Which is worse ....

[shropshire 0]

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I think both possibilities are astounding.

[christelsabine 1]

Now we know you're not alone
And I'm not alone
The universe is full of SC

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[quade 3]

I don't like your options.

While it's absolutely true you can "think" we're not alone in the universe, it's impossible to "know" we're not.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jakee 1,254]

Quote

I don't like your options.

While it's absolutely true you can "think" we're not alone in the universe, it's impossible to "know" we're not.

Shropshire got it right, you've just read it wrong.

All we have to do to know we're not alone is find an alien.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[quade 3]

Quote

Quote

I don't like your options.

While it's absolutely true you can "think" we're not alone in the universe, it's impossible to "know" we're not.

Shropshire got it right, you've just read it wrong.

All we have to do to know we're not alone is find an alien.

Ah, I see. I read that backwards. Silly me. Good thing I hadn't voted yet.

It's far worse not knowing. The only way, in my opinion, that we'll ever "know" is by radio transmission. The distances between habitable planets is simply too great for any face to face meetings, so even if "they" only lived 4.5 light years away we'd be perfectly safe.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[shropshire 0]

Cheers mate - I should have explained myself better.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[JackC 0]

I don't think it much matters. Like Quade says, the distances are so great that for all practical purposes we are alone in the universe and even if we knew that we weren't, it wouldn't change much.

[shropshire 0]

Not necessarily ... even if we never meet, we can share knowledge and as we know, knowledge is power. So a lot could change.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[JackC 0]

Meh, the nearest star is 4.2 light years away and it's a red dwarf so there's little chance of it supporting life. Any life sustaining solar system has to be a lot further away than that. That means that any message is going to take a long, looong time to get a reply.

[shropshire 0]

Truth and science do not decrease of time ... Grasshopper .... It's all relative

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Pendejo 0]

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Quote

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I don't like your options.

While it's absolutely true you can "think" we're not alone in the universe, it's impossible to "know" we're not.

Shropshire got it right, you've just read it wrong.

All we have to do to know we're not alone is find an alien.

Ah, I see. I read that backwards. Silly me. Good thing I hadn't voted yet.

It's far worse not knowing. The only way, in my opinion, that we'll ever "know" is by radio transmission. The distances between habitable planets is simply too great for any face to face meetings, so even if "they" only lived 4.5 light years away we'd be perfectly safe.

There was a time when it took months to cross the Atlantic Ocean, now it can be done in hours. If we assume that the life we might possibly find on another planet is at the same in its development as ours, then yes, it would not matter much. But, if they are more advanced, then that could drastically change how much it matters.

What would be really interesting to see is how we as a people and our governments react to the knowledge. Would be point all of our weapons at them “just in case” or would we take a different stance. To me, that would be quite the spectacle indeed.

Pendejo

He who swoops the ditch and does not get out buys the BEER!!

[wayneflorida 0]

This is the worsetess.
http://www.cbs.com/classics/the_twilight_zone/video/video.php?cid=649562032&pid=EhJkGeNGuUqJfc9CCfD81h6TpxCIglq1&play=true

[Conundrum 1]

How anyone can think we're alone in this universe is beyond me.

[JackC 0]

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How anyone can think we're alone in this universe is beyond me.

For all practical purposes, we are alone. This planet and our lives on it are solely in our hands, there is no one to help us if we fuck it up.

[Andy9o8 0]

I voted, "Thinking that we're alone."
Knowing we're not alone is pretty bad, because I know we'll never meet up with those guys in my lifetime, and I really want to play with them.
But thinking we're not alone is worse, because that reflects ignorance.

[Erroll 49]

Edit: I see my link is already being discussed elsewhere.

[pirana 0]

Since we don't know, I think the only two options ought to be:

1 - Thinking we are alone but not knowing, and . . .

2 - Thinking we are not alone but not knowing.

Except of course for the privileged few that are channelling alien communications and do know.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley