Reappraisal of the Viking Mars Mission and the possibility of life

[Tamas]

We keep savagly killing each other and exploiting everything there is to exploit, while constantly growing in population, level of advance, and energy reserves to tap from the planet. Granted, with a few dark ages here and there, but there is no sign pointing to our dissappearance as a species.

We've came bloody close even despite being a peaceful species.
Imagine the typical aliens from alien invasion sillyness where Hitler would be counted as a hippy and...the outlook is not good.
Also, fighting over resources in space is just insane. Even if we're in the star trek universe with sentient species in every other system there's still a lot of space out there

We came close to setting us back several hundred years, yes, MAYBE, in 1962.

Otherwise, we are anything but a peaceful species. We are chimpanzees in pants.

[Josquius]

We came close to setting us back several hundred years, yes, MAYBE, in 1962.

Otherwise, we are anything but a peaceful species. We are chimpanzees in pants.

Of course we're a peaceful species.
That isn't to say we're entirely peaceful of course, we are still animals. As South Africa passes for a rich African country however humanity is a peaceful animal.
Still a lot of core animalistic behaviour in there but hell, one use of the very word humanity is about not behaving according to base urges.
I'm so sick of the hippy crap about humans being especially violent and nasty when its the animals that are the bad ones.

We've came bloody close even despite being a peaceful species.

When was this?

The cold war.

[The Brain]

Otherwise, we are anything but a peaceful species. We are chimpanzees in pants.

Hardly.

[Jacob]

We are chimpanzees in pants.

Speak for yourself.

[Razgovory]

The cold war.

That's not close.  We didn't even kill a hundred million people during that.  It would take a lot to kill off humanity.  We don't really have the technology to do so now.

[Eddie Teach]

Yeah, plus even if the US and Russia nuked each other several times over there'd be little damage done to South America or Africa.

[crazy canuck]

If humanity today with all of our problems and conflicts were to somehow get out into space and discover aliens we wouldn't invade.

You are not basing this on past experience of humans encountering other humans who were technologically less advanced so I wonder what is it that draws you to this conclusion?

[Malthus]

If humanity today with all of our problems and conflicts were to somehow get out into space and discover aliens we wouldn't invade.

You are not basing this on past experience of humans encountering other humans who were technologically less advanced so I wonder what is it that draws you to this conclusion?

We wouldn't invade, exactly - we'd get those aliens hooked on booze or drugs, "buy" bits of alien real estate for beads and trinkets, and on those patches set up the alien equivalent of McDonalds franchises while flooding their airwaves with crappy soap operas and Japanese game shows.

Before long, the alien planet would hum with human commerce while the original aliens begged in the gutters, or get hearded onto slummy reservations.

In short, we would not engage in a bloody orgy orgy of genocide ... we'd think of something worse. 

[Eddie Teach]

The real test would be how we respond when they kill off the first wave of settlers.

[crazy canuck]

In short, we would not engage in a bloody orgy orgy of genocide ... we'd think of something worse. 

[Neil]

Besides, once a high technology species falls back to pre- or early industrial technology, they can't recover on their own.  How would they get energy?

From their star.

There's no reason the second industrial revolution has to take place as quickly as the first one.

Unfortunately, the radiant energy of the star generally proves too difficult to capture and use.