Re:Alien Dreams: The long history of speculation about extra...
by VonGuard on Tuesday August 03, 2021 @11:35AM
(#28050446)
Is that talking to ants, or is that running experiments on them? Because those are two VERY different things. Additionally, talking to an alien race the size of a planet, is probably like speaking Ent: a human's lifespan is likely not long enough to hear an entire phrase of communication, because at the planet scale, shit moves a lot slower, or rather, it should, the way life moves. Hummingbirds move and react way faster than elephants.
Re:Alien Dreams: The long history of speculation about extra...
by Falling3 on Tuesday August 03, 2021 @01:29PM
(#28051835)
> Is that talking to ants, or is that running experiments on them?
Do you think we wouldn't be trying to actually communicate with ants if we found a viable way of doing so?
Re:Alien Dreams: The long history of speculation about extra...
by VonGuard on Tuesday August 03, 2021 @03:21PM
(#28053018)
I don't think we'd set up an embassy with the ants and sign trade agreements with them...
Re:Alien Dreams: The long history of speculation about extra...
by whatshisface on Tuesday August 03, 2021 @05:13PM
(#28054304)
If that's absurd it's only because ant's cant talk, or comprehend trade agreements, which people can.
I am pretty sure scientists do research that involves laying down and pheromone trails. So, to the extent ants can talk, we have interest in talking to ants. You're making the unfounded assumption that aliens would treat humans like a small and unrepresentative sample (Victorian nobility?) of humans treat other humans.
Although there are many anthills we don't talk to, that is because each anthill of the same species would say the same thing. There is only one human anthill, so that objection does not apply.