Weird Subject Matter--- UFO’s
Robert
http://weird-science-ufo.blogspot.com/
Please reply there, as I do not frequent this newsgroup.
Weird Subject Matter--- UFO’s
No, this is not your usual UFO hyped up report. I did not see one, nor
do I claim any knowledge about what they are, or even if they exist
outside the mind of man. For all I know, they might all be optical
illusions, natural events, or little green men from the planet XYZ.
But I do wish to explore the basic question, pro and con, of whether
there is technological life on other planets, whether or not they come
here, and if so, what we might expect from such an encounter.
For the sake of doing that, I start with a preliminary assumption that
may or may not be true. But at least it gives us a working hypothesis
of sorts, from which we can proceed to a sensible analysis of the
basic questions in the preceding paragraph.
Let us assume, as a starting point, that at least some of the UFO
reports may be true. That is to say, that in some cases, skilled,
credible observers of good reputation, have reported seeing what
appear to be aircraft in the sky that exceed any known technology of
earth. Some of these sightings have been carefully researched,
documented and corroborated by multiple witnesses making independent
reports without knowledge of the other reports. Some of the sightings
occur simultaneously by eye witnesses on the ground, pilots in the
air, and air traffic control radar. There does seem to be the distinct
possibility that there are occasionally in our skies, technological
objects beyond any earthly ability to construct.
But this is by no means a certainty. There might be ordinary
explanations for even the most dramatic of these sightings. It is
possible that on rare occasion, numerous multiple coincidences can
occur--- and we know that in nature sometimes this happens. These
coincidences can produce reports by credible, skilled witnesses that
later prove to be entirely mistaken. We cannot entirely rule out that
even the most powerful UFO accounts could be shown to be mistakes.
But the basic question still remains, and so let’s not abandon our
working assumption just yet. In regards to that assumption, we must
still ask our basic questions, which bear a little restating. In the
unimaginably vast reaches of space, might there be distant planets
inhabited by intelligent creatures who have developed the ability to
travel to our planet? And if so, then what might we expect if and when
we encounter them? Might such encounters result in something like the
aforementioned reports of UFO sightings by credible witnesses?
Let’s lay some groundwork.
Today, when we see an object flying in the sky, our first assumption,
often correct, is that it is an aircraft, and that it is under the
control of a pilot. Because this is usually the case, we tend to build
up an expectation for the next time we see something. When that next
time occurs, our first conclusion is usually that we are looking at an
aircraft flown by a pilot.
Therefore, some years ago, when I saw a spectacular meteor in broad
daylight, trailing smoke, I thought it was a large airplane going down
in flames. I was about to call the police, when it occurred to me that
many hundreds of witnesses were probably already doing the same. Only
after further reflection did I realize that what I had seen was likely
a rare meteor, which later appeared on the news as such. In fact, many
thousands of people saw it from Florida to Quebec. And for many of us,
our first reflex was to think it to be a piloted aircraft.
So the first thing that we must ask in regards to credible UFO
reports, is this. When such reports come in, do we as a first resort,
assume these objects to be piloted aircraft, possibly from another
planet? And we must ask, is that a reasonable assumption?
I think that our first assumption is indeed to regard what appear to
be material flying objects as piloted aircraft. Our experience leads
us to assume that.
But consider. What we are seeing or reading in reports, even if they
are from other planets, even if they are the product of alien
technology--- even then, they may not be piloted. Indeed, they may not
even be of material construction. They could be transmissions of some
sort. Or they could be of some exotic material as unknown to us as is
dark matter.
In order to explain what I mean by this, let’s try to ask some
questions about the supposed space aliens. What sorts of creatures
might they be? How similar to us are they? How different? Indeed, how
vastly different might they be from us, not only in appearance, but in
the ways that they think, in the ways that motivate them?
Physically, of course, they are likely to be very dissimilar to us.
While our body plan is vertebrate, theirs might be more like an
octopus, or an amoeba, or like something we have never imagined. Their
brains could be even more unlike ours, not just in their degree of
intelligence, but also, in the ways that they think--- if they think
at all, at least by our ordinary definition.
As humans, we tend to explore and conquer. That has been our history.
Humans get curious as to what is over the next hill. We go look. We
often settle there and partake of nature’s resources. And if someone
else has already settled there, we may have a conflict of interest to
be resolved, sometimes peacefully, but often violently.
But can we assume that extra-terrestrial populations might share the
same history? And even if they share a similar history, how far beyond
us may they have proceeded? Might they have proceeded to become super-
conquerors? Or might they have become super-benevolent? What if they
have become utterly indifferent?
To begin with, we must ask this: if UFOs come from other planets to
earth, then why do they come here? If they come to conquer, then
surely they would already have conquered us. Their technology would
overpower our most forceful resistance. They would not even need death
rays. A simple meteor strike, or a few, instigated and well
calibrated, would certainly be a simple tactic for them to employ.
If instead they come to rule us with benevolence, then they would
likewise already have done so. We would be enjoying the utopian fruits
of an advanced civilization even now.
And if they are indifferent, then why do they apparently attempt to
evade detection by us? Why don’t they simply travel about with no
regard for whether we see them or not? We could pose no threat to
them.
One idea says that we are the subjects of study, that the space aliens
wish to observe us without disturbing us, without altering the natural
course of our development.
