Stagamancer writes:
quote:
Do the potential benefits from contacting alien species outweigh the risks, or has Dr Hawking been watching too much V?
Well, he does have a bit of a point in that we would need to examine the motivations for why a species would deliberately cross space to other planets.
Indeed, looking for resources is one of them and a problematic one at that. However, I think the esteemed professor has forgotten his own point: Space is huge. The universe is bigger than you imagine...bigger than you can imagine.
Given the vast distances you would have to cross in order to get from one place to another, the idea of going to another planet for resources is amazingly impractical. It's akin to the problem with the ark: How do you manage to provide for so many for so long cut off from all external resources? If they have the power capabilities to provide for a ship, food, air, water, propulsion, and enough variety in existence to allow for a long journey without everybody going crazy, what on earth would be the point of going to another planet?
To plunder its resources? What does a planet have that you don't already have on your ship? That you can't already create? If your technology is so vast that it can power a ship for that long and provide sustenance for all aboard, there is no need to plunder a planet.
Rrhain
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