What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
theatlantic.com
What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
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Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#2— “But perhaps tomorrow we’ll wake up and find an alien spaceship the size of the Moon parked in orbit.” —
I am sure the Pentagon and NASA have a plan if a "moon-sized" object with a deliberate orbit suddenly appeared in the night sky or was detected by a space telescope or an amateur astronomer using Mars as a gravity boost.
What would be more amusing if they were coming here to live underwater.
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#3Me: I'm writing off this article if it doesn't mention 'Arrival'.
Liu told me that first contact would lead to a human conflict, if not a world war. This is a popular trope in science fiction. In last year’s Oscar-nominated film Arrival, the sudden appearance of an extraterrestrial intelligence inspires the formation of apocalyptic cults and nearly triggers a war between world powers anxious to gain an edge in the race to understand the alien’s messages.
Ahh, there we go. Thank you.
Long article. I didn't read all of it, but the parts I skimmed were good. I had no idea that China had its own answer to Arecibo.
EDIT: not sure why this is getting downvoted. The title of the post is literally one of the biggest plot points of Arrival. It would have been somewhat tone-deaf to popular culture had the article come out with this title and not mentioned Arrival. And sure enough it did. That was my only point. I wouldn't have made this comment if the post were titled "China's Answer To Arecibo".
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#4Me: I'm writing off this article if it doesn't mention 'Arrival'. Liu told me that first contact would lead to a human conflict, if not a world war. This is a popular trope in science fiction. In last year’s Oscar-nominated film Arrival, the sudden appearance of an extraterrestrial intelligence inspires the formation of apocalyptic cults and nearly triggers a war between world powers anxious to gain an edge in the ra…
> China had its own answer to Arecibo
Thank god, because we are treating ours like shit.
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#5why is china so frightening to the west as a representative of humankind?
they are imperfect, sure-- their abysmal human rights record will soon be matched by a collapsing xenophobic West.
but they are evidence that humanity can produce contiguous government without overt destruction of rivals even when capable of doing so. they are evidence that humanity can persist in peaceful trade with other civilizations, even if troubled internally.
china is no leader of "the free world" to be sure, but they are far from irresponsible recipients of first contact.... they have no interest in humankind's eradication, and they likely have plans for contact in the exceedingly unlikely chance that it occurs.
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#6Me: I'm writing off this article if it doesn't mention 'Arrival'. Liu told me that first contact would lead to a human conflict, if not a world war. This is a popular trope in science fiction. In last year’s Oscar-nominated film Arrival, the sudden appearance of an extraterrestrial intelligence inspires the formation of apocalyptic cults and nearly triggers a war between world powers anxious to gain an edge in the ra…
> China had its own answer to Arecibo Thank god, because we are treating ours like shit.
No, not like 'shit', like 'white dielectric material'.
http://nullbloggers.blogspot.com.au/2008/03/white-dielectric...
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#7why is china so frightening to the west as a representative of humankind? they are imperfect, sure-- their abysmal human rights record will soon be matched by a collapsing xenophobic West. but they are evidence that humanity can produce contiguous government without overt destruction of rivals even when capable of doing so. they are evidence that humanity can persist in peaceful trade with other civilizations, even i…
I’m guessing you aren’t Filipino, Indian or Vietnamese.
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#8Me: I'm writing off this article if it doesn't mention 'Arrival'. Liu told me that first contact would lead to a human conflict, if not a world war. This is a popular trope in science fiction. In last year’s Oscar-nominated film Arrival, the sudden appearance of an extraterrestrial intelligence inspires the formation of apocalyptic cults and nearly triggers a war between world powers anxious to gain an edge in the ra…
As someone who found Arrival super irritating, I'm afraid I'm "writing off" your comment.
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#9Is the octahedron on the picture supposed to be an alien spaceship?
It reminds me of a creature in a certain animation I watched.
Re: What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
#10Me: I'm writing off this article if it doesn't mention 'Arrival'. Liu told me that first contact would lead to a human conflict, if not a world war. This is a popular trope in science fiction. In last year’s Oscar-nominated film Arrival, the sudden appearance of an extraterrestrial intelligence inspires the formation of apocalyptic cults and nearly triggers a war between world powers anxious to gain an edge in the ra…
As someone who found Arrival super irritating, I'm afraid I'm "writing off" your comment.
I actually found it really irritating too. I'm not endorsing Arrival. That said, the inter-country politics were by far the most interesting thing about it. And it's a major Hollywood film that literally addresses the question "What Happens If China Makes First Contact?"