Something usually missing from discussions of intelligent life in the universe & SETI etc is that fully modern, intelligent humans lived for 100,000 years before Marconi invented the radio about 3 seconds ago. Maybe that was a highly improbable accident? I bet your typical alien race never uses the electromagnetic spectrum before something wipes out their existence, what do you think?
2007-03-06 16:06:41 · 9 answers · asked by KevinStud99 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
These are the odds, people.
If THEY exist (and I'm sure they do) they are not going to be anywhere near us in technology. "Near" being plus or minus ...lets say 200 years.
The odds are MUCH more favorable that they will be either MILLIONS of years ahead of us or MILLIONS of years behind us technologically. I don't think that communicating with something a million years behind us (even if "intelligent") would be very stimulating. Consider, the height of our technology a million years ago was an obsidian knife-edge rock and we had yet to invent fire or the wheel.
The spaces between the stars is vast beyond human comprehension. The energy to move from here to the nearest star is staggering. Fundamental laws of physics. Nothing else makes sense to us right now, where we are technologically, except communication by electromagnetic wave. Radio frequencies are relatively quiet compared to all others. Radio seems like the only game in town ...but we should try optical (laser for example) frequencies too.
2007-03-06 18:40:48 · answer #1 · answered by stargazergurl22 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that man is extremely naive about intelligent life out there! There is no doubt in my mind that intelligent life evolved throughout the universe long before our solar system existed! Man is simply too vain to see this! Our attempts at communications with our archaic use of frequencies in the lower end of the spectrum make absolutely no sense to me and I would think that the modulation of light waves is probably the fastest method of moving data these great distances! I would almost bet that we HAVE been heard from and the Aliens are sittin back laffing at our antiquated ways (if they can laff)!
2007-03-07 01:06:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think we assume to much on the radio contact theory. Radio waves are a form of radiation and therefore a form of "light". An alien species may actually see radio waves the way we do light and think nothing of it, or be oblivious to it. We can not comunicate with simple species here like dolphins and whales (even dogs); yet we think we are gonna be able to talk with a totally alien form? Whales could be quoting Einstien and we would never know.
Plus basic creatures like ants and bees are very advanced. We don't understand them well. Heck the internet and pc's only use two "words"-binary code (on and off)- to make all this cool stuff....
2007-03-08 06:34:11 · answer #3 · answered by D4gotten1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes,these aliens would have anything that we could have.
SETI may or may not intercept a signal from other aliens but it is worth all that goes into it.
You are right about the aliens not living long,but they have used electo-magnetism the same way that we have.
Some aliens may have intercepted a signal from us,but we may never know about it.
2007-03-07 10:32:44 · answer #4 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
excellent question! god only knows what alein technology is out there. but according to our understanding of physics, light is the fastest thing out there so it would seem reasonable to think that communication would be done using light waves ie radio waves. the reason radio is used as opposed to other types of light is that radio waves are able to penetrate intestellar dust and clouds whereas most other frequencies are either absorbed or scattered. thats why we listen on this end of the spectrum. but who knows?
2007-03-07 09:19:57 · answer #5 · answered by Bones 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
theyre pickinup archy bunker & led zeppelin on alpha centauri about now,,,,,,,,thatl keepem away,,,,,,,,but all seriousness aside,,,,our root assumptions on what they might be like are just speculation.a race that is thousands of years ahead of us might communicate using some type of rf that would rupture our eardrums or cerebellum in a fraction of a second .maybe a common means of exchange of info involves pictorial presentations of elements common throughout the universe.
2007-03-07 00:26:34 · answer #6 · answered by quackpotwatcher 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I see people with radios & MP3 players stuck in there ears all the time......a lot of them are not intelligent.....
2007-03-07 00:15:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
You got the right idea, and I have often thought the same. Or how about whales and dolphins?
2007-03-07 00:13:49 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
what station are they listening to? hope it's rock and roll. does this mean that all time in all universes started from ours. reverse the rolls and than tell me how advanced they are
2007-03-07 02:54:08 · answer #9 · answered by michael_6446 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