Re: starship-design: Aliens, why haven't they contact us?

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/8/97 7:32:34 AM, TLG.van.der.Linden@tip.nl (Timothy van
der Linden) wrote:

>Kelly,
>
>>>Why would the aliens not wear special suits that are near 100% bioshields?
>>
>>If anything leaks out.  It sould stand out like a neon sign.  (HEY!  This
>>species of microbe doesn't use our kind of DNA!!)
>
>If a few bacteria leak out, they may very well be killed before they can
>replicate and mutate.
>And if indeed aliens are in abundance, they may have infected Earth long
ago.
>Furthermore, there is speculation that microbes come to Earth by meteorites
>and dirty snowballs every day.

Why?  If they were alien, the local life form would have no adaptations tuned
for them.  Usually that sort of thing leads to major pagues.

As to the microbes from space, thats a very thinly defined theory.  Besides
it still gets back to no signs of alien organisms alive here now.

>>>As many suggest, aliens might cause an unwanted psychological effect
>>>(apathy, hysteria) in most cultures. A reasonable alien race would not
just
>>>make contact without thought. Therefore it is likely that they still hide.
>>
>>This ones kind of a bogus prejudice on 20th century types part.
>> Historiocally human cultures routinely ran into alien non person cultures.
>> Ok, most were just the next tribe over.  But to them that was as
shockingly
>>alien as aliens would be to us.  The tribes seldom wen't hysterical and
>>colapsed at the site.  If they were in conflict they fought.  If not they
>>tried to trade or ignored one another.
>
>You may have a point about older cultures. But I believe that for many today
>the world view would change more than they could cope with. My best guess
>is, that old civilisations believed in miracles, so a strange species wasn't
>much of a shock. (I believe that several European explorers where seen as
gods)
>A reason to believe that mentality has changed too is that not so many
>centuries ago, the fear for the unknown was really bad (witchhunt).

I doubt aliens would change anything for people.  Oh it would be an
interesting spike in conversation (like the microbes from Mars) but it
doesn't change anything fundamental.  The bulk of folks expect their is life
out their.  Haviong it show up would be a shock, but not one that effects
anything fundamental to us.

Sort of like the moon landings.  People thought that would change everything.
 It changed nearly nothing.


>One may wonder why old civilisations never benefited from alien
>intervention. Maybe they did, but where not interested in technological
>progres. Or maybe they didn't because aliens may have little incentive to
>help us out.

How could they?  They certainly were in no position to buy or use high tech.
 Certainly no reason to give it to us.  


>In one of our private discussions you also mentioned apathy as a result of
>seeing that others are much more advanced and discovered long ago what you
>only held possible in your dreams.
>
>Also for quite some time, sudden balance shifts in economical and military
>power would have been rather critical.
>This can't be bogus, otherwise I'd see little reason for certain programs to
>be secret (stealth planes).

They keep them secret so the other side doesn't have a chance to prepare to
defend against them, or copy them.  Niether a big concern for aliens.

Also abos confrounted with culture vastly beyond theirs don't fold up and
die.  They just want in!


>>Besides.  We never worry much about droping in on aborigional cultures.
>
>The reason for us dropping in on aborigional cultures is usually for
>resources. What happened to the aboriginals seemed to be less important with
>the result that it disappeared rather fast.
>
>Aliens are likely to have little interest in resources on Earth, so
>contacting us would likely only create problems.
>
>Tim

We destroy or push aside abos for their land, but we drop in as
anthropologists.  Not to trash them.

If Aliens came all this way, we'ld be the major area of interest on this
rock.

Kelly