Re:Study: If aliens exist, they probably want to destroy us
by ajscherer on Wednesday January 12, 2011 @12:23PM
(#2096859)
I feel like you can come up with any type of wild speculation, and if you base your reasoning on the theory of evolution (even in the most hand-wavy way) people will treat it almost like its a scientifically verified truth.
"Evolution operates predictably" do we know this because scientists have a track record of reliably predicting evolutionary outcomes, or do we think this because evolution seems like it should've been predictable standing in 2011 looking back? Don't a lot of unpredictable things look predictable in hindsight?
Furthermore, I can't think of any practical benefit of having done this study. If aliens don't exist, the study was a waste of time. If aliens exist and intend to kill us, we are probably fucked anyway and hence the study was a waste of time. If aliens exist and are nice, the study was wrong and thus a waste of time.
"Evolution operates predictably" do we know this because scientists have a track record of reliably predicting evolutionary outcomes, or do we think this because evolution seems like it should've been predictable standing in 2011 looking back? Don't a lot of unpredictable things look predictable in hindsight?
Furthermore, I can't think of any practical benefit of having done this study. If aliens don't exist, the study was a waste of time. If aliens exist and intend to kill us, we are probably fucked anyway and hence the study was a waste of time. If aliens exist and are nice, the study was wrong and thus a waste of time.