If aliens that could get to our solar system didn't like us, they could just drop a few asteroids on us.

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Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Pet Human cartoon from Partiallyclips. Single pane, Dial-up friendly. Some are more grown up, best not to wander if easily offended.

It seems fitting.

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A Nerd can figure out how long it will take the original Enterprise traveling at warp 6.5 to travel from Regulus to Antares.
A Geek will think he can use that to pick up a girl in a bar.
A Dork knows he can't pick up the girl with it, but will hang around for hours anyway, just in case she asks.
She might. You never know.

foreign*

And I still disagree.
We are not comparatively dogs, either.

You are thinking like if an ant falls off your shoulder- that is the equivalent of it falling 20 stories or something.

But that isn't quite how equivalency works

If we are going to discuss "Friend or Foe" it may be better to SET some basic assumptions based on some rudimentary standards.

Or more simply, rather than think about how they might be, think about how humans would react to them- and how unpredictable and variable we are.
If an alien approached Earth with friendly intentions- we might very well inspire hostility from them very quickly...

If I was an alien and discovered a primitive species such as humanity I would want to study their development. Of course normal development would take far too long so I would drop nanoprobes into the atmosphere which would survey the planet and enter the nervous systems of most large animals. Then when the probes were all in place all animal activity on the planet would stop as I run the creatures through a few experiments to refine the model I'm building. Then once I was sure my model was accurate to enough significant figures I would start running computer simulations of the earth, including one in which humans are the only intelligent species in the galaxy and the view of the galactic center hadn't been obscured by energy dams. I would of course sterilize the original planet as I wouldn't want other investigators to model the planet and draw conclusions different from my own.

Biologically, the "purpose" of mankind, or of any other animal for that matter, is to survive and raise the next generation. This gives us a certain set of motivations centered around protecting ourselves, our young, ensuring our prosperity and the protection of our territory, ensuring our children are skilled and educated, ect. Basically every family's motivation is to look after itself.

If our aliens evolved the same way, then they should possess similar motives.

Therefore, since we're both intelligent, if either of us can help somehow with these goals (and the benifits are significant enough to go to the effort of contact for), it sets up the basis for some sort of relationship.

If on the other hand, our success would lead to their failure, or vice versa, we would necessarily be enemies.

Of course, by the time we meet them or they meet us, one of us is likely to be a billion years or so ahead of the other. We coexist fine with chipmunks, but we're not their friends or foes.

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I would do this differently...
Such as abducting individuals, mutilating cattle and leaving crop circles.

Very good points.

And don't forget- We coexist with squirrels as well, since they are so good at management.

The poll is what is known as a false dichotomy/dilemma or bifurcation. You might like to read about such things here.

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We may coexist with squrriels built over there natural habitat and forced them to live under our conditions. If it wasn't for us do you think they would ever be eating out of trash cans?

We are NOT squirrels.

You are still thinking about equivalence in a backwards way.

We are an "Intelligent" species. THAT is the clincher.

We adapt not by means of genetic mutations, but by technology.

Saying we "are squirrels" to an alien is absurd.
Even if we are not as technologically advanced, we still have great potential to be and in a short (relatively) period of time.

The squirrels do not question trash cans. They accept trash cans as some weird part of the environment.
We do not.
We question everything.

Your the one making assumptions this time I never mentioned anything about us being squrriels I was just adding something you guys probably forgot to mention when you where talking us and squrriels coexisting. I think you may be giving us a little to much credit, its great to have pride but don't over do it and no matter how many science experiments you tell me that squrriels don't question why they eat out of trash cans if your not a squrriel don't talk for them.

I remember looking at a video I forgot where, two mice where running from a cat one of the mice got caught by the cat. The mice that was alive started almost like crying for his friend. I'm not saying this reall happened that is what I percieved it as. If a rat can show emotions who says a squrriels can't wonder why?

If it weren't for our trash cans, the squirrel population would be a lot lower, as the extra food supply would be absent.

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Now is it a rat or a mouse.
I have seen animals grieve.

But you are relating us as like
Dogs
later you said squirrels too
You also said Ants

So dont get mad if I PICK an animal for Cryin out loud.

The fact is that we DEVELOP.
We continue to amass knowledge.
Dogs, ants, squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, lizards, WHATEVER- do not even approach our ability in this.
Im not being "Proud of Humanity"
I'm pointing out a facet of ourselves you continually overlook.

To an alien, they would recognize our intelligence regardless of whether or not we are as intelligent as they are simply because we have the potential to quickly keep growing.

They would not see us as ants or cows or seals or mollusks.
They don't think we are armadillos, kangaroos, jackrabbits or walruses.

Sheesh!

That's why we are called the "Highest Form of Animal".

Our intellect is different from squirrels, ants, etc.

For a few thousand years in the bronze age, humanity didn't develop. The various stagnant civilizations looked a lot alike from century to century.

For a few ten thousand years before that in the stone age, we didn't develop much either.

The pace of change in the dark ages looks glacial to us in the modern age, who have seen our entire modern world from factories and railroads to airliners to computers emerge over the course of 200 years or so.

Assuming continued exponential growth (of course, this assumption is debatable), it stands to reason that the pace of development of modern day humans could look practically static from the standpoint of a more advanced, and faster developing civ.

Though granted, our genes don't have to change for us to learn something new. (Of course, higher animals like dogs learn all sorts of new behaviors during their lives. They just don't have a practical means of passing that information on or recording it)

Nothing wrong with being proud of humanity either.

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Historically, we've only met other humans. So we have no basis to judge alien behavior.

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"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Irellevent to the fact that we are an intelligent species.

From memory, I think it goes like this:

"People of Earth, your attention please:

This is Prosthetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you are probably aware, the plans for the development of the outlying region of the galaxy require the construction of a hyperspace express route through your star system. And regrettably your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition. The process will take slightly less than two of your Earth minutes. Thank you very much."

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