Quote from: Kelly J. P. on December 22, 2012, 03:04:18 PM
If a doctor acted like that, he would be let go pretty quickly, and probably wouldn't get a good reference from that hospital. This selfish act would affect his life profoundly. It is unwise to sacrifice your career for recreational time. Furthermore, he would lose face.

So, the example of doctors showing up to do their job isn't a great example of selflessness. Doctoring makes good money, and it's a good way to practice your interest in anatomy and physiology. Helping people is a part of it, but being a doctor isn't selfless because of that - it's a trade.

Well, I stated "assuming they were capable of it". I'm sure it wouldn't be incredibly easy to wipe us all out, but it's probably possible with sufficiently advanced weapons. For the sake of the argument, discussing how difficult it would be for an alien race to take this planet for their own should be left for another thread.

Oh I am sure it would be a more fun thread to be honest if it were about our capabilities vs a possible alien existence. I shall make it now for the lulz.

Quote from: Shawn Sunshine on December 22, 2012, 03:13:12 PM
Or we could spread our germs and they all die.

I'm sure both would happen

I'm going to be hopeful that they're friendly aliens, because I want to play with alien technology!  Of course, the Prime Directive probably doesn't allow them to share with us (yet...)

Oh snap, playing with alien toys would be so fun!

I'm sure that every human can agree to that. 

Quote from: Shawn Sunshine on December 22, 2012, 03:09:25 PM
I have a better analogy for selfishness. Let's say Everyone is daffy duck , a mad hatter version of daffy duck "Mine Mine Mine! Down Down Down! Go Go Go!

People in utter chaos , desperately trying to build there own fortress of Gold, high above the clouds, always looking for ways to take from what someone else has. Children dying on the streets, people lying on the ground in ruins, no one anywhere wanting to help anyone.

Thanks, but I'll pass on a 100% complete selfish world.

Well, there are many people who bear resemblance to the characters in this hyperbolic analogy. It wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to see the world this way as it is, but I didn't say anywhere that the world is or should be entirely selfish. I was trying to make a point about selfishness being a part of human nature, and I used the first-person tense to help the reader see this in himself.

I'm not terribly great at being selfless, myself, but I do my best to not be selfish. It would be wonderful if everyone could move beyond selfishness - what could be done for the third and second world if corruption and greed weren't around is rather impressive.

Selfishness is a natural human trait. If anything charity is outside the norm, albeit a good thing. Greed will never go away, someone will always wish to covet something. I'll stick to my bottlecaps when the world goes kaput.

Unless the aliens had very similar DNA, their virus' and germs would be harmless to us and ours to them.

Quote from: agfrommd on December 22, 2012, 01:11:16 PM
OK, I'll take the bait.

Maybe it's because there are no alien races out there. Or maybe because the alien life forms that have been able to develop in remote worlds are not intelligent. Or maybe the one or two other intelligent life forms that exist (assuming they do) can't figure out a way to bridge the gap of quadrillions and quintillions (literally) of miles out there.

I think it was Steven Hawkings who said it was probably a good thing that we haven't made contact with alien races since, given that it's almost impossible for aliens to accidentally find us, they'd have to be investing huge amounts of resources into exploring and seeking out other cultures, rather than focusing on their own needs. He then points to the historical groups in our planet that engaged in those kinds of behaviors... they were people who sought to conquer, enslave, and plunder. 

Quote from: JessicaH on December 22, 2012, 04:17:13 PM
Unless the aliens had very similar DNA, their virus' and germs would be harmless to us and ours to them.

That's only true for viruses, and even then, only partially. Bacteria, however, can infect creatures, regardless of DNA.

Or maybe something as simple as the yellow sun makes them burn.

Well, heck, if they are that darned snobby, we should just nuke 'em. 

Quote from: crazy at the coast on December 22, 2012, 10:34:29 PM
Well, heck, if they are that darned snobby, we should just nuke 'em.

Nukes don't work, only a f-16 flown by a crop duster right into the heart of the ship will stop them.

QuoteAs we like to say here on Earth "Up Yours"!!!  *Randy Quaid*

Hmmm - what if the alien ship had point defense drones and guns like:
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Point-defense_gun


Or the Covenant equivalent:  http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Pulse_laser_turret

Quote from: Snowpaw on December 22, 2012, 02:48:59 PM
" Chances are that, if aliens exist, they'd just take this planet by force assuming they were capable of it."

i would imagine aliens would take over the planet similar to how USA takes over other countries these days. We don't go in with tanks and guns, no we go in with CIA agents who currupt/threaten the elected leaders and give them the choice: join us or die.

so i'm willing to bet that if an evil alien race were to make contact with us it would be with our "leaders." they would use this esoteric relationship to further ill-wills. Our leaders may think they are benevolent or special but in reality they are simply being used as pawns in a game of chess.

and this strategy would require much less work yet still attains the same benefits: control of a population and is resources.

just like multi-national corporations go to poor countries, extract the resources and hide away the profits from said exploitation to an off-shore bank account multi-galactic civilizations might go to less developed solar systems, extract the resources to be used elsewhere. like for all we know there could be mad spaceships extracting water or minerals from our planet.

another fun thought i've had is that we're livestock. give us some technology so we can explode our population... then come to harvest. this is why i try to stay skinny

These in the streets.

Quote from: Ms. OBrien on December 23, 2012, 10:54:38 AM
These in the streets.

those remind me more of something the world's militaries would craft up. like we have flying drones now but soon enough they'll have bipedal drones to reach the hard to get spots

QuoteWe don't go in with tanks and guns, no we go in with CIA agents who corrupt/threaten the elected leaders and give them the choice: join us or die.

We already have aliens in the CIA

Quote from: Shawn Sunshine on December 22, 2012, 12:37:14 PM
Ever wonder why alien races from other planets have not fully revealed themselves to us yet? Ever wonder why we are treated like zoo animals at this point?

1. We have weapons of mass destruction and have used them on each other
2. We have biochemical weapons and have used them on each other
3. We kill people daily with rocks,knives,guns and barehands.
4. We constantly argue over religion,property, government systems and borders.
5. We hate or dislike people based on race,creed,color and gender and sexuality.

I really think we need some kind of paradigm shift here, or we will never be part of the galactic council.

They're just waiting for us to wipe ourselves out so they can steal our planet.

Quote from: TessaM on December 23, 2012, 09:17:15 AM
If aliens found us, they'd probably want to study us and make inter galactic babies. Us humans, being smarter than that, will undoubtedly kill the strong within them, take the rest as slaves, and start colonizing their planets with information form their ships. We'll probably find oil or some sort of important mineral on their planet (s) and BAM were all out of the red.

Well, if we found a ton of oil, it would all be worthless due to the excessive supply. Plus, if anything, that oil would be barely enough to cover the fuel costs of intergalactic travel. 

Quote from: Shawn Sunshine on December 23, 2012, 06:07:17 PM
We already have aliens in the CIA

reptiles m i rite