Stephen Hawking; Aliens Likely to be Hostile.

[Neil]

Are you retarded? (yes)

Large insects are physiologically impossible.

Not really.

[garbon]

I love metanarratives about human nature!

[Fate]

Are you retarded? (yes)

Large insects are physiologically impossible.

Not really.

Yes really. The process of diffusion is universal. Insects on Earth live with the same surface area to volume restrictions as insects on Vega 4.

[Grey Fox]

What about giant insects that, you know, lived on Earth?

[The Brain]

I have always maintained that we should avoid revealing ourselves to alien civilizations unless it is to conquer them in one fell swoop.

I have never heard about Hawking being any good at politics though. His predictions in the field hold little value. Isn't he a physicist? 

[grumbler]

Not really.

If Neil is omnipotent, can he invent a Fate so trollish even Neil falls for the troll?

[Neil]

Yes really. The process of diffusion is universal. Insects on Earth live with the same surface area to volume restrictions as insects on Vega 4.

It's easy to change the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere or in the sea.  However, past a certain size, active respiration is required.

I think the point here is that you're not thinking hard enough.  Try being less stupid, and your problems will become much more manageable.

[Josephus]

What ever happened to that game? You know the one were you were supposed to build alien life from scratch and evolve; and was the most hyped game in Christendom?

[The Brain]

What ever happened to that game? You know the one were you were supposed to build alien life from scratch and evolve; and was the most hyped game in Christendom?

It transcended material existence.

[DontSayBanana]

Here's a thought: rather than greed, is it possible the technological innovation shown by humans is driven by vanity?  I'd see it as a sign that we perceive ourselves to be the peak of evolution, rather than a stopping point, so we devise more and more methods for forcing our environment to suit us rather than the opposite way around... .

[The Brain]

Here's a thought: rather than greed, is it possible the technological innovation shown by humans is driven by vanity?  I'd see it as a sign that we perceive ourselves to be the peak of evolution, rather than a stopping point, so we devise more and more methods for forcing our environment to suit us rather than the opposite way around... .

Have you seen young people today? We ARE the peak of evolution.

[DontSayBanana]

Here's a thought: rather than greed, is it possible the technological innovation shown by humans is driven by vanity?  I'd see it as a sign that we perceive ourselves to be the peak of evolution, rather than a stopping point, so we devise more and more methods for forcing our environment to suit us rather than the opposite way around... .

Have you seen young people today? We ARE the peak of evolution.

I rest my case.

[garbon]

Have you seen young people today? We ARE the peak of evolution.

Also the idea of changing oneself to suit one's environment is morally repugnant. Should our primary duty in life be to adopt a pose?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

I find this argument over something no one could possibly know to be most amusing.  I especially enjoy the entirely uninformed speculation about how likely various completely hypothetical scenarios are.

Do carry on.  *pops popcorn*

It's Hawking's bleated april fool's joke. 

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Way too many ifs.

Aliens could be so advanced as to just observe us as lab pets, and we wouldn't even know about them.

They could be beings we can barely percieve (different molecular structures and densities, for example) and we could be sharing a planet with them without even knowing.

They could be microscopic.

Maybe they cannot even "think" like we do, but able to percieve/change things in a way we can't even fathom.

Maybe they'll look just like us (and then we could have an old-fashioned war).

Impossible to tell. Maybe Humans will just be terrified of it all and try to kill all aliens.

We'll only know when it happens.

they will not, however, be communists