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RE: starship-design: Fermi's Paradox, etc...



Hmm, why didn't we use this analogy before?

> >....As far as what they would do to us...if they are advanced
> > enough to be travelling the galaxy, why would they need
> > to trample a petty civilization like us?

1) Sheer accident, we got in the way of their backyard swimming pool...
2) Pest control...
3) Petty civilizations taste good...

> > do you go up to an anthill and look at it? I do. Do you try
> > to establish communication with said anthill? I used to.

Only when I was a child. Then like as not I would stomp on it just to see
what happened. well if you call poking it with a stick communicating...

> > Most of the time, we just pass anthills over. The
> > older generation, more wiser, usually ignores them.....

See 1-3 above.
>
> Unless of course you think they might spread.  Or you want to expant your
> backyard.
>
> re the odd anthill, but there isn't a corner of this glob we
> haven't wandered
> through and mixed up a bit.  A few rainforests in the way.  A dam
> to control
> an irratable river.
>
> ead predator species that we thought migh become a problem one
> day.  Preditors
> like us..

Of course, so far this analogy assumes we aren't a different species of ant;
which will do its best to wipe out the nest of ANY other queen, even of the
same species. Or worse, an ant lion or trap door spider, ummm, we taste good
too! Okay, lets get even more intelligent, an anteater, arguably quite
advanced compared to an ant. A monkey, poke the stick in and lick the ants
off. A man, lets fry them and eat them...

Ahh well, there don't seem to be any E.T.s out there which maybe is just as
well.

p.s. Kelly, you are killing my spell checker again!

Lee Parker