Biden knew Saddam Hussein had NO plans to attack the US. Evidence is overwhelming.

[_Some Schmo]

Humans are certainly very interested in looking for life out in the universe, so I suspect a highly advanced species would also be interested.

I'm not doubting interest. I'm questioning both ability and practicality.

[Guest]

A probe traveling at 20% the speed of light would take about 200 years to arrive from our nearest likely known potentially habitable neighbor. Information sent back will take another decade or two to make it back.

Interstellar travel and exploration is a long game. A very long game. One doesn't engage in it lightly, and certainly not to risk having the intelligent species one encounters using the couple centuries it takes to make a one way trip use the knowledge of your own existence to be ready for your potentially threatening arrival. And because communication takes decades and, by definition, is alien in concept, culture, and language, diplomacy is a very, very fraught business where it's almost certain miscommunication will result in bad consequences no matter how well meaning both parties may be.

SETI research is a waste of money at best, a death wish for humanity at worst.

[_Themis]

I'm not doubting interest. I'm questioning both ability and practicality.

I see no good evidence there is any advanced species in our part of the galaxy, so I think we are probably safe, but it is also hard to know what their abilities would be, how long they have been around, and if long enough any intelligent species will have to leave their solar system to survive.

[_honorentheos]

Light speed travel is impossible by definition of that whole e=mc^2 thing. Physics demands whatever is traveling at light speed is no longer matter.

Even travel at high percentages of light speed is unlikely possible because it requires incredible amounts of energy plus almost any accidental encounter with a small particle of matter at near-relative velocities would cause a fatal matter-to-energy conversion. Such a vessel would need to be able to withstand to equivalent of regular nuclear explosions occuring against it's hull every time it hit a piece of space dust.

[_Some Schmo]

No inventor or anyone else with a creative bent likes to admit anything is impossible, but I think there are certain physical limitations we'll never surmount.

But ya know... I'm just a human, not a super-advanced alien. Who knows what's possible?

[_honorentheos]

There are aspects of quantum mechanics that suggest dimensional ways to bypass the constraints of space-time might be...something, such as quantum entanglement demonstrates. Who knows. But I don't think the underlying issue gets resolved that any alien species who shows up in our solar system is almost compelled to exterminate humanity. It's not that I'm assuming aliens are obligated to be destructive. It's just that all other aspects of interstellar travel being considered, playing the hand they have in that way of showing up here ensures us we are to be dealt with not embraced.

[_EAllusion]

I don't think you can assume alien races will have mentation similar enough to humans to anthropomorphize their hypothetical reasoning.

[_Res Ipsa]

I’m lost. Did Biden know that the saucer people were going to attack Saddam or not?

[_Gunnar]

If extraterrestrial aliens are anything like humans at all, they will be driven by their own curiosity alone to find and study other lifeforms that may exist elsewhere in the universe, if any practical means of doing so is discovered or invented by them. Human biologists would gladly give almost anything imaginable for the opportunity to do that first hand. Unless something like the Alcubierre drive eventually proves to be realizable and practical, they almost certainly will never be able to have that opportunity.

[_Gunnar]

I’m lost. Did Biden know that the saucer people were going to attack Saddam or not?