ET/UFO craft and Back engineering? Wright brothers vs the US space shuttle?

I've commented on this before. I think some we may be able to figure out.. but much of it, not a chance. We probably lack the required energy to even create some of the stuff we'd find. Some materials would be a combination of other equally stumping materials.. again that we probably don't even have the technology to create in the first place.

That's one of the reasons I think Corso is an idiot. Some of the technology he said we gleamed from Roswell is ridiculous - stuff I don't think they'd have used for perhaps thousands of years.

You say the Wright brothers and the shuttle - but that's only separated by a span of what.. 100 years or less? No.. it's more on line with a caveman trying to back engineer a BMW.

Originally posted by MollyMN
Not sure if this floats here much but I always hear on "back engineering" on UFO/ET craft.

Really not much to debate here either, just opinions.

I have thought if what would happen if the Wright brothers were shown a US space shuttle and asked to figure it out?

I think they were pretty darn smart,and could get a good general idea somewhat.
But would lack to much to do anything with it, untill a variety of tech caught up with the time.

Correct. They wouldn't have materials comparable. But they would get key ideas about aerodynamic control of surfaces and turbomachinery which would be critical for future developments.

But back engineering from a craft 1000+ years more advanced might be imposiible?
For some hundred years or such?
Molly

The increase in physical knowledge over the last 500 years on Earth is not typical. We have gone from understanding almost nothing quantitatively to understanding, at least with basic properties, all stuff made from atoms and their constituents. Any other technology in this universe is similarly bound by laws of physics. At present, though it would be very difficult and perhaps impossible to manufacture, we could understand many, but not all, physical artifacts of an advanced technology better than humans 500 years ago could understand advanced human technology of today.