How will first contact with an alien species change humanity?

Question

One day, whether it's soon or millions of years from now, if there is other intelligent life in the Universe, we are bound to make contact, even if it is only to receive radio or laser signals, from another intelligent civilization. How will that contact affect our own species, beyond the initial culture shock?

Answer 1

Excellent question!

CONTACT with ETI; I just hope I'm alive to witness it. And I think that the movie of the same name is pretty much dead nuts on.

I'm not totally positive that we are "bound to make contact". But I think that we will detect... something, perhaps not directed radio signals, more likely leakage; perhaps Dyson Spheres or some other astro-engineering on a colossal scale (moving stars and clusters, etc).

The theory is that contact (lets say, an unquestionable intelligent stray radio signal detection) will rock our world for a while, months, and then fade away because it will take decades to decipher, but the long term effects (100 years) will overturn our civilization, especially when we figure out what they are gabbing about and can mainline the Encyclopedia Galactica, because they will be millions of years ahead of us, that's just the odds. Strong religions that can accept the new reality will thrive, sprituality will thrive.

Answer 2

Dear White Wolf:

Your question assumes that, when we find other life on a distant location in space, that life will be at the exact (or an equivalent) stage in development of intelligence as we are.
that assumption is flawed and reduces the chance of life form detection by a huge amount.

Consider, please that the Earth is some 4 Billion years old. In that 4 Billion Years the monumental advances in science, physics, astronomy, space exploration, etc., have all occurred within lets say the last 200 years. So
200 over 4,000,000,000 equals one 20,000,000 th of the total age of the Earth. Essentially all of our really significant advancements in those areas have occurred within an eye blink. And, unfortunately, some say we could very well poison ourselves out of existance within a few hundred more years from nuclear exposure, global warming, disease, or massive upheavals from collision with some giant asteroid. So, within maybe 100, 200, 300, or 400 years we may be all gone.

Now, considering that just within the Milky Way Galaxy there are 200 Billion Stars each of which may have from 0 to 10 (or more planets) with their associated moons, that is a lot of places to look for Earth equivalent planets. Almost all of those sites are beyond 4 light years from here. And, when we find one, what is to say the precise stage of life form development on such a planet might be in? Life forms could have developed, flourished, and completely died out. Life forms may be in the "Many Fishes" stage. Human equivalents might be in their "Cave Man" stage of development. Their human being equivalent might be less or more developed than ours. They certainly don't speak any of our languages, or read/write any of our text languages. So, if there is life elsewhere, there is a narrow chance that it is in a relatively equivalent developmental stage. There is an even narrower chance that their technolgies can/will interface with ours for intergalactic communications purposes. Given that narrower possibility please note that one way transmissions will take a minimum of 4 years and an average of 50 years. So that means that a round trip message and reply could take 100 years once every thing is set up and working with some form of universal communications code having been developed and agreed upon by both sender and receiver.

Sure, we could send the value of Pi, the atomic chart numbers, and stuff like that... But, how long would it take them to figure out that they need to record that and study what it means? Maybe even reply??? What chances are there that the message goes right past them because they are not listening? Pretty good chance right?

So, the odds are against any space coms any time soon.
When it happens though, a lot of folks are going to just go crazy.

Answer 3

We all have the preconception that our first contact will be with an alien superbeing who is advanced than our civilization. Why can't it be some sort of a living being which is small as a virus and carried by a comet? If it thrives in our atmosphere and is parasitic on all living organisms with ACTG nucleotides then think about how the first contact with aliens will change humanity.

Answer 4

If /when this were to happen in the near future [100's of years], its odds on they will be much more advanced than us [we've only just recently industrialised so we're bairns in the technology department ] .
If its millions of years , its probably the other way round.
if th e former , it would depend on the species . They would have the capability to enslave/destroy our species, but whether they would take that route is debatable . It's much more likely that our rate of change of technology would greatly accelerate as they transferred much more knowledge our way than we did theirs.
Of course, if they considered our species a threat....
if the latter , i suspect that wars would have been eradicated long before and we'd embrace them , unless we considered them a threat.....

Answer 5

As long as the contact remains remote and they never meet us we could all benefit. [maybe]
Societies like ours are probably very shot lived and any technological aliens maybe looking for as much from us as we are from them.
Terrorism is very likely a trait of any civilization and is the fatal factor in any far reaching future advancement in technology and longevity.

Answer 6

It will create misunderstandings and conflicts in the society because the aliens probably has very different kinds of ideas from us.

Answer 7

Lol, ok, it is from that one extra suitable Terrestrial Civilization. they won't have the comparable ideals and that they might prefer to have us worship them as Gods. Who knows of? even in spite of the shown fact that i think of that if extraterrestrial beings did come right here, they might initially be much less keen on our ideals and extra keen on our understanding. As i might with them! i choose there technologies. faith makes you sense stable, technologies makes your cash, and mutually as i'm alive i'm frightened approximately getting paid. anyhow, i think of that as civilizations replace into extra progressed, their choose for faith is decreased. you are able to scientifically clarify maximum each and every thing. the real secret of God isn't in the technology of ways issues paintings, yet in the skill for it to exist in the 1st place. despite in the event that they have self assurance all of it appeared as a results of three journey, then that ought to replace their God photograph. Even in the international we've over 2 hundred gods believed by a lot of people, who's stable?? no person knows of! So i'm particular for the duration of eternity of area, that there are a number of religious ideals, even in spite of the shown fact that the extra technologically progressed we alter into; they much less we would desire to settle for issues. because of the fact now we are in a position to work out the way it extremely works. occasion one hundred years in the past, and before, no person new why the sky replaced into blue, the undemanding answer replaced into, "considering the fact it is how God made it" Now all of us comprehend that it extremely is using the sunshine refractive homes of hydrogen in our environment. As existence is going on we can understand extra of those clinical truths, even in spite of the shown fact that we can in no way comprehend the way it have been given began in the 1st place. it is the place faith will come to play each and every time. stable good fortune .....................................

Answer 8

It will make our lives more complicated. Other than that, it won't make any difference.

Answer 9

it will clear up alot of answers in religion, and our past and future