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If ET Calls, Who Speaks For Humanity?

Posted by timothy on from the your-call-is-very-important-to-us dept.

EagleHasLanded writes "Who speaks for humankind if ET calls on us? Paul Davies, chairman of the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup, is a likely ambassador. But Allen Tough founded the Invitation to ETI Web site, which encourages ET to make contact via email (and also strongly discourages humans from impersonating ET). But an individual in the UK got over some of the hurdles designed to weed out hoaxers, before finally throwing in the towel."

4 of 371 comments (clear)

  1. Just in case... by Manax · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just in case you, or someone you know turns out to be the first, everyone should read this

    It's not exactly rigorous, but it gets the main points across.

    --
    "Why should I be content to simply live in this world, when I, as a human being, can CREATE it?" - Oertel
    1. Re:Just in case... by Planesdragon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It's not exactly rigorous, but it gets the main points across.

      It's a load of bunk. (Biggest bit: A knife fight today is the same as a knife fight 10,000 years ago. Technology advances, but only to physical limits. Oh, and not only does nobody remember the Indians that Columbus met, but most Native peoples don't date themselves as "Post-Columbian" and "Pre-Columbian.")

      Anyway, if an alien shows up and decides to "make contact", they'll be in one of two situations.

      1: They didn't plan it, and this is an emergency or an accident. Offer help if you can, but only if they accept it. Mostly, just stay the @#$ out of their way and try not to get killed. And for the love of god, don't kill them until they've killed one of us. (Yes, that probably means that "first contact bob" would be "first trophy bob." if they're here to hunt. Sucks to be bob.)

      2; They did plan it, and made contact deliberately. It doesn't take more than a day to notice that the species creating buildings and machines and launching crap into space is sentient, and they'll learn a hell of a lot more about us by watching us for another day or two rather than picking one of us at random and watching us flail around. Greet them in your common habit and vernacular FIRST, and only resort to random flailings and scribbling on the floor if they don't respond.

  2. Re:I do. by clarkkent09 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not a slashdot poll but probably some sort of an online forum where people from around the world can vote on the questions to be asked would be a good start. Why does it have to be one person or a small group of people who speak for humanity when there is a way to let a large part of the humanity participate.

    --
    Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
  3. Re:Davies, ORLY? by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It is possible that our scientists could be mostly wrong about everything.

    And pretty much every scientist out there agrees with you. It's the religious people who can't admit they're wrong, and that's the reason they shouldn't speak for us. Humility would indeed be the best practice.

    --
    Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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