.....compared to other (life)forms on earth?
Ok, this question has been somehow mind-boggling me for some time. It has to do with how we think of ourselves, how far we can think out of the box and finally why some people are obsessed with alien contacts.
My thesis is that people make so many assumptions about aliens and alien encounters and in practise there are not may reason to hypothesise that aliens would bother too much about humans. More specifically:
1) People assume that visitors from outer space are on the same scale as humans. This needs not to be the case since extraterrestrials may be as small as ants and may be also visiting earth and communicate with lifeforms of their magnitude.
2) People assume that visitors from outer space would communicate with humans because we tend to consider ourselves as the most intelligent lifeforms on earth. But this may be incorrect. Alien intelligence may be so different to our intelligence. Alien intelligence may find some plant or some slugs easier to communicate with.
3) People assume that visitors from outer space will appreciate the human species (and try to communicate with) for what we think we are the best (such as taking control and changing our environment, being conscious of our existence, using tools, etc). This can be as wrong practise as imagining that god looks like a human. Again, in practise extraterrestrials may see humans as a not more clever species than other; just as a species that uses civilisation as a main strategy for survival and prosperity just as other species use different strategies more suited to their physiology and lifestyle.
When viewing humans from an ecological/ecosystem point of view, it seems difficult to come into the conclusion that humans hold "more value" (whatever that means) with regard to other species.
So the question is, why would someone assume that aliens would be more interested in humans than in other forms on this planet?
Ok, this question has been somehow mind-boggling me for some time. It has to do with how we think of ourselves, how far we can think out of the box and finally why some people are obsessed with alien contacts.
My thesis is that people make so many assumptions about aliens and alien encounters and in practise there are not may reason to hypothesise that aliens would bother too much about humans. More specifically:
1) People assume that visitors from outer space are on the same scale as humans. This needs not to be the case since extraterrestrials may be as small as ants and may be also visiting earth and communicate with lifeforms of their magnitude.
2) People assume that visitors from outer space would communicate with humans because we tend to consider ourselves as the most intelligent lifeforms on earth. But this may be incorrect. Alien intelligence may be so different to our intelligence. Alien intelligence may find some plant or some slugs easier to communicate with.
3) People assume that visitors from outer space will appreciate the human species (and try to communicate with) for what we think we are the best (such as taking control and changing our environment, being conscious of our existence, using tools, etc). This can be as wrong practise as imagining that god looks like a human. Again, in practise extraterrestrials may see humans as a not more clever species than other; just as a species that uses civilisation as a main strategy for survival and prosperity just as other species use different strategies more suited to their physiology and lifestyle.
When viewing humans from an ecological/ecosystem point of view, it seems difficult to come into the conclusion that humans hold "more value" (whatever that means) with regard to other species.
So the question is, why would someone assume that aliens would be more interested in humans than in other forms on this planet?