Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Anyone Out There?



At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements. 😉

What if intelligent life in the universe is the exception, not the rule? (Although, lately one would wonder if intelligent life exists at all...)
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19 comments:

  1. Darla M SandsJuly 7, 2020 at 8:07 AM

    Oh, boy, that sure is an apt comment about intelligence. ~sigh~ I'm reminded of a rather depressing theory that any alien races would be unlikely to coincide with our (questionable) advancements. As for me, in childhood I liked to imagine so-called angel sightings were produced by benevolent extraterrestrials. :)

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    1. Liz A.July 7, 2020 at 1:46 PM

      Yes, I am aware of that particular theory. And that's a good point. Why couldn't angels actually be an alien species?

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  2. bettyJuly 7, 2020 at 8:38 AM

    Maybe it would be a better place to live? Maybe its all this "intelligence" that has gotten us to where we are right now?

    betty

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  3. songbird's crazy worldJuly 7, 2020 at 9:19 AM

    I will be terribly disappointed

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  4. J E OneilJuly 7, 2020 at 11:22 AM

    Considering the lack of intelligent life on this planet, I assume it's totally nonexistent.

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  5. Michael Offutt, Phantom ReaderJuly 7, 2020 at 12:54 PM

    Oooh...but with a recognition of no intelligent life elsewhere, then the whole intelligent design argument falls apart. Very interesting.

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  6. PamJuly 7, 2020 at 1:41 PM

    Well like your post said, I wonder from time to time if intelligent exist so it if does in space then it would be a change!

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    1. Liz A.July 7, 2020 at 1:48 PM

      There's a meme someplace with that exact sentiment.

      Delete
  7. Su-sieee! MacJuly 7, 2020 at 3:07 PM

    Maybe intelligence isn't a good thing then.

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  8. AlanaJuly 7, 2020 at 3:25 PM

    Uh oh, here comes the SF reader...Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. No space aliens. It's just us. It was a thought provoking series.

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    1. Liz A.July 8, 2020 at 12:30 PM

      This question kind of evolved out of that, of course.

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  9. Around My Kitchen TableJuly 8, 2020 at 6:50 AM

    I suppose, given similar conditions at the dawn of time, other planets have spawned life in some form. And if evolution has come into play, then they too could have developed "intelligent" life. Hopefully, this "intelligent" life is more compassionate than much of ours!

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    1. Liz A.July 8, 2020 at 12:31 PM

      Ah, but the question is, what if that hasn't happened? I mean, statistically and all, it's more likely that it has, but what if...?

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  10. Sherry EllisJuly 8, 2020 at 6:53 AM

    I laughed at your added comment about intelligent life not existing at all.

    It may be that there is other life in the universe, but that it is so simple. Perhaps the "aliens" are really human time travellers from the future.

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  11. BirgitJuly 8, 2020 at 11:58 AM

    We are doomed.

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  12. Pradeep NairJuly 8, 2020 at 11:35 PM

    I guess there would be so much of chaos!

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.

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