←back to thread

What do we do if SETI is successful?

(www.universetoday.com)
174 points leephillips | 1 comments | 20 Oct 25 17:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
Show context
theletterf ◴[21 Oct 25 20:50 UTC] No.45661520[source]▶
For a somber, deeply intellectual view of what could happen, I can't recommend enough Stanislaw Lem's His Master's Voice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice_%28novel%...

"Given that our civilization is unable to assimilate well even those concepts that originate in human heads when they appear outside its main current, although the creators of those concepts are, after all, children of the same age—how could we have assumed that we would be capable of understanding a civilization totally unlike ours, if it addressed us across the cosmic gulf?"

replies(3): >>45662589 #>>45663901 #>>45665230 #
themafia ◴[21 Oct 25 22:34 UTC] No.45662589[source]▶
Me and my dog cannot talk.

I understand my dog and he understands me.

If they experience death then we have massive common ground already.

replies(8): >>45662621 #>>45662679 #>>45662695 #>>45664653 #>>45664797 #>>45667041 #>>45667550 #>>45668911 #
beAbU ◴[21 Oct 25 22:36 UTC] No.45662621[source]▶
And you are comfortable being the dog in this cosmic relationship then?
replies(3): >>45662662 #>>45662743 #>>45665153 #
estimator7292 ◴[21 Oct 25 22:52 UTC] No.45662743[source]▶
Does it make you uncomfortable to think an alien civilization might be somehow superior to humans? That's a pretty immature thing to be insecure about.
replies(4): >>45662901 #>>45664760 #>>45664892 #>>45665462 #
dustfinger ◴[21 Oct 25 23:06 UTC] No.45662901{4}[source]▶
If they mean us harm, then yes, I am insecure about it.
replies(1): >>45663509 #
1. ZenoArrow ◴[22 Oct 25 00:19 UTC] No.45663509{5}[source]▶
What if they're indifferent about our existence? Would you be insecure knowing that a superior species existed that didn't think we were interesting enough to be bothered with?