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What do we do if SETI is successful?

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174 points leephillips | 2 comments | 20 Oct 25 17:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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leeroyjenkins11 ◴[20 Oct 25 20:26 UTC] No.45648851[source]▶
Get better camouflage so we don't get get found in the Dark Forrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_forest_hypothesis

>The name of the hypothesis derives from Liu Cixin's 2008 novel The Dark Forest, as in a "dark forest" filled with "armed hunter(s) stalking through the trees like ghosts". According to the dark forest hypothesis, since the intentions of any newly contacted civilization can never be known with certainty, then if one is encountered, it is best to make a preemptive strike, in order to avoid the potential extinction of one's own species. The novel provides a detailed investigation of Liu's concerns about alien contact.

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sdwr ◴[20 Oct 25 22:37 UTC] No.45650311[source]▶
That's an allegory for life under authoritarian rule, not a literal alien contact plan
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1. cousinbryce ◴[20 Oct 25 23:47 UTC] No.45650845[source]▶
Bold to assume aliens will ascribe to something besides despotism
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2. kulahan ◴[21 Oct 25 20:09 UTC] No.45661026[source]▶
You can't imagine that one single alien race anywhere will deviate from this?

Wouldn't that kinda imply that your vision on the topic is almost certainly wrong anyways?