How different are aliens from us ?

[NieA_7]

As the title suggests, this has been a question that had been bugging me, and I decided to set up a thread on it. But, really: if aliens do exist, ho different are they from humans ?

(1) An old school of thought, way back to the early days of sci-fi, once saw all aliens as being highly different from humanity in all various forms, be they very advanced, or very minute. Usually, in certain cases, these lifeforms would not be carbon-based (example: a common substitute was silicon)

(2) Recent reports have it that, in a number of supposed "UFO" Encounters of the Third Type, the traditional alien would be somewhat humanoid, but will vastly differ, by being grey, dimunitive, and highly psionic in ability.

(3) However, there is another school suggest that life on this very Earth may be extraterresterial in origin. This was first coined by Huxley, who suggested that Life may have come from elsewhere..

(4) Finally, there is another schools that feels that all life, throughout the Universe, or at least, a proportionate amount of it, is mostly carbon-basd. And, by right, all other aliens shold look very human, as in being of mammalian origin,ally. The only difference, of course, being that they may differ in, say races, ideaologies, etc.

Although I'm supporting 4, I am not dismissing the fact that aliens that many not be carbon based, and that are not mammalian in any design whatsoever. This is really just a poll to seek different viewpoints...

[Thirdfain]

In a recent issue of Scientific American, the idea of silicon based life was examined. I am afraid I can't recall the specifics of the article, but it basically stated the silicon is an unsuitable compound from wich to make the building blocks of life. It seems unlikely that there are silicon life forms.

The "UFO" greys are but a silly peice of pop culture, a socio-religeous fad. There is no reason for alien creatures, products of radsically different environments, would be even vaguely human. Keep in mind that this world alone has spawned species as radically different as the human being and the sea anenome. That's just on one planet- imagine how different life forms would be who evolved on an entirely different world, with different atmospheric makeup, different temperatures- Alien life will be just that, Alien. I bet that the hardest problems about communicating with sentient aliens will not be deciphering their language, but simply understanding their emotions and minds.

[Baron Mordo]

The "UFO" greys are but a silly peice of pop culture,

They're time travelling human descendants. It's true! Theoretically, our brains and eyes will get bigger as we rely on visual media, and our complexion and physiology will degenerate as we spend less time outdoors. The whole alien abduction thing is a) anthropology, and b) a specialized gene harvest program to regain the physical robustness of their primitive ancestors, i.e. us. The crop circles are an experiment designed to stimulate us for study.

[neoolong]

The "UFO" greys are but a silly peice of pop culture,

They're time travelling human descendants. It's true! Theoretically, our brains and eyes will get bigger as we rely on visual media, and our complexion and physiology will degenerate as we spend less time outdoors. The whole alien abduction thing is a) anthropology, and b) a specialized gene harvest program to regain the physical robustness of their primitive ancestors, i.e. us. The crop circles are an experiment designed to stimulate us for study.

Actually, according to Scott Adams, they're really the Swiss.

I think it's a mix of 1 and 4. Really really weird looking, but most likely carbon-based.

The diversity on this planet alone shows that life doesn't have to be something we can imagine as us.

And chemically, carbon is the best choice.

[Johonebesus]

Most life in the universe may be carbon based, maybe even all, but to assume that it would fall into our classes, i.e. mammalian, reptilian, etc., is absurd. There is no reason to believe that aliens should resemble earth life in any but the most fundamental ways, not enough to classify them as mammals, let alone human. Evolution is not a progressive process that would naturally lead to "higher" forms like mammals and primates and humans. Indeed, I think sentience is probably not the most common product of evolution. Complex life existed on earth for millions of years before man evolved. There is no need to assume that "people" will always evolve wherever life exists.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

As the title suggests, this has been a question that had been bugging me, and I decided to set up a thread on it. But, really: if aliens do exist, ho different are they from humans ?

(1) An old school of thought, way back to the early days of sci-fi, once saw all aliens as being highly different from humanity in all various forms, be they very advanced, or very minute. Usually, in certain cases, these lifeforms would not be carbon-based (example: a common substitute was silicon)

Life may take on different forms, but they will all be carbon based. Silicon doesn't have quite the flexibility of carbon. It can't form long chains like carbon can. Without long carbon chains, you wouldn't have complex molecules like amino acids and protiens, which make up the building blocks of life. So, all life will be carbon based. All life will also likely have DNA, or something very similar. (If I remember right, the amino acid that comprises one of the DNA bases has been found in the spectra of molecular clouds.)

