane/19453712

 

[B]

Aliens/Extraterrestrial life does exist. I'm certain of it.

Considering the sheer size of the galaxy & indeed the entier universe, you'd be a fool to assume that Earth is the only planet with some form of life on it.

I'd also pretty much agree with his speculative theory that alien life could be too hostile to try & communicate with should such an opportunity arise. Put it this way, I wouldn't try & communicate with an Alien if it looked like Cameron's Alien, Predator or any other type of Alien we've cooked up in our imagination..

 

[huskerwebhead]

The odds that we are the only planet that supports life in this "infinite" expanse of space is, to me, extremely small. That being said, the odds that any life out there looks anything remotely similar to Humans (i.e. two arms, two legs, ten fingers, ten toes, etc.) or is even composed of the same elements is near impossible/improbable.

And I'm afraid that would be a huge obstacle for any alien contact. People have this image in their mind of a bipedal being that is similar to us. Klingons, Wookies, little green men, etc. All very relate-able to our own image. If something ever does visit us, it'll be completely foreign in body structure....and that'll likely scare the piss out of everyone.

 

[Matt]

Once again, the whole argument that "Because the universe is so big, odds are life is out there," is faulty. I am not saying one way or another, but to base the idea of extra terrestrial life on that is foolish. After all, there is a key variable missing from that equation. We do not know under what circumstances intelligent life is formed. We can be the one in one zillion chance or we can be incredibly common. Until we know that variable there is no way to know one way or another.

Beyond that, I find Hawkings' line of thinking to be off. "Nomads looking for conquest and conquer." He is making the vital flaw of assuming their culture would be like ours. For all we know, conquest is an entirely foreign concept to ETs. I mean, to write off a species that could master intergalactic travel as "nomads," is a bit naive.

 

[BlackLantern]

I think its sound...if a species has managed intergalactic space travel, they could easily look at us and be like "We can take 'em"

 

[chamber-music]

I wish Stephen Hawkin finished his claim that aliens exsist and are hostile with "which is why I have built a giant alien killer robot to protect us" t:

 

[Morg]

Hostile and sexy

 

[Gilpesh]

I wish Stephen Hawkin finished his claim that aliens exsist and are hostile with "which is why I have built a giant alien killer robot to protect us" t:

He was thinking that. As he doesn't want everyone to run to him when the plot of Independence Day happens.

 

[The Lizard]

I think its sound...if a species has managed intergalactic space travel, they could easily look at us and be like "We can take 'em"

Possible, but if a species is advanced enough to have mastered intergalactic space travel, they might also have the attitude of "We don't need to take 'em". They could very well be at a super-advanced level of development where they are completely self-sufficient and don't need to take resources from other inhabited planets at all.

 

[Gilpesh]

Possible, but if a species is advanced enough to have mastered intergalactic space travel, they might also have the attitude of "We don't need to take 'em". They could very well be at a super-advanced level of development where they are completely self-sufficient and don't need to take resources from other inhabited planets at all.

They might also have the attitude of, "We don't need to take 'em.... but probably should as these power hungry apes shouldn't be let off this planet."

 

[Carcharodon]

Aliens/Extraterrestrial life does exist. I'm certain of it.

Considering the sheer size of the galaxy & indeed the entier universe, you'd be a fool to assume that Earth is the only planet with some form of life on it.

I'd also pretty much agree with his speculative theory that alien life could be too hostile to try & communicate with should such an opportunity arise. Put it this way, I wouldn't try & communicate with an Alien if it looked like Cameron's Alien, Predator or any other type of Alien we've cooked up in our imagination..

You mean those bull**** depictions of aliens with anthropomorphic features? Don't worry.

 

[huskerwebhead]

Once again, the whole argument that "Because the universe is so big, odds are life is out there," is faulty. I am not saying one way or another, but to base the idea of extra terrestrial life on that is foolish. After all, there is a key variable missing from that equation. We do not know under what circumstances intelligent life is formed. We can be the one in one zillion chance or we can be incredibly common. Until we know that variable there is no way to know one way or another.

