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Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

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Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#51

Post by PhasmaFelis »

mrob wrote: post #43
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a closed minded view of intelligence. There’s a level above exploitation where you value other intelligent life and cherish it.

It's well established that fish feel pain[0]. It's also possible to kill them far more humanely that we do now, e.g. by electroshock or by eugenol anesthesia. Despite this, out of the 1+ trillion fish killed by humans every year, almost all of them die slowly and painfully. We choose to do this simply because it's more convenient. Why would aliens treat humans any differently? Intentionally signaling to aliens is one…

> Why would aliens treat humans any differently?

There's no obvious reason why aliens should perceive humans as either a threat or a resource. There may be non-obvious reasons, or they may be irrational about it. But unless interstellar travel is a lot easier than we think it is, it's unlikely that aliens would assume visitation is likely in either direction.

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#52

Post by chillacy »

beerlord wrote: post #44
village-idiot wrote: post #23

Are they fucking crazy? Turn out that light! Our first encounter with space faring aliens will probably go about as well as native Americans first encounter with Europeans.

The value that Earth provides is the fact that it hosts millions of living species. Mere geological resources can be gathered from asteroids or other planets with lesser gravity wells. The Alien species would have to determine if Human technology, economy and culture holds any value to them. If it does, they will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the various billions of humans inhabiting the planet, and eliminate th…

They could treat us like we treat dogs, lab mice, or beef cattle too...

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#53

Post by detritus »

chillacy wrote: post #52
beerlord wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value that Earth provides is the fact that it hosts millions of living species. Mere geological resources can be gathered from asteroids or other planets with lesser gravity wells. The Alien species would have to determine if Human technology, economy and culture holds any value to them. If it does, they will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the various billions of humans inhabiting the planet, and eliminate th…

They could treat us like we treat dogs, lab mice, or beef cattle too...

...sport.

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#54

Post by AWildIdeaApp »

Yes, we could do that- we could even improve upon the idea. Make a Satellite laser light house, that shines densly compressed information towards the green zones of other solar systems, where we know moons or planets to be.

If we manage to stabilize that, upon the estimated location of the planet, the information will appear as a stable disc of light, flickering very fast - over the cloud-surface with the speed of the rotation of the planet.

Anyone flying into the communication channel will get a sunburn of course. We shall call it UFO, for Unified Farout pOrchlight.

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#55

Post by AWildIdeaApp »

merpnderp wrote: post #50
gisely wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there might be some reasons to be optimistic. Any civilization that might notice our signal and decide to interact with us has with us has existed much longer than our own civilization with high probability. Thus, there is more evidence of long-term stability in such a civilization than our own. With stability comes the potential for experience, with experience the potential for wisdom.

Why would you believe they’d have our extremely temporary set or morals? Human empires have lasted for thousands of years and the one thing that binds 99% of human history is soul crushing enslavement of each other.

Anything living the human exponential economic way in space, would be as visible to us as a von Neu-Mann-Probe.

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#56

Post by AWildIdeaApp »

ridgeguy wrote: post #27
maxxxxx wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Vogons may come by and destroy Earth.

I'll knowingly violate HN's rules to say that's a Vogon conclusion.

Weaponized lyrics may save us.

    "Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
    Thy micturations are to me
    As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
    Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes,
    And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
    Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts
    With my blurglecruncheon, see if I don't!"

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#57

Post by Johnny555 »

devoply wrote: post #22
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a closed minded view of intelligence. There’s a level above exploitation where you value other intelligent life and cherish it.

Humans cherish their pets. Aliens will cherish humans. Can intelligent life however leave things that they know about alone to do as it wishes without any interference whatsoever? No. In the short term maybe, but in the long term it's impossible. Why? Because either it's under control or it's a threat. Either you are a beast, in which case you become a beast of burden. Or you a barbarian, in which case you should be…

Humans cherish their pets. Aliens will cherish humans

Who says they'll see us as pets? Humans also gather horseshoe crabs by the thousands and suck the blood out of them ("only" killing 10 - 30% of them)

https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/how-horseshoe-...

Let's hope human blood isn't useful to the aliens.

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#58

Post by Johnny555 »

jessaustin wrote: post #31
Johnny555 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may be what they meant, but that's not what they said, they mentioned 2 systems, one is 40 light years away, and said "...If the signal is spotted from either of these nearby systems..."

They're talking about interstellar communication, not how long you've lived in your house. 40 years is just a few years.

"Few" has a specific meaning when applied to something countable. 40 is not "a few" in any common use of the word.

You don't say "It took the settlers 180 days to ride a wagon across the country, but today it only takes a few hours to drive across the country" when you meant "40 hours".

If you want to use "few", you'd use a different unit like "and now it only takes a few days". Or "And you can send a signal to that star system in a few decades".

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#59

Post by jessaustin »

Johnny555 wrote: post #58
jessaustin wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're talking about interstellar communication, not how long you've lived in your house. 40 years is just a few years.

"Few" has a specific meaning when applied to something countable. 40 is not "a few" in any common use of the word. You don't say "It took the settlers 180 days to ride a wagon across the country, but today it only takes a few hours to drive across the country" when you meant "40 hours". If you want to use "few", you'd use a different unit like "and now it only takes a few days". Or "And you can send a signal to that…

Your example sort of fell apart there. It took 180 days at some hypothetical moment in history. Now it takes a few days.

There are a few words in English the meaning of which is absolute, regardless of context. "Few" is not among those words.

Re: Existing laser tech could be used for “porch light” to attract alien astronomers

#60

Post by Johnny555 »

jessaustin wrote: post #59
Johnny555 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Few" has a specific meaning when applied to something countable. 40 is not "a few" in any common use of the word. You don't say "It took the settlers 180 days to ride a wagon across the country, but today it only takes a few hours to drive across the country" when you meant "40 hours". If you want to use "few", you'd use a different unit like "and now it only takes a few days". Or "And you can send a signal to that…

Your example sort of fell apart there. It took 180 days at some hypothetical moment in history. Now it takes a few days. There are a few words in English the meaning of which is absolute, regardless of context. "Few" is not among those words.

Few doesn't have an absolute meaning, but it does have a consistent relative meaning.

You could take a handful of sand from a sand dune and say "I took only a few grains of sand home with me"

You could say "only a few of the thousands of visible stars are close enough to send a signal to" even if that means hundreds.

But you wouldn't say "it takes 40 light years to reach the star, so the laser can reach it in a few years". You might say "It would take 1000 years for a spaceship to reach the planet, but a laser can do it in a few years" even if a "few" meant 40.

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