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Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

joecmarshall.com

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Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#11

Post by saulpw »

unrented7977 wrote: post #6

Why not kill your neighbor? After all, there's no telling when he'll get it in his head to come kill you. Might as well go ahead and murder anyone you bump into, they might be a murderer themselves!

Because your neighbor is the same species and so you have some idea of what it's like inside their head.

When your neighbor is a different species, this is pretty much exactly what humans do: kill it. The more unfamiliar, the faster it gets killed.

Is it bad for the ecosystems, biodiversity, your soul? Yes on all counts. But it's pretty consistent human behavior.

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#13

Post by Arodex »

saulpw wrote: post #11
unrented7977 wrote: post #6

Why not kill your neighbor? After all, there's no telling when he'll get it in his head to come kill you. Might as well go ahead and murder anyone you bump into, they might be a murderer themselves!

Because your neighbor is the same species and so you have some idea of what it's like inside their head. When your neighbor is a different species, this is pretty much exactly what humans do: kill it. The more unfamiliar, the faster it gets killed. Is it bad for the ecosystems, biodiversity, your soul? Yes on all counts. But it's pretty consistent human behavior.

We don't have any idea what's inside Americans'head when they voted again for Trump.

We should preemptively nuke America now.

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#14

Post by benlivengood »

Spreading as close to the speed of light as possible with von Neumann probes generally defeats the dark forest, no? Either you win (spread to every star system) or the forest stops being dark from the border wars between alien probes and their manufacturing systems.

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#15

Post by recursivecaveat »

r00f wrote: post #9

I have always found the dark forest theory silly. What is the idea there? If you are silent, hungry night predator will not find you? Because that is how evolution has built them - in odrer to survive they need their food to actively advertise its location? Somehow all those theorists imagine the space civilization that likes to kill - yet has not discovered any ways to find something killable. So the apex space pred…

They're not really predators, they exterminate out of fear, and they don't get anything out of doing it besides a little extra safety. The economics of it are certainly a little dubious though.

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#17

Post by poulpy123 »

poulpy123 wrote: post #16

The real dark forest is not the fear of alien species but because the species that think like that wipe themselves out long before any interstellar travel is possible

As a side note game theory don't dictate to genocide everything under your eyes, but to be cooperative at first then react in kind to other's kind

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#18

Post by saulpw »

Arodex wrote: post #13
saulpw wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because your neighbor is the same species and so you have some idea of what it's like inside their head. When your neighbor is a different species, this is pretty much exactly what humans do: kill it. The more unfamiliar, the faster it gets killed. Is it bad for the ecosystems, biodiversity, your soul? Yes on all counts. But it's pretty consistent human behavior.

We don't have any idea what's inside Americans'head when they voted again for Trump. We should preemptively nuke America now.

Well, hm, for the best of the world you may have a point.. :)

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#19

Post by gavmor »

Spoiler alert for the dark forest trilogy but the overall series thesis revealed at the very end is that the human capacity to extend goodwill towards the unknown principally rescues us from the dark forest.

It was the oppressed daughter of the scientist whose first act of extending trust to an uncontacted alien species set on course the events that would be uniquely ours in defiance of the dark forest theory.

Ultimately, our two species do come to peacefully cohabitate. This would not be possible if we all thought as the unknown third species who destroyed the star targeted by the spell.

Re: Hear Me Out: If We Find Life Out There Maybe We Should Kill It

#20

Post by yed »

gavmor wrote: post #19

Spoiler alert for the dark forest trilogy but the overall series thesis revealed at the very end is that the human capacity to extend goodwill towards the unknown principally rescues us from the dark forest. It was the oppressed daughter of the scientist whose first act of extending trust to an uncontacted alien species set on course the events that would be uniquely ours in defiance of the dark forest theory. Ultima…

Are you sure you finished the third book? Book 2 ended as you describe.
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