I disagree. First, let me clarify that when I say life, I'm talking life...period. Not specifically "intelligent" or "sentient" life. I'd even suggest that not "knowing how intelligent life is formed" would actually work in favor of life existing elsewhere. If we limit the formation of life to just what we know, then you are limited to only a specific criteria (planet of specific size, distance from star, quantity of water, atmosphere content, etc.). However, as a species, we are naturally going to look for life on planets that is as close to our as possible in the hopes that we share similar traits or environmental requirements.

If you believe that life on this planet evolved by a series of chance encounters (or however you want to classify it) and became what we are after millions of years it's logical to assume a similar process could have played out on another planet. We know there are "earth-like" planets out there just within the tiniest percentage of the universe that we are able to view. We know that certain building blocks for life are floating around on asteroids and comets throughout the universe. We know that life can exist in the harshest of environments, enduring extreme heat or extreme cold.

 

[The Lizard]

They might also have the attitude of, "We don't need to take 'em.... but probably should as these power hungry apes shouldn't be let off this planet."

But...that would violate the Prime Directive.


Seriously though - there are too many unknown variables, like Matt said, to form a valid opinion.
If the aliens are lucky enough to come from a world with an easily-accessible power source that allows interstellar travel, and they discovered that power source early enough in their development, then yes, they might be hostile or greedy due to the lack of social development in their society in comparison with their technological abilities.

However, the exact opposite could be true, and the aliens are now so advanced socially and mentally as well as technologically that they wouldn't notice or even care about a planet as comparatively undeveloped as ours.

Or maybe the exact formula needed for intelligent life to evolve in the universe is so rare, that we are the very first, and are currently alone.

Or maybe the rest of the intelligent life in this galaxy has died off without ever achieving interstellar travel, and we're the last ones left.

It's fun to theorize, but the gaps in our knowledge are just too gargantuan to have any clue to the reality of the situation.

 

[Majic Walrus]

What I find ridiculous is trying to catalog aliens into being nomadic or hostile. Those things may not even be conceptual ideas where these aliens are coming from, furthermore it's unlikely that if they are using advanced FTL space travel that they somehow "need" us or our planet for anything that they are using.

But that all goes out the window when, for all the information we have, aliens might exist and they might ride flying motorcycles that run on baby's tears and horse adrenal glands. Like Matt said there really just isn't enough information to be able to make any conclusion.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I agree that there must be something else out there.

Earth is a mere grain of sand on a beach. So what, out of a whole beach worth of sand, our little grain is the only one with some kind of life? Yea... no.

In fact i think there is more chance there is something else out there than not.

But will we ever encounter this other life?

 

[:eek:]

Considering how exotic new species found here on Earth can look like, I think it's a safe bet that if and when we ever discover life on another planet it will look nothing we ever seen or imagined before.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

What if it doesn't actually have a physical form? Like i dunno, a space ghost that possesses us? Now that would be ****ed up.

 

[BlackLantern]

Ace just doesn't want to get anal probed

 

[Raiden]

With billions upon billions of stars, planets, and even galaxies, even if the chance of having intelligent life forms outside Earth is billions-to-one odd, it's still a good chance that it could happen. The question is whether those alien life forms can track us down among the stars, because it's like needles in a haystack and there's a greater probability that we'd missed each other, but I do believe that some aliens may have visited our planet already and we just don't know it (or there was a cover-up somewhere).

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Ace just doesn't want to get anal probed

Hey man i'd prefer a bit of a probing rather than being possessed by some space demon.

Unless like, it was benevolent and gave me super powers!

 

[Iron_Stark]

Hostile or not, I just want to see an alien before I die.

 

[Paradoxium]

The main problem I have is "time". The odds of co-existing co-currently are very slim.

 

[Gilpesh]

even if the chance of having intelligent life forms outside Earth is billions-to-one odd

I think that is why the excuse that the universe is huge is a sound one. Even if the chances of life showing up are one in a billion.... the universe is large enough that it could have happened a few times already.

 

[The Lizard]

What if it doesn't actually have a physical form? Like i dunno, a space ghost that possesses us?

I couldn't resist.

 

[Maximum Carnage]

It's interesting to think about making contact with them, and what would happen. A unified Earth against a common enemy is hard to imagine.. haha.