I'm alarmed by the frequently voiced assumption on these boards that the human race would be morally repugnant to potential alien visitors - and that we need to sharpen our ideas up before they will deign to speak to us. It's also often suggested that what we've achieved in the few thousand years we've been dominant on earth is pretty ordinary, amateurish or downright poor.

Let's have it right: there's no question that man is capable of horrific behaviour towards his fellow man. Atrocities have been committed, massive in scale, by more or less every nation against another at some point in its history. The more developed a nation, the more atrocities there seem to be. However, we are also capable of extraordinary kindness. If you look for it you can read about it every day in the news.

We are also a civilisation with a long way to go in terms of our scientific grasp of the universe and how it functions. As our telescopes see more and more of it, there's more and more to understand. However, we've also created and invented an extraordinary amount in what (in terms of universe time) is an incredibly short period. Moreover we've built things of immense power, beauty, and size. We have conquered huge odds to get where we are, and I'm sure everyone has their own favourte machine or invention that leaves them smiling in amazement at the genius of its conception.

Not only that, but who is to say that our alien friends are developed to the same extent. I don't wish to sound glib, but there's no reason to think that a different world with different resources, minerals and ores might have built space-traversing craft relatively easily, but might not have the means to boil a kettle. I read recently that the ancient greeks had all the technology to build the gramaphone player - the steam-powered gramaphone player, for that matter - it's just they never happened to do so.

Certainly I can see no evidence to suggest that alien life must necessarily be our moral superiors. They could be utterly horrible to one another for all we know. And while I'm not arrogant enough to suppose that our race represents the peak of scientific achievement across the universe, I don't see any evidence to suggest we're necessarily at the bottom of the ladder, either.

So, in conclusion, my suggestion is, don't lets be down on ourselves too much. We are capable of extraordinary things. The Western world is far from repressed. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose - rather than sit here whinging about how backward we are, why not get on with getting better? And why not appreciate exactly how marvellous our predecessors and peers' work has been in doing exactly that?

Just a thought...

LW

Originally posted by LoneWeasel It's also often suggested that what we've achieved in the few thousand years we've been dominant on earth is pretty ordinary, amateurish or downright poor.

Have you seen Linux with beryl?!? Even aliens would be impressed

No, but really... I Think in the last few years the amount of 'high-tech' things has been at an all time high(no shat.) And I also think that we have amazing technology but, we don;t get to see it... Not yet at least.