(2) Recent reports have it that, in a number of supposed "UFO" Encounters of the Third Type, the traditional alien would be somewhat humanoid, but will vastly differ, by being grey, dimunitive, and highly psionic in ability.

UFO reports hold about as much water as cheesecloth. Moving right along.

(3) However, there is another school suggest that life on this very Earth may be extraterresterial in origin. This was first coined by Huxley, who suggested that Life may have come from elsewhere..

Can't prove that, as it happened so long ago. Besides, we're gaining more
and more evidence that life started right here on Earth in places such as undersea volcanic vents, or deep underground.

(4) Finally, there is another schools that feels that all life, throughout the Universe, or at least, a proportionate amount of it, is mostly carbon-basd. And, by right, all other aliens shold look very human, as in being of mammalian origin,ally. The only difference, of course, being that they may differ in, say races, ideaologies, etc.

As established above, yes, life is likely to be carbon based . . . for the reasons I outlined above. And it will probably have some manner of symmetry, and posess a fairly small number of limbs. (More limbs requires more brain be devoted to their control, or reduced mobility per limb.) And their sensory organs will be very close to their brains (meaning that they'll also have heads.) So they'll seem vagely familiar. But within that framework I laid out, there is a lot of room for variation.

[Peregrin Toker]

The "UFO" greys are but a silly peice of pop culture,

They're time travelling human descendants. It's true! Theoretically, our brains and eyes will get bigger as we rely on visual media, and our complexion and physiology will degenerate as we spend less time outdoors.

Well, that's the only reasonable explanation of their humanoid appearance which I've heard yet.

By the way, if you want to have an idea what real aliens from other planets may look like, I'd advise you to read At The Mountains Of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. The Elder Things from that story are some of the most probable realistic sci-fi aliens.

[Patrick Degan]

They have cooler stuff.

[Stormbringer]

The "UFO" greys are but a silly peice of pop culture, a socio-religeous fad. There is no reason for alien creatures, products of radsically different environments, would be even vaguely human.

Given the same sort of problems nature tends to produce similar creatures. Look at the dolphin and the shark. Very similar but to widely sundered species. It's not unreasonable to find humanoid life.

Keep in mind that this world alone has spawned species as radically different as the human being and the sea anenome. That's just on one planet- imagine how different life forms would be who evolved on an entirely different world, with different atmospheric makeup, different temperatures- Alien life will be just that, Alien.

True, but given a similar environment you'll get similar species. And a sea anonme isn't sentient.

Life, and even more specifcally intelligent life, only occurs in a relatively narrow range of conditions. There are certain prerequisites which would preclude a lot sci-fi creatures. I'm not saying it'll all be humanoids but variations will, of necessity, by limited by the conditions necessary to produce intelligent life.

I bet that the hardest problems about communicating with sentient aliens will not be deciphering their language, but simply understanding their emotions and minds.

Probably not totally alien. Cats and Dogs both have simplistic but understandable emotions. They'll be different but I don't by the notion of completely inscrutable aliens.

[phongn]

As the title suggests, this has been a question that had been bugging me, and I decided to set up a thread on it. But, really: if aliens do exist, ho different are they from humans ?

(1) An old school of thought, way back to the early days of sci-fi, once saw all aliens as being highly different from humanity in all various forms, be they very advanced, or very minute. Usually, in certain cases, these lifeforms would not be carbon-based (example: a common substitute was silicon)

Life may take on different forms, but they will all be carbon based. Silicon doesn't have quite the flexibility of carbon. It can't form long chains like carbon can. Without long carbon chains, you wouldn't have complex molecules like amino acids and protiens, which make up the building blocks of life. So, all life will be carbon based.

Indeed. Silicon also isn't as reactive as carbon, which further compounds the issue of silicon-based lifeforms.

All life will also likely have DNA, or something very similar. (If I remember right, the amino acid that comprises one of the DNA bases has been found in the spectra of molecular clouds.)

That's interesting, though I'm more skeptical about this claim (that life will probably have something similar to DNA).

