Why is it that every time that people have a discussion about the possible existence of life on other planets there is an assumption that said life is intelligent?
We're talking about the possibility of that life contacting us or wiping us out (with humanity playing the native american to their european). Who says that any life that exists elsewhere is necessarily intelligent? And who says that any intelligent life that may exist is intelligent enough to threaten humanity and get beyond a stone-age level of advancement?
Even in the off-chance that life does exist elsewhere (and keep in mind that it may very well not and we on Earth may very well be it), we should be fully prepared for the strong possibility that it is not at our intellectual or technical level. When it comes to our notions of potential contact with alien life we tend to assume that we are going to be the ones facing a more technically competent foe, but there's nothing saying that the reverse isn't even more likely. We could end up with a scenario that looks much more like Avatar than Skyline, Battle:LA, War of the Worlds, or Halo.
We're talking about the possibility of that life contacting us or wiping us out (with humanity playing the native american to their european). Who says that any life that exists elsewhere is necessarily intelligent? And who says that any intelligent life that may exist is intelligent enough to threaten humanity and get beyond a stone-age level of advancement?
Even in the off-chance that life does exist elsewhere (and keep in mind that it may very well not and we on Earth may very well be it), we should be fully prepared for the strong possibility that it is not at our intellectual or technical level. When it comes to our notions of potential contact with alien life we tend to assume that we are going to be the ones facing a more technically competent foe, but there's nothing saying that the reverse isn't even more likely. We could end up with a scenario that looks much more like Avatar than Skyline, Battle:LA, War of the Worlds, or Halo.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time.