If there are aliens, what will they look like?

[JasperFrank]

I think we are stuck with the concept that Aliens would be one species.. Kinda like how we appear on the outside as one unit. Yet we really aren't one species. We are a collection, in our bodies, of many different species, mostly working in symbiotic relationships. So its conceivable that Aliens might not appear to us as single organisms. For instance they might have detachable limbs or other body parts, that for a while could act independently of the "Collection," that they would consider a body.

Biology as we know it, though, doesn't work well in deep space.
A civilization could develop seed ships. These would have sufficient materials and AI to construct a genome once they got close to a likely target... after 10s of thousands, or a few million, years the genome would be constructed, a few years out, possibly to "fit" the environment of the new planet and not a representation of the original species that evolved in one particular set of environmental constants. So in a sense, we never meet the originating Aliens that created the seed ships. And "They" might not even consider anything resembling them originally, to be meaningful.

It is far more likely though that we would meet "Transformer," or "Replicator," like machine aliens. Which we would never call life. These would have no reason, of what a beneficial co-operation would be with us. We'd be like any other insect on Earth, to be fogged, and it would just be a place to set up another outpost.
Edit, I just remembered that Stargate SGI did a show, 21 years or so ago that said just exactly what I just said... On episode, S4 E9... "Scorched Earth."

Loved watching this, yet I can't help thinking that the AI on board wasn't following its program. And there is NO reason why it would re-write its directives. Its a bit of Childhood's End with a mix of War of The Worlds. Still its just sci-fi.

 

[Diggin It]

^^^ It's far more likely that life out there doesn't resemble anything we would recognize as life. We're still finding new types of life here on this planet. Life out there could be gaseous, or liquid in nature. It could be intelligent biological, able to adapt and modify itself at will.

Humans are hung up on the fact that everything has to be in a form we have defined. I mainitain we really don't know much at all about how things really are.

We are hung up on limits of physics that we observed and documented. They may know a completely different type of physics we have never observed to be able to document.

 

[JasperFrank]

^^^ It's far more likely that life out there doesn't resemble anything we would recognize as life. We're still finding new types of life here on this planet. Life out there could be gaseous, or liquid in nature. It could be intelligent biological, able to adapt and modify itself at will.

Humans are hung up on the fact that everything has to be in a form we have defined. I mainitain we really don't know much at all about how things really are.

We are hung up on limits of physics that we observed and documented. They may know a completely different type of physics we have never observed to be able to document.

If we ever got a message from space that said we should do something VERY ODD with one of our particle colliders... would we do it?

 

[Bluetopconstruction]

Honestly,
The one bar I used to frequent has a female bar tender who truly believes not only in alien or extraterrestrial life forms... but she is convinced to the core that she is one of them.

She has alien tattoos all over herself, she talks like a nut case half the time and she is convinced that she is always the smartest person in every room.

For a short while I got a kick out of hearing her talk about these things, but it does get old and annoying before long. I took it more as a ruse or her way of entertaining others, but I came to realize that she believes this and she obviously has some issues in her pretty head. What a shame, she is hot! But the hot/crazy scale couldn't remedy the level of crazy.

I want to marry her and take her everywhere. Tell me where can I find my dream girl? Jk

 

[CalG]

Why imagine?

The pictures are recorded in tablets and carvings found around the world.

the Annunaki and all associated with them is one example. The name it's self suggests "those from above"
Carvings in Turkey and South America show "the space beings".

Can't believe our eyes I guess.

 

[CalG]

 

[CalG]

If you get a chance to read the story of Gilgamesh. It's a real toot! I understand quite popular over time.

 

[etpm]

Since the UFO thread got closed, I'm interested in what others think intelligent aliens might look like.

Personally, I'm inclined to to think that if they evolved on a planet similar to Earth, they would look somewhat like us, bi-laterally symmetrical, Heads with two eyes for binocular vision, one or more limbs with hands and fingers to be able to manipulate objects, and two or maybe four legs. While there may be intelligent races that have evolved in seas on other planets that look like fish, whales or big jellyfish, they aren't going to be able to develop or build interplanetary space ships or propulsion systems.
Evolution on this planet over a few hundred millions years has seemed to have settled on this body format for a great number of species, so it must have inherent advantages for survival.
While there are species like whales, Orcas and Dolphins that may be intelligent and live in social groups, their bodies have not allowed them to develop any technology that they can manipulate. Other species like ants live in large social groups and can cooperate to use objects and materials as tools and raw materials, but aren't individually intelligent.

What are your thoughts on this?
And PLEASE, keep your religious views on this subject out of the conversation.

I thought about making a joke type comment but after some thought I don't know what I think they would look like. But I do think that if they are a space faring species they would need to be something that could exist in an oxygen bearing atmosphere. I say this for at least two reasons. First, I cannot imagine discovering and developing electronics in a liquid water environment. Secondly, since I feel they must exist in some sort of gaseous environment I also think it must have a lot of oxygen simply because there is a lot energy in the oxidation reactions. But then again what do I know? There may be some sort of species that lives in liquid and vacuum. And who knows what that liquid would be? Maybe in a cold environment liquid methane would make a good solvent for organic life? The life could still be intelligent. Maybe just slower than us. Or maybe more efficient so that existing at much lower temperatures is no detriment. More neurons. More connections. More smarts. No gin and tonics. They wouldn't be fizzy. The drink would be frozen, even the fizzy part.
Cheers,
Eric

 

[bcp]

Why imagine?

The pictures are recorded in tablets and carvings found around the world.

the Annunaki and all associated with them is one example. The name it's self suggests "those from above"
Carvings in Turkey and South America show "the space beings".

Can't believe our eyes I guess.

Ezekial's spaceship

ezekial spaceship at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

And...

NASA Suggests Aliens May Be Behind Ancient Rock Art

A new book from NASA questions our ability to identify signs of extraterrestrial activity, pointing to ancient rock art as a potential indication of it

news.artnet.com

An astounding discovery - The Statesman

Ancient 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting UFOs and extra-terrestrials have been found in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh which suggest aliens from other planets have been interacting with humans since prehistoric times.

www.thestatesman.com

Thousands of Years Ago, Artists Painted Other-Worldly Beings on Canyon Rock

www.neh.gov

Bruce

 

[JasperFrank]

For a good long time, the first life on earth used C02. Its the original atmosphere of this planet, just like Mars.

It changed to O2 by bacteria and killed nearly all other live forms on the planet. The biggest extinction event we know of.

So, we know that happened. So other life forms can use C02 and evolve and find O2 to be toxic.

If the first life here was C02 based, and it was a freak event that bacteria would off gas O2, this would be a toxic planet to the majority of life of other worlds. Cause maybe that freak event didn't happen on their world and they stayed CO2 based.

Aliens might not recognize Green as a good color. You will notice that there are two colors of leaves that trees and plants use. One is green and the other is sort of Violet. They are very close as to spectral reflection, and there is speculation that the Sun changed up its light waves, at some point, to favor green plants. Other wise the Earth wouldn't be called "Green." It would be called the "Violet Earth."

There are SO many reasons, WE shouldn't be here at all.

To think some something else is out there, and is remotely possible to be able contact us, is just pure fantasy. And a way for people to sell books, and movie/TV scripts. ALL SCI-FI is political........ It always has been.

So there are UFOs. But they are not extraterrestrial aliens.