[Zoink]

This was an interesting read:

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_chauvinism

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

I guess they'll either be the ST aliens, which look a lot like us, except for various bumps on the head, or the aliens in SW, wierd CGI creatures.

I'm sure there are aliens out there, and they're probably different, but they sure as hell haven't visited us.

Speaking of that, I'm doing a persuasive essay for school where I'm refuting myths of alien encounters here on Earth. Can anyone give me a link with claims by advocates of alien encounters?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Hell for all we know aliens could be, telepathic fish people with copper-based blood. Or wierd tentacled creatures with 14 eyes that feed through phagocytosis.

[Frank Hipper]

I remember seeing a cartoon in a magazine showing two aliens crawling through a desert dying of thirst saying: "Amonia!, amonia!"

[ArmorPierce]

Aliens would probably be carbon-based, but look way differnet then us and wouldn't fit into one of our species classes of mammallia and reptaillian or whatever. Intelligent life doesn't need to take a humanoid form.

[Darth Yoshi]

Why do you have two "I am an alien" choices?

[UltraViolence83]

Humanoid aliens would make for some very interesting theological debates.



Something similiar that I've thought about:
In the sci-fi universe I created that I wish I lived in , several sentient species are humanoid, leading many in the Terran theological fields to consider us all "Hands of God," by which The Almighty uses to manipulate the universe as we would use our own hands. (You know, being four limbs plus a head...and five fingers for humans.)

...I need to get out more...

[Utsanomiko]

Humanoid aliens would make for some very interesting theological debates.



Something similiar that I've thought about:
In the sci-fi universe I created that I wish I lived in , several sentient species are humanoid, leading many in the Terran theological fields to consider us all "Hands of God," by which The Almighty uses to manipulate the universe as we would use our own hands. (You know, being four limbs plus a head...and five fingers for humans.)

...I need to get out more...

Don't worry, I've been holed up indoors working on a dozen or so game designs over the years.

I've got a Space Sim/MMORPG that'll have over 100 playable alien races, so far including everything from a 1000-year old human offshoot race, multi-limed lizard/dog like species, amorphous blobs, intelligent mold with brain-like networks of nerves, giant things that look like crabs or spiders, psychic plant-like beings, and one that coincidentally looks like, um...

I'll have to post a drawing or something, it's undescribable but rediculously absurd enough to encourage players to pick it as a character. Ask Spanky about it untill then if you have the chance, and mention big eyes and hats, he might remember the description and give one better than I could.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

LOL, I know exactly which alien you're talking about, Utsanomiko.

Heh heh heh...

[Singular Quartet]

LOL, I know exactly which alien you're talking about, Utsanomiko.

Heh heh heh...

Do we honestly want to know?

My take on the whole Alien thing: I imagine that humanoid-esque might pop up a few times over time, but I also imagine that there will be other forms that will be chosen. One cannot make desicions on this matter until one ahs seen for oneself.

[DocHorror]

In a recent issue of Scientific American, the idea of silicon based life was examined. I am afraid I can't recall the specifics of the article, but it basically stated the silicon is an unsuitable compound from wich to make the building blocks of life. It seems unlikely that there are silicon life forms.

When people say that life can only exist in certain forms Im reminded of that line from Ray Bradburys the Martian Chronicles were the martian looks up to Earth and says (note: im paraphrasing) 'There is too much oxygen on Terra to support life'

[Peregrin Toker]

Humanoid aliens would make for some very interesting theological debates.

3 words: Erich von Däniken.

Given the same sort of problems nature tends to produce similar creatures. Look at the dolphin and the shark. Very similar but to widely sundered species. It's not unreasonable to find humanoid life.

Funny that you mentioned dolphins. I've heard that if SGAs* really exist, they probably evolved from dolphin-like creatures. At least they have the same complexion.


*My personal abbrevation for "Stereotypical Grey Aliens."

[Hotfoot]

Mommy and Daddy said aliens left me with them.

I think they're just jealous because I'm taller than the whole family and my eyesight is 20/15.

[UltraViolence83]

If Greys are decended from dolphins, why don't they make cheerful noises? Huh? HUH!? DON'T WASTE MY TIME!!

[kojikun]

ultra, they sing all the sime, its just such a frequency you cant hear it. their heads are perfect for sonar!