Stephen Hawking Thinks Aliens Likely

OMNIpotusCOM writes "Noted astrophysicist Stephen Hawking thinks that alien life is likely, albeit primitive, according to a lecture delivered at George Washington University in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. It begs the question of if we need to consider a Prime Directive before exploring or sending signals too far into the depths of space."

Comments

Re:too much st

[unlametheweak]

I would presume any such Prime Directive would ultimately be abused/ignored like it has been on Star Trek. International Law is only arbitrarily enforced. Let's first get a grip on how we treat our own people and the other species which inhabit our planet, then maybe we could think about how we would treat extra-terrestrial life forms (if in fact there are any). The only downside to idealism is reality.

Re:No begging

[Anonymous Coward]

Not only does the old usage hardly exist anymore, but when you try to use it people have no idea what you are talking about. When I quote relevant Shakespeare, people often have no idea what I'm talking about. Does this mean I should abandon my referencing Shakespeare, especially when it is poignant to illustrate that some political dilemma, moral quandary or even humorous device had been broached over 300 years ago?

The view that language is good enough as long as it is fairly likely to get the point across is - even putting aside that it is usually harder to parse incorrect, intelligible writing than correct prose - antithetical to the "standards" culture espoused on Slashdot. It is the permissive, lackadaisical Internet Explorer approach to HTML. And it is born, I fear, of the average nerd's mediocre ability in his own language, and his desire to change the rules to suit his own lack of interest in a discipline at least as complex, and millennia older, than his own - that of effective communication. Put down the Knuth, pick up the Fowler, and learn to express yourself as elegantly to your fellow man as you might to your computer.

Anyway, I've met no reasonably educated man who does not know the correct usage of "beg the question". A few minutes ago I was reading a book published in the last decade which employed it correctly. Had the author wished to indicate that a particular question was "raised", he would have done so. While I'm here:

• The gay/homosexual debate is a red herring; "gay" is a term of self-identification associated with the liberalisation of attitudes towards same-sex attraction and lifestyle; the term has evolved over 80 years in tandem with the LGBT movement. The poster's use of "beg the question" is, on the other hand, the result of incorrectly applying a well-known phrase of standard English.
  
• Since this site targets computer professionals and enthusiasts, it would do well to respect the field's established jargon. If I need to reinstall Windows (and that means I've erred at least twice ;-)), I have not bricked my PC!
  

Here endeth the rant.

Re:But The Real Question:

[ShieldW0lf]

And liberation? Whose fault is it that the people of the world suffer tyrants and murderers ruling them, really? If all the people go together we could overthrow them without too much difficulty. But then, we'd have to overthrow the new tyrants who led the last revolution, and so on.

I'll have you know that I, as an enlightened being, have been liberating lesser beings for years. I have personally liberated hundreds if not thousands of civilizations of ants. I've also liberated civilizations of bees, wasps and hornets. I'll tell you... the totalitarianism they were subjected to would make a civilized person weep.

They must have been captives, because once I slew their rulers and set them free, they all left and I never saw them again. But I'm sure they were singing my praises, whatever happened to them.