Alien sighting/adctivity agenda

[too-open-minded]

What could the different agendas be of an alien species coming to our planet?

 

Lets hear em all!

[swansont]

Pretty much the same reasons humankind took to the oceans.

 

Discovery

 

Domination

 

Trade

 

Expansion

[imatfaal]

Pretty much the same reasons humankind took to the oceans.

 

Discovery

 

Domination

 

Trade

 

Expansion

 

and Escape

[Ophiolite]

Plus:

 

instinctive drive

 

evangelism

 

"the grass is always greener"

 

dispel boredom

 

and most likely of all

 

poor navigation skills.

[Moontanman]

Scientific study, I don't ascribe to the idea that different ecosystems could mix, it would be highly unlikely aliens could adapt to a planet they did not evolve on...

[Ophiolite]

Scientific study, I don't ascribe to the idea that different ecosystems could mix, it would be highly unlikely aliens could adapt to a planet they did not evolve on...

We adapted to a range of environments we didn't evolve in. Until we know the range of probable alien environments we cannot make any conclusions here.

[Moontanman]

We adapted to a range of environments we didn't evolve in. Until we know the range of probable alien environments we cannot make any conclusions here.

 

 

I agree, we only have one data point, but assuming that all life is similar enough to coexist is a bit of a stretch. all life on Earth is related, uses the same chemicals in pretty much the same way, if a planet was that similar to the Earth then you would have problems with diseases the new life had never evolved any resistance to, just as big a problem for that life as not being able to use the chemicals of life on that planet...

[Ophiolite]

What you say is plausible, but not - as you know - necessarily the case. I recommend the work of Simon Conway Morris on the issues of convergence in evolution. (He took Gould to task - and some would say, to pieces - over the interpretation of the Burgess Shale fauna. He disavows Gould's mantra of playing the tape of life again and getting a different result each time.) He is somewhat persuasive and, if correct, this would render your reservation inoperative.

[Moontanman]

What you say is plausible, but not - as you know - necessarily the case. I recommend the work of Simon Conway Morris on the issues of convergence in evolution. (He took Gould to task - and some would say, to pieces - over the interpretation of the Burgess Shale fauna. He disavows Gould's mantra of playing the tape of life again and getting a different result each time.) He is somewhat persuasive and, if correct, this would render your reservation inoperative.

 

 

Could you give me a link or name of the books involved?

[Ophiolite]

Simon Conay Morris Life's Solution - Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe Cambridge University Press 2003 ISBN: 0 521 82704 3

 

This is an expansion of his earlier work, Crucible of Creation, which I do not have.

 

I shall try to locate the two (?) papers he published on the Burgess Shale. He is Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Society, so his credentials are impeccable. Whether his ideas will survive the test of time will require time to determine.

[John Cuthber]

Can anyone rule out the suggestion that the aliens came to visit because the Thrung was too bloomthurgy ?

 

Seriously, are we in any position to guess? They might do it for the same sort of reasons we might- or they might not.

[Ophiolite]

Can anyone rule out the suggestion that the aliens came to visit because the Thrung was too bloomthurgy ?

Well, yes. Everyone knows that Thrung can never be too bloomthurgy.

[CharonY]

On top of my list would be

 

 

poor navigation skills.

 

and searching for their towels.

[Mr Monkeybat]

If inter stellar travel becomes practical evolution will favor those who reproduce most rapidly and exponentially so I would say the most likely reason is settlement.

If there is no warp drives to be had the most likely encounter is some kind of Daedalus style robotic probe which takes up residence in the asteroid belt making copies of itself. How aggressive it is against potential competitors like humans depends on how long natural selection has been operating on it.

[too-open-minded]

Well would it be impossible for a species to visit our planet, take our DNA, hybridize our genes with theirs and then take over our planet? I read something about it being possible lol.

 

I think aliens could inhabit our planet, just not fresh off their vessel and on our surface.

 

In my opinion the agendas are limitless.

 

Trade, knowledge, expansion of their species.

 

I'm writing a book right now and if this is all you guys can really come up with. I think my story will blow you all away lol. Can't take all credit though! I do have a co-author >

[kindheart]

Given the lack of evidence for the existence and nature of aliens, I think any commentary on their motives is essentially meaningless speculation. Without having any information on their cultural norms or even basic cognitive processes, how could we possibly have any idea what their agendas would be?

[ajb]

To anally probe American hillbillies?

[too-open-minded]

Kindheart you have a point. However this is in the speculations thread. I think that it is highly likely even undoubtedly possible that their is or has been a species more intelligent than ours somewhere in one of the galaxies in our universe. Do I think we have been visited by them? No, I have no reason to and the closest earth like planets are pretty far away travel wise. Relative to known and legitamitley theoretical technological, it is still pretty far for travel. I do not think we have been visited by an alien species with an agenda

 

But this is speculation!

 

If a species did visit us, what could their agenda be?

ajb could be right, maybe they would want to take our planet by anally probing the hillbillies nobody cares about. Taking our DNA and hybridizing themselves to accommodate the diseases in our biosphere. Through anal probes lol.

 

Possibilities are endless, this thread is awesome.

