Ever since mankind set his eyes on the horizon, the same question has always been posed ‘Are
we truly alone in the universe?’
Arthur C Clarke effectively summarized the scenario in his quote: ‘Two possibilities
exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying.’
As our tech for space exploration continues to advance, we as a species, draw more and
more closer to the possibility of making contact with extraterrestrial life.
But as exciting as that sounds, there are of course those who are less hopeful in the
scenario that such intelligent life is capable of benevolence.
One of these critics is the famously renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
He warned that reaching out to intelligent aliens is akin to placing a bull’s eye on
Earth.
But scientists aren’t heeding his warning.
On the contrary, they’re making contact.
This could bring about a doomsday scenario.
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In June of 2021, the US Pentagon had released an official document which stated that in
the past several decades, they themselves have been investigating the multiple number
of UFO sightings detected around the world.
They’ve stated that most of these sightings were not attributable to any kind of US tech
that’s being used by their military or any other organization.
Well for a long time we’ve already known that, given that US jet pilots themselves
report that these unidentified flying aircrafts had the ability to navigate through airspace
with such precision and speed that cannot possibly be matched by our current technology,
US or otherwise.
The document made sure not to jump to the conclusion of aliens, but neither does it
rule that possibility out.
Either way, many scientists, especially those who specialize in the study of the cosmos
have already stated that we are already beyond the point of discussing the possibility of
extraterrestrial life.
Many of these scientists believe that the more important question that we should be
trying to answer is how do we make contact, and if we should attempt it at all.
To give perspective, even if there were never any UFO sightings to begin with, it would
still be reasonable, if not logical, to assume that intelligent life beyond the reaches of
earth do exist by the simple consideration of the vastness of our universe.
Scientists have already pointed out that within the observable universe alone is a multitude
of galaxies and solar systems that by themselves contain millions upon millions of stars and
planets.
The idea therefore that some of these planets have the ecological capacity to support life
with the ability to develop intelligence is highly probable.
This is in consideration that some of these planets could have already existed hundreds
of years before earth was even formed.
This gives the leeway that life forms from these earlier formed planets have had all
the time in the universe to evolve into highly intelligent beings with technology and civilizations
that’s hundreds, or even thousands of years more advanced than ours.
This perspective is actually what fuels the debate on whether or not we, as a species,
should strive to make contact with these beings.
Many scientists have hoped that making contact with a civilization with such an advanced
way of life would benefit our species by helping us adapt whatever technology they’ve developed
while also gaining a better understanding of our universe.
With that in mind, some groups have decided to send out radio wave signals with the encrypted
information of earth’s location, our biophysical make up, as well as our current level of technology.
Stephen Hawking, the renowned astrophysicist, has openly criticized these actions stating
that if there was a race of highly intelligent life forms out there, the last thing we should
be doing is establishing contact.
Hawking argues that whenever there is a meeting between an advanced race and a relatively
primitive race, conflict is inevitable.
We would have to give Hawking’s argument a little credit given that the colonial era
of mankind was hinged on this scenario.
Basically, an advanced race, who has the upperhand in every means of life would have no trouble
exploiting the lesser advanced.
Hawking even made the argument that it’s widely possible that these intelligent beings
wouldn’t even consider ours a ‘civilization’ at all, but more like how we consider a colony
of ants or bacteria, we essentially pay no mind to species or organisms that we deem
mindless and ignorant.
A conference was held years ago in which the theme was the search for extraterrestrial
life.
Hawking, who took part in the conference, mentioned that it was entirely ok to search
for aliens within the far reaches of our universe, but it must be done in a discrete manner.
This is what he had to say during that conference:
"We don't know much about aliens, but we know about humans.
If you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often
been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilizations with
advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced.
A civilization reading one of our messages could be billions of years ahead of us.
If so, they will be vastly more powerful, and may not see us as any more valuable than
we see bacteria."
Some of Hawking’s colleagues however disagreed with his point of view and held a more optimistic
idea of what contact with extraterrestrial life would be like.
Ann Druyan, who was a co-founder and CEO of Cosmos studios explains that she holds hope
that a race of highly intelligent beings would not only have advanced technological prowess
but would also hold and acknowledge the value of life within the cosmos.
Jill Tarter, who was once the director of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)
also chimed in with her thoughts.
She believes that these beings who have already mastered space exploration and travel would
have more than likely encountered other alien races throughout their travels.
It is therefore more likely that if such an alien race were to come and make contact with
Earth, it would not be for exploitation, as Hawking fears, but rather for Exploration.
Now you might be wondering, but with the hundreds of UFO sightings in the past decades, why
do we still struggle establishing contact with these extraterrestrial intelligence?
A lot of people argue that these beings have already located earth and have actually already
been lingering around our horizons for longer than we know.
An article written by HISTORY explains the possible earliest UFO sighting in America.
In the year 1639, the then Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop wrote down the
time that he along with his two men witnessed a strange heavenly sight.
He writes of a “great light” that moved back and forth in the night sky like an “arrow.”
He states that several other people who lived in the same area also witnessed the spectacle.
A lot of people argue that the reason we still haven’t established communication with these
beings is simply because they themselves don’t want to.
There is the persistent idea, or belief rather, that these so-called aliens are here only
to learn and observe the continuing development and evolution of the human race.
That could both be a good thing and a bad thing.
From all these witnesses, documentations, and theories on extraterrestrial contact,
one thing may remain for certain, it’s that contact can only be established if these beings
themselves choose to establish a line of communication with us.
So having known all this, should we still strive to make alien contact?
While it may be true that an advanced species who have already mastered space travel could
potentially help our race develop, Hawking’s argument is still worth considering.
We might as well assume that these beings are already here on earth observing us and
extrapolating data on how we function as a civilization.
For all we know, they may already have an established understanding of human nature
based on how our society has evolved throughout these thousands of years.
Like what Hawking says, perhaps they see us as nothing more but a race of primitive beings
with an innate inclination for violence.
Or perhaps they see us as a species built on a community that strives for exploration
and understanding of our world and the universe.
Perhaps the very idea of proving beyond any reasonable doubt that such intelligent life
does exist, is still something that a lot of us would find hard to comprehend.
Maybe our ignorance of whatever that’s happening beyond the far reaches of our world is what
allows us to still function as a working civilization.
Who knows what kind of chaos would erupt if aliens were to suddenly appear at our doorstep
telling us concepts that are far too advanced for our primitive minds to comprehend.
Will the benefit of establishing contact outweigh its risks, or is it entirely the opposite?
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