But that idea falls apart the moment that we see a UFO (assuming it is
a spacecraft). Let’s face it. Any technology capable of getting from a
distant planet to here, is surely capable of avoiding detection
utterly and completely.
Okay, you say, nobody is perfect. Maybe space aliens are everywhere
all the time, studying us thoroughly and intensely. Maybe the few
times we see them are just rare mistakes, slip-ups, accidents. Maybe.
But it is difficult to believe that some of the prolonged sightings
could be momentary errors. If the aliens are so smart, one simply
would not expect them to slip up at all, but certainly not in ways
that indicate inept attempts at evasion. It’s just not a strong
argument. A blundering alien, if they do blunder, could just as easily
make a mistake that would kill us all as one that would merely result
in a UFO sighting.
So if they are not conquering, and if they are not bringing us utopia,
and if they are not indifferently walking over us, then what
explanation could there possibly be? Haven’t we covered all the
possibilities?
No. While there are a few other speculations, they seem even less
likely than the ones we have examined. Are we simply some kind of
amusement to them? Are we some kind of toy for them, some kind of game
they play? None of the sightings make sense when explained in that
way.
So what are we left with?
We must return yet again to ask, what sort of creatures might there be
on other planets who could come here?
And to answer that, I will import and adapt Vernor Vinge’s idea of the
technological singularity. In short, what this idea says, in my
interpretation, is that at some point, but inevitably in all techno-
civilizations anywhere in the universe, technology becomes the master
of the creatures that produced it. This is not to say that the robots
revolt. Quite the contrary. It is to say that the creatures become so
utterly dependent on their technology that they adapt to it, that they
absorb it, and that they become one with it. For example, we all
depend on computers to perform mathematical tasks more skillfully than
our brains could. Our brains could do mathematics without computers.
But computers can do it much faster and with vastly fewer errors. So
we have become dependent on computers to perform complex mathematical
tasks, in enormously repetitive operations that would bore us.
Computers do in milliseconds what would take us years, and they do it
almost error free.
The present step is to put computers aboard aircraft, to monitor our
power grids, to help operate our commerce and industry, and in short,
to assist in almost every aspect of our lives. If in a moment all
electronic computers were to suddenly suffer some catastrophe, leaving
us without them, we might find ourselves in devastatingly primitive
conditions, and without the benefit of having been trained in how to
survive under those conditions. We are becoming utterly dependent on
them already.
So we must now consider how the technological singularity might affect
us in the near future, and how it might have already affected
civilizations on distant planets.
Perhaps the next step for us is to integrate computers more closely
with our brains. We have already inserted computer chips inside of
human brains to prevent seizures. This is not science fiction. The
next step might be to insert computer chips in our bodies to detect
cancers, tumors, or other conditions before they become serious health
problems. That also is not science fiction. We might insert computer
chips into our brains to expand our ability to make fast, accurate
computations in complex mathematics. We might eventually use them in
our brains to provide instant access to encyclopedic information.
Imagine containing the entire Library of Congress in your head, in a
readily searchable computer database. This might still be science
fiction for now, but soon it will almost surely become science fact.
It is not unreasonable, then, to imagine that extra-terrestrial
civilizations, if indeed they exist, have already reached this phase
of development, and even gone far beyond our speculations. Some of
these civilizations could be millions of years ahead of us.
But the technological singularity does not end there.
If we as humans begin to integrate technology into our bodies, and
into our brains, how will that alter the very nature of what it is to
be human? How human would we be? To what degree might we become less
biological, and more technological? If we enhance our ability to think
through complex problems, quickly and accurately, how might we alter
the very ways we think entirely?
Because of our biological natures, we have biological motives. These
motives express themselves in many ways: survival, reproduction,
territory, fight or flight, love, fear, art--- and so forth in a
multitude of forms. But mechanical objects, even the most advanced
computers, have no such motives.
One computer does not get jealous of another. Cars do not fear
airplanes. Even a military armored tank has no desire to conquer an
enemy. Machines have no curiosity, no hopes, no affections.
Imagine then, an alien technology that has been completely integrated
with the biological creatures that initially produced it. As the
limitations of biology were gradually replaced with the powers of
computing, the very direction of research and development would likely
have changed as well. Survival itself may have become unimportant to
such a society. Reproduction, expansion of territory, curiosity and
affection may all have become subsumed into other motivations which
the biological mind cannot begin to fathom.
If this is the case, if this is what universally happens to
technological civilizations throughout the universe, then we are
confronted with two questions. One of them is, how will we react if
and when we come into close, verifiable contact with the space aliens?
And two, can we (or should we) avoid becoming like them?
On the first question, we can only hope that we can prevent the space
aliens from harming us. Even if they have no intention of harming us,
their motives may have nothing to do with our safety from them.
On the second question, the time is now to consider the far reaching
implications of our technology. The time is now to begin thinking of
how to embed our values, our morals, our very spirituality into the
essence of our further technological development. We must decide
whether, and how, to preserve the best features of our human nature.
Maybe somewhere in the universe there is a civilization that has
managed to avoid being consumed by its own technology. Maybe it is
possible to find the right balance. I don’t know. But if they have, I
suspect they have made the most important discovery in the universe---
that the only way to live successfully--- whether for a society or an
individual--- is to live according to God’s word.
