Re: Aliens prepared to destroy Earth says NASA.

[ThinkAnarchy]

Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control – and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain.

The most unappealing outcomes would arise if extraterrestrials caused harm to humanity, even if by accident. While aliens may arrive to eat, enslave or attack us, the report adds that people might also suffer from being physically crushed or by contracting diseases carried by the visitors. In especially unfortunate incidents, humanity could be wiped out when a more advanced civilisation accidentally unleashes an unfriendly artificial intelligence, or performs a catastrophic physics experiment that renders a portion of the galaxy uninhabitable.

"Green" aliens might object to the environmental damage humans have caused on Earth and wipe us out to save the planet.

For the full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/18/aliens-destroy-humanity-protect-civilisations

I'm so happy we have NASA. How else could we figure out that alien races we aren't sure exist may attack us and how they may do it? Fantastic fucking work NASA, you've gone to the moon, get over yourselves.

[Whitney]

The article was updated today to remove the "for nasa" part.  Looks like a guy who works for nasa wrote it for some project at Cornell.

[The Magic Pudding]

I don't see anything new here and I don't understand why it should reflect badly on NASA.  Benevolent and hostile alien scenarios are easy to imagine, Stephen Hawking is always warning us not to draw attention to ourselves.  They've been making movies about it for many years, including The Day The Earth Stood Still and Brother John.

[ThinkAnarchy]

The article was updated today to remove the "for nasa" part.  Looks like a guy who works for nasa wrote it for some project at Cornell.

Ok, that is a bit better than.

[ThinkAnarchy]

I don't see anything new here and I don't understand why it should reflect badly on NASA.  Benevolent and hostile alien scenarios are easy to imagine, Stephen Hawking is always warning us not to draw attention to ourselves.  They've been making movies about it for many years, including The Day The Earth Stood Still and Brother John.

It would reflect badly on NASA if they are simply publishing things most of us know might happen. Of course if aliens discovered us they could attack, this isn't anything new, which is why I find it so funny.

[Sweetdeath]

What. The. Crap.


I... *shakes head in dismay*

[Recusant]

The article for the Guardian sensationalizes a paper that is already interesting enough, at least for those with a real interest in UFOs, science and/or science fiction. Still, that's not a huge demographic, so the author of the article sexed it up to draw more attention.

For any who are interested in what the authors of the paper were actually talking about, here's a link to "Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis" (PDF file).

The outcome of contact between humanity and ETI [Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence] depends on many factors that cannot be fully known at this time.  The scenario analysis presented in this paper therefore serves as a means of training our minds to recognize patterns and analyze outcomes before contact with ETI ever occurs.  Actual contact may not precisely follow the scenarios considered here, but any amount of analysis to prepare ourselves for contact will increase the likelihood of a positive outcome. Therefore, the analysis presented here serves as a step toward developing a comprehensive strategy for responding to contact with ETI.

...

It is inappropriate and inadequate to blindly assume that any one specific scenario would result from contact.  Until such contact occurs, we simply do not know what would happen.  Given the uncertainty, the broad scenario analysis presented here is an important step towards helping us think through and prepare for possible contact.

...

Even if contact with extraterrestrials never occurs, our scenario analysis still acts as a set of future trajectories for human civilization.  Our thinking about the nature of extraterrestrials and intelligent life in general is really an exercise in imagining the ways that future humans could exist under different circumstances or in different environments.  This scenario analysis therefore helps to illuminate the consequences of particular decisions, such as the mode of expansion or the ethical framework of an intelligent civilization, and may help us distinguish between desirable and undesirable trajectories for humanity.  As we continue the search for extraterrestrials into the future, perhaps our thinking about the different modes of contact will help human civilization to avoid collapse and achieve long-term survival.

[ThinkAnarchy]

The article for the Guardian sensationalizes a paper that is already interesting enough, at least for those with a real interest in UFOs, science and/or science fiction. Still, that's not a huge demographic, so the author of the article sexed it up to draw more attention.

For any who are interested in what the authors of the paper were actually talking about, here's a link to "Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis" (PDF file).

Thanks, I already downloaded it and will probably read it tomorrow.