Jello wrote:
] adam wrote:
] ] ] Decades ago, it was physicist Enrico Fermi who pondered
] ] ] the issue of extraterrestrial civilizations with fellow
] ] ] theorists over lunch, generating the famous quip: "Where
] ] ] are they?" That question later became central to debates
] ] ] about the cosmological census count of other star folk
] ] ] and possible extraterrestrial (ET) visitors from afar.
] ] ]
] ] ]
] ] ] Fermi%u2019s brooding on the topic was later labeled
] ] ] "Fermi%u2019s paradox". It is a well-traveled tale from
] ] ] the 1950%u2019s when the scientist broached the subject
] ] ] in discussions with colleagues in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
] ] ] Thoughts regarding the probability of earthlike planets,
] ] ] the rise of highly advanced civilizations "out there",
] ] ] and interstellar travel -- these remain fodder for trying
] ] ] to respond to Fermi%u2019s paradox even today.
] ] ]
] ] ]
] ] ] Now a team of American scientists note that recent
] ] ] astrophysical discoveries suggest that we should find
] ] ] ourselves in the midst of one or more extraterrestrial
] ] ] civilizations. Moreover, they argue it is a mistake to
] ] ] reject all UFO reports since some evidence for the
] ] ] theoretically-predicted extraterrestrial visitors might
] ] ] just be found there.
] ]
] ] wouldn't it be interesting but ... why would aliens be so
] coy
]
] Dammit Jim, haven't you heard of the Prime Directive?

Yes and I've also read Iain M Banks' Culture novels, some of which expound on the same theme, but why abduct red necks and give them anal probes.
Yes on Earth we see the destruction of primitive cultures by more dominant ones. Also we see American cultural imperialism and a more general Western cultural imperialism (War in Iraq). I would love to believe in all powerful aliens, with super powers, that the speed of light is not the ultimate break on intelligence colonising the galaxy but I think you can only work forward from an evidence based approach. We dream of aliens but we need more adherance to the Prime Directive here on Earth. The alien is the metephor of the outsider whom we either see as a threat or benevolent depending on our outlook.
For me believing in aliens is like believing in a God, a comforting fantasy.

RE: ET Visitors: Scientists See High Likelihood