NationStates Jolt Archive

I was re-reading Carl Sagan's novel Contact last night, and it got me thinking: how would people respond if we picked up an undoubtedly intelligent signal from deep space? A sequence of repeating primes (as in the novel)? Would people panic? Would people rejoice? Would religion collapse as it attempted to explain beings which are not mentioned in their holy books?

How would you, as an individual, respond, and how do you think the world would as a whole?

I would probably find a nice high place to watch the show from. Things will get interesting. :)

Would religion collapse as it attempted to explain beings which are not mentioned in their holy books?

They'll do what they always do when their base is further eroded - claim that it isn't and bury their heads in the sand.

I watched the film last night, it was on channel 5.

Frankly I think the book is probably quite accurate in terms of the response such a signal would get.

I would be quite interested in it, though IDK about other people. Contact was a fun book.

Probably not a lot. Maybe I would say "Meh..."

We'd invite them here, then kill all of them and take their technology.

We'd invite them here, then kill all of them and take their technology.

I don't think they'd fall for it. That's probably how they got the technology. ;)

i would probably do some sort of dance, i mean is it really that bigger deal if they exist or not? it wouldn't change my lifem its like there being more humans with very different cultures


science is wrong, religion is wrong, maths is wrong, logic reason etc are wrong, emotion is wrong and all ideas are wrong! get over it


:confused: wtf was that????

I'd probably be excited about it and very, very, very curious.

My guess is that politicians would try to exploit the contact in any way possible, while religions would largely doubt it, look for creationist explanations or simply deny it's happening (conspiracy theory, anyone?).

But I somehow doubt it would significantly change my life.

Would religion collapse as it attempted to explain beings which are not mentioned in their holy books?
Most beings aren't mentioned in anyone's holy books (ie, sulphur-based ecosystems), but that has hardly put a stop to religion. As much as some people like to pretend otherwise, the Bible isn't a Biology Textbook.

I'd be very excited, and probably cry for joy that I'd live long enough to see this happen. Like Cabra says, though, I'm not sure it would materially change my life. Unless the signal was coming from the Moon, meaning they'd be phoning for reservations in the next day or so. That would be scary and exhilirating!

I would call everyone I could think of. Then go celebrate. And then come to NSG and read all the discussion of the implications of such a discovery. ;)

I would be overjoyed beyond words, even more then I will be when we create a fully sapient computer. This would be the greatest discovery in human history...we would now know, irrevocably, that we are not alone and that intelligent life exists and thrives in our universe. It would be an event capable of motivating a burst of discovery and growth unprecedented in human history.

Of course, that's why I crunch Seti@home; it might not do much, but every little bit helps.

This would be the greatest discovery in human history...we would now know, irrevocably, that we are not alone and that intelligent life exists and thrives in our universe. It would be an event capable of motivating a burst of discovery and growth unprecedented in human history.
How would this be that much bigger than the discovery of the New World, where the Europeans discovered that they weren't alone on Earth?

How would this be that much bigger than the discovery of the New World, where the Europeans discovered that they weren't alone on Earth?

They had known this before, actually. They were well aware of Africa and Asia ;)

We are, however, currently not aware of a single other inhabited planet.

Well, imagine all of the territory and resources of the New World raised to billions of orders of magnitude, with less genocide. Also aliens that have technology and might want to trade.

You're right, I bet they don't have Silly String and salad shooters and George Foreman Grills and ... and ... Wonder Bras and all the stuff Ron Popeel used to sell on TV at three in the morning! We'll be rich!

And at the very least they might be able to fix the friggin' time warps on Jolt!

How would this be that much bigger than the discovery of the New World, where the Europeans discovered that they weren't alone on Earth?

Well, imagine all of the territory and resources of the New World raised to billions of orders of magnitude, with less genocide. Also aliens that have technology and might want to trade.

Well, imagine all of the territory and resources of the New World raised to billions of orders of magnitude, with less genocide.
I'm not so sure if I'm willing to credit the human race, or its hypothetical alien counterpart, that much at this point.
[QUOTE=Vetalia;12240097]Also aliens that have technology and might want to trade.
Of course, Blu-Ray DVDs and microwave popcorn should be worth, at least, the secret of Faster-Than-Light travel.

I'm not so sure if I'm willing to credit the human race, or its hypothetical alien counterpart, that much at this point.

Notice I said less genocide, not no genocide. I imagine we'll split the difference and just wipe out some other civilization instead of taking it out on each other.

Of course, Blu-Ray DVDs and microwave popcorn should be worth, at least, the secret of Faster-Than-Light travel.

Don't forget the sausage on a stick, lattes or the fleshlight.

I'd go around telling I told you so to all the people who told me I was an idiot for thing there was intellegient life else where in the universe.;)

no one would panic. no religion would collapse

the pope would call the bishops and cardinals together to talk about whether or not aliens get into heaven. the results will be made public in 200 years or so.

some cults would grow up around the assumptions on what such beings would be like.

life would go on pretty much the same as before.

no one would panic. no religion would collapse

the pope would call the bishops and cardinals together to talk about whether or not aliens get into heaven. the results will be made public in 200 years or so.

some cults would grow up around the assumptions on what such beings would be like.

life would go on pretty much the same as before.

Remminds me of a sci-fi short story I read years ago in a collection called "Wandering Stars" (Jewish sci-fi). It had to do with the deliberations of some rabbis on the question of whether a certain alien race, one that performed everything necessary to be considered Jews, actually could be considered Jews, despite being shaped like little pink pillows. I believe they were accepted, but it was an amusing take on dealing with extraterrestrial life from a religious view-point.

I'd hope that it was somehow an echo of one of our own signals or of some interplanetary noise and not a deliberate radio wave at all. The last thing the universe needs is more "intelligent" life.

I was re-reading Carl Sagan's novel Contact last night, and it got me thinking: how would people respond if we picked up an undoubtedly intelligent signal from deep space? A sequence of repeating primes (as in the novel)? Would people panic? Would people rejoice? Would religion collapse as it attempted to explain beings which are not mentioned in their holy books?

How would you, as an individual, respond, and how do you think the world would as a whole?

i'd probably be quite excited, a little scared, but ultimately i would get on with my daily life as usual

Hopefully, it'd be a total revolution in the way humanity views itself in relation to the universe. I'd bet it'd be up there on the list of the most important discoveries of all time, if not at the top. Hopefully, we could get some decent communications going with the ETI, since it's vanishingly unlikely that they'd have the technology to show up on our doorstep in any reasonable length of time (probably good, given the concerns of warfare that most people would inevitably have).

Anyways, I'd be thrilled, and I would hope everyone else would be too.

I bet the scientologists would be happy. It'd almost prove that they were in fact right. So for God's sake, pray that we never find intelligent life in the universe.

i'd pour myself another pint of beer. that is, if they arrived after march 24th. if they arrived before then i'd give them a piece of my mind and send them back to the moon to think about what they have done.

i'd pour myself another pint of beer. that is, if they arrived after march 24th. if they arrived before then i'd give them a piece of my mind and send them back to the moon to think about what they have done.

Silly, there is no moon. That's a conspiracy made up by the liberal media to make us think there is no God, or something.