[Mr Monkeybat]

Well would it be impossible for a species to visit our planet, take our DNA, hybridize our genes with theirs and then take over our planet? I read something about it being possible lol.

snip

 

You would be more likely to hybridize with a mushroom. A true alien would have a DNA structure that is different to all life on Earth. Alien viruses would also be completely harmless because they would not have the keys to our cell proteins. You will also likely find alien life mutually indigestible as your stomach enzymes are incompatible with their proteins and vice versa, alien proteins could likely give you allergies though. The more recent a common ancestor the more likely you are to catch a disease off the creature or hybridize with them, true alien life has NO common ancestor! Their is a 50% chance that alien life has DNA and proteins that spiral in the opposite direction, and a 95% chance that the DNA to RNA translation is different as it is arbitrary and that is if its using the same chemistry.

[Moontanman]

To anally probe American hillbillies?

 

 

I heard they like to pole them occasionally as well...

[Ophiolite]

The more recent a common ancestor the more likely you are to catch a disease off the creature or hybridize with them, true alien life has NO common ancestor!

Unless pan spermia has traction as a hypothesis.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Ophiolite

[Moontanman]

Well would it be impossible for a species to visit our planet, take our DNA, hybridize our genes with theirs and then take over our planet? I read something about it being possible lol.

 

I think aliens could inhabit our planet, just not fresh off their vessel and on our surface.

 

In my opinion the agendas are limitless.

 

Trade, knowledge, expansion of their species.

 

I'm writing a book right now and if this is all you guys can really come up with. I think my story will blow you all away lol. Can't take all credit though! I do have a co-author >

 

If they hybridized their genes with our then the result would be neither one and you would end up with the third species taking over the earth, a lot of trouble just to create more competition for space...

 

Kindheart you have a point. However this is in the speculations thread. I think that it is highly likely even undoubtedly possible that their is or has been a species more intelligent than ours somewhere in one of the galaxies in our universe. Do I think we have been visited by them? No, I have no reason to and the closest earth like planets are pretty far away travel wise. Relative to known and legitamitley theoretical technological, it is still pretty far for travel. I do not think we have been visited by an alien species with an agenda

 

But this is speculation!

 

If a species did visit us, what could their agenda be?

ajb could be right, maybe they would want to take our planet by anally probing the hillbillies nobody cares about. Taking our DNA and hybridizing themselves to accommodate the diseases in our biosphere. Through anal probes lol.

 

Possibilities are endless, this thread is awesome.

 

You are assuming they would travel specifically to the earth to visit, this would require a lot of assumptions, they would have to be near enough to know we are here, and fast enough to make the trip reasonable, and there is nothing they can get from the earth that is not easier and more available in space debris...

 

Unless pan spermia has traction as a hypothesis.

 

There have been some interesting bits of stuff found in meteorites, but nothing conclusive. Are you suggesting interplanetary pan spermia or interstellar pan spermia?

[Ophiolite]

There have been some interesting bits of stuff found in meteorites, but nothing conclusive. Are you suggesting interplanetary pan spermia or interstellar pan spermia?

I am partial to interstellar pan spermia. I find the rapidity of the appearance of life on the Earth coupled with the probable necessary complexity of that early life and the absence, thus far, of a detailed pathway for that emergence cause me to explore alternatives. But this is moving us off topic.

[Mr Monkeybat]

Unless pan spermia has traction as a hypothesis.

 

Panspermia could just about make Europan calamari edible. But interstellar panspermia seems fairly unlikely. And it would still make alien life as more distantly related than star fish. Which would make hybridizing pretty much impossible. No one has managed to hybridize with Chimps even. This has got to be one of the most annoying flaws in the Star Trek franchise.

[Moontanman]

I am partial to interstellar pan spermia. I find the rapidity of the appearance of life on the Earth coupled with the probable necessary complexity of that early life and the absence, thus far, of a detailed pathway for that emergence cause me to explore alternatives. But this is moving us off topic.

 

 

You should start a thread, it's an interesting avenue of discussion I think...

Especially with the new information we have in the last few decades that show complex organics in interstellar space,,,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_interstellar_and_circumstellar_molecules

 

Atoms Molecule Designation Mass Ions 10 (CH₃)₂CO Acetone^[69][129] 58 — 10 (CH₂OH)₂Ethylene glycol^[130][131] 62 — 10 CH₃CH₂CHO Propanal^[94] 58 — 10 CH₃C₅N Methyl-cyano-diacetylene^[94] 89 — 11 HC₈CN Cyanotetra-acetylene^[12][126] 123 — 11 C₂H₅OCHO Ethyl formate^[132] 74 — 11 CH₃COOCH₃Methyl acetate^[133] 74 — 11 CH₃C₆H Methyltriacetylene^[94][121] 88 — 11 H₃COC₂H₅ trans-Ethyl methyl ether^[134][134] 60 — 12 C₆H₆Benzene^[108] 78 — 12 C₃H₇CN n-propyl cyanide^[132] 69 — 13 HC₁₀CN Cyanodecapentayne^[126] 147 — 13 HC₁₁N Cyanopentaacetylene^[126] 159 — 24 C₁₄H₁₀Anthracene^[135] 178 — 60 C₆₀Buckminsterfullerene^[136] 720 C₆₀^+[137][138] 70 C₇₀ 70-fullerene^[136] 840 —