@tomasz Short-term? probably not. Long term? Yes. Yes, it does!
Right now, no. Eventually, definitely yes.
Wow never heard of that one, very interesting and terrifying.
It’s one of the main topic of pretty good sci-fi series (well first two books are good). I don’t think it is real though. Fermi paradox is real, but most of deliberations on it ignore the time and space (which is pretty normal, human brains do tend to have huge trouble with those on a space scale). Human civilization is barely noticeable in tiniest of ranges in merely a century or so, and we are already on the brink of exctinction because capitalists and imperialist warmongers just can’t stop.
Those books are on my fiction read list
my depressing ass thought you meant that we individually are all alone, because there is no true human connection and everyone is a selfish actor. but yea aliens are cool too lol
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From a philosophical, metaphysical perspective it certainly does. Many prominent theories have been based on the idea of human particularism. So proving existence/possibility of existences of extraterrestrial, sentient, and complex beings would require a reflection on past conceptions on the nature of reality, an eradication and reconstruction of metaphysics so to speak.
A few users said that it would matter only in the future, but, for the reasons argued above, I think it would matter right on the spot. Arriving at a definitive answer will remove so many ambiguities plaguing intellectual discussions. It may even lead to revolutionary overhaul of the generalized conceptions and structures of the human world.
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Yes, absolutely and it has always mattered.
Saying that it doesn’t matter now or short term is excluding the possibility that they’re currently here, or that there’s nothing we can do to change the outcome of possible future contact.
How are our planetary defences towards a potential aggressive species? Non-existant. If they exist it matters to us regardless if we know about it or not, much like how it always mattered to meso-americans that Europe existed, even if they didn’t know about it.
I recommend checking out the dark forest paradox on why the silence of the universe could be the safest way forward for Earth, and how it doesn’t necessarily mean the universe is devoid of life.
It is a coincidence that human beings appeared on the earth, and it is only a moment in the universe.
No
