Aliens

[tdog]

So one of the reasons people don't believe in aliens is because we all think they would breath oxygen right?

Well lets think about it what are the chances of aliens being exactly like us: breathing oxygen and having to eat and drink

just think about it ok? 

 

[Strange]

48 minutes ago, tdog said:

So one of the reasons people don't believe in aliens is because we all think they would breath oxygen right?

No. [Apologies for the brevity, more considered answer below.]

Edited May 15, 2020 by Strange

[Phi for All]

14 minutes ago, tdog said:

So one of the reasons people don't believe in aliens is because we all think they would breath oxygen right?

I don't see how one follows on the other. Why would their respiratory requirements affect whether or not we think they exist in the first place? 

The real issue is more about complexity. The lifeforms we know of that "breathe" other elements (sulphur, hydrogen) are pretty simple organisms, and not the kind of species you'd expect to develop space travel. The more complex organisms we know of use oxygen in some way.

Also, aliens don't need to be exactly like us in order to manipulate oxygen. Many creatures on Earth use oxygen in different ways to get what they need. 

[studiot]

34 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

I don't see how one follows on the other. Why would their respiratory requirements affect whether or not we think they exist in the first place? 

The real issue is more about complexity. The lifeforms we know of that "breathe" other elements (sulphur, hydrogen) are pretty simple organisms, and not the kind of species you'd expect to develop space travel. The more complex organisms we know of use oxygen in some way.

Also, aliens don't need to be exactly like us in order to manipulate oxygen. Many creatures on Earth use oxygen in different ways to get what they need. 

Lots of good points in this response.  +1

Insects, for instance, don't 'breath', they use diffusion.

59 minutes ago, tdog said:

So one of the reasons people don't believe in aliens is because we all think they would breath oxygen right?

Bit dogmatic don't you think?  ( pun intended)

If you had said

one of the reasons some people don't believe in aliens is because some think they would breath oxygen right?

Wouldn't that have been a better question?

Edited May 15, 2020 by studiot

[Sensei]

Alien does not even have to be alive organism. It could be machine created by aliens and sent to cosmos to explore and bring data back. Humanoidal ("alienoidal"), or not indistinguishable from computer, device or even entire spaceship being one large computer. Humans did it already. Exploration of solar system is done just by remotely controlled or automatic computers with very small control from the Earth (~3 to ~23 minutes delay between Earth and Mars to receive data in one direction, double it for both action and reaction with view).

Experience tells that the best are small, movable, independent units ("drones"), in large quantity (thousands), without one central unit controlling everything. Because if central unit is damaged, the whole mission will fail.

 

[Strange]

47 minutes ago, tdog said:

So one of the reasons people don't believe in aliens is because we all think they would breath oxygen right?

What do you mean "believe in aliens"? 

I would guess that most people (if they have thought about it at all) would assume there are alien lifeforms elsewhere in the universe. But they are quite possibly very different from any life here. Even SF programs often show aliens breathing gases that are toxic to humans.

Quote

Well lets think about it what are the chances of aliens being exactly like us: breathing oxygen and having to eat and drink

Hard to say. It depends on the environment they evolve in.Although it is interesting to note that the only reason we have oxygen to breathe is because it was a toxic waste product of the first photosynthesising life. Other organisms then had to evolve to survive in, and then take advantage of, this new-fangled gas.

I assume that any living thing would have to absorb nutrients somehow. Whether that would count as "eat and drink" is less clear. But we talk about plants drinking or getting thirsty. So it is as much about language as it is xenobiology.

47 minutes ago, tdog said:

just think about it ok?

OK

[Phi for All]

6 minutes ago, Sensei said:

Experience tells that the best are small, movable, independent units ("drones"), in large quantity (thousands), without one central unit controlling everything. Because if central unit is damaged, the whole mission will fail.

Now if only these drones could insinuate themselves into some kind of distribution chain so they could get humans to actually BUY them and have them delivered straight to their unwitting victims....

[studiot]

I don't often suggest books

But I thought I'd make an exception.

 

How to be an Alien (1946) is a humorous book by George Mikes, illustrated by Nicolas Bentley. It was Mikes' second book and is the most famous of the 44 he wrote. It is a classic of British humour and by its 32nd impression in 1966 had sold over 300,000 copies.

 

How to be an Alien - Wikipedia 

25 minutes ago, Sensei said:

Alien does not even have to be alive organism.

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by studiot

[MigL]

18 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

Now if only these drones could insinuate themselves into some kind of distribution chain so they could get humans to actually BUY them and have them delivered straight to their unwitting victims....

Yeah, I think they're calling themselves Skynet...

[swansont]

1 hour ago, tdog said:

So one of the reasons people don't believe in aliens is because we all think they would breath oxygen right?

Well lets think about it what are the chances of aliens being exactly like us: breathing oxygen and having to eat and drink

just think about it ok? 

 

They have to have an energy input of some sort. Beyond that, you are limited by chemistry and biology. Some reactions, somewhere, need to be exothermic, to release energy to the body. Even if it's just photons being absorbed, doing work.

A funny cartoon I recall (from the 60's, I think) was a "martian" crawling way from a flying saucer that has crashed in the desert, saying, "Ammonia! Ammonia!" (Instead of the standard "Water! Water!") So while some are limited by their thinking, not everyone is.

[Phi for All]

57 minutes ago, MigL said:

Yeah, I think they're calling themselves Skynet...

I was thinking Amazon....

[MigL]

Is there a difference.
They both wanna take over the world .

[Sensei]

10 hours ago, Phi for All said:

Now if only these drones could insinuate themselves into some kind of distribution chain so they could get humans to actually BUY them and have them delivered straight to their unwitting victims....

Don't help aliens to take control of the world ...

Are you "Phi for All" or "Phi for Alien".. ?

Jesus.

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Sensei