Eldtritch Abominations: Could we be in danger?

[Rojava Free State]

As a pretty ardent atheist, I don't really concern myself with religious dogma or beliefs. I tend to view the major monotheistic religions of the world as tyrannical and oppressive and think the morality of their God is deeply flawed and horrific. I have more of a soft spot for eastern religions such as buddhism, but overall it's pretty clear I'm no fan of religion. While I and my closest friend all but discount the existence of the biblical God, one thing we have debated time and time again is the possibility of there being a god-like entity out there somewhere in the universe. However, this being would likely be nothing like our conception of "god," in the sense of wouldn't be omnipresent or the creator of reality itself, but compared to puny mankind, it would be of a divine nature. It's power could destroy an entire world in seconds. It's very presence could drive a person insane. Behold, the concept of the eldtritch abomination, developed by cosmic horror writers such as Hp Lovecraft.

The question is, could such a being exist? Might there be a creature out there in the universe that is so utterly powerful and downright horrifying, it might bring about the apocalypse simply due to its discovery alone? How would your life change upon realizing that such an all powerful creature was out there? Do you ever even for a moment worry about such a thing happening? I don't worry myself all that much over it, but I don't discount that a powerful life form could exist out there in space and that if we discovered it,or it discovered us, it could bring about the end of our society. Let me know your thoughts below.

[Fartsniffage]

...Pretty sure this belongs in the Trump thread.

[Free Arabian Nation]

OP, stop reading scary stories

There are no monsters under the bed, just like there are no Eldritch Abominations in this universe

On that note, I am gonna bet 40 Rial that there will be some guy posting Zalgo text within 5 pages (despite it being illegal, ya doof)

[New haven america]

To ants, humans are eldritch abominations.

But nah, considering most people in the developed world want to die already, I'm pretty sure the general reaction would range from "Meh, I hope this doesn't mess up my work schedule" to "Oh thank fuck, finally!"

[Daarwyrth]

What does fascinate me about subjects like these is that humans always think up of such things as something terrible , bad and evil. It begs the question whether it reveals more about us than any other lifeform.

If there were such a creature out there, I'd prefer to think of it as something good, or at least, not an abomination. I'd prefer to see it as a creature whose knowledge and curiosity are never sated, who studies planets from afar but never interferes or destroys. I'd prefer to see it as something that has seen so much empty space in the universe that it values life beyond anything and would never seek to destroy it or harm it. But study its enigma instead.

[Aureumterra]

This feels like the premise for a Vsauce episode

In any case, you cant rule it out without proof to rule it out, same applies to God

[New haven america]

OP, stop reading scary stories

There are no monsters under the bed, just like there are no Eldritch Abominations in this universe

On that note, I am gonna bet 40 Rial that there will be some guy posting Zalgo text within 5 pages (despite it being illegal, ya doof)

How do you know there are no eldritch abominations in the universe?

Also, they don't have to be from this universe to affect it.

[Aureumterra]

To ants, humans are eldritch abominations.

But nah, considering most people in the developed world want to die already, I'm pretty sure the general reaction would range from "Meh, I hope this doesn't mess up my work schedule" to "Oh thank fuck, finally!"

What twisted place in the West do you live in?

[Free Arabian Nation]

OP, stop reading scary stories

There are no monsters under the bed, just like there are no Eldritch Abominations in this universe

On that note, I am gonna bet 40 Rial that there will be some guy posting Zalgo text within 5 pages (despite it being illegal, ya doof)

How do you know there are no eldritch abominations in the universe?

Also, they don't have to be from this universe to affect it.

How do you know there aren't farting Unicorns in this universe?

And bullshit on the multiverse theory, that could be used to justify any myth. Including a lot of benevolent Deities, Aliens, etc.

[Bloodshade]

Have you been playing too much Stellaris?

Anyways, we don't have enough information to answer that question right now so I don't think we should be ruling out the existence of something like an eldritch abomination but zealously believing that they do exist is naive.

So my answer is: It could be possible but don't get your hopes up.

[Daarwyrth]

Have you been playing too much Stellaris?

WHAT WAS SHALL BE

Tbh tho, Horizon Signal is really really eerie. Magnificently written, but I got cold shivers down my spine more than once playing it.

[Gormwood]

I'd prefer to have Cthulhu in the White House at the moment.

[Nakena]

As a pretty ardent atheist, I don't really concern myself with religious dogma or beliefs. I tend to view the major monotheistic religions of the world as tyrannical and oppressive and think the morality of their God is deeply flawed and horrific. I have more of a soft spot for eastern religions such as buddhism, but overall it's pretty clear I'm no fan of religion. While I and my closest friend all but discount the existence of the biblical God, one thing we have debated time and time again is the possibility of there being a god-like entity out there somewhere in the universe. However, this being would likely be nothing like our conception of "god," in the sense of wouldn't be omnipresent or the creator of reality itself, but compared to puny mankind, it would be of a divine nature. It's power could destroy an entire world in seconds. It's very presence could drive a person insane. Behold, the concept of the eldtritch abomination, developed by cosmic horror writers such as Hp Lovecraft.

The question is, could such a being exist? Might there be a creature out there in the universe that is so utterly powerful and downright horrifying, it might bring about the apocalypse simply due to its discovery alone? How would your life change upon realizing that such an all powerful creature was out there? Do you ever even for a moment worry about such a thing happening? I don't worry myself all that much over it, but I don't discount that a powerful life form could exist out there in space and that if we discovered it,or it discovered us, it could bring about the end of our society. Let me know your thoughts below.

Depends. You mean like space monsters/kraken within the physical, observable universe or something more "meta" that exists in a different "dimension" (or something like that) and we might have visions of etc?

[Kowani]

This feels like the premise for a Vsauce episode

In any case, you cant rule it out without proof to rule it out, same applies to God

That’s not how proof works.

[Aureumterra]

As a pretty ardent atheist, I don't really concern myself with religious dogma or beliefs. I tend to view the major monotheistic religions of the world as tyrannical and oppressive and think the morality of their God is deeply flawed and horrific. I have more of a soft spot for eastern religions such as buddhism, but overall it's pretty clear I'm no fan of religion. While I and my closest friend all but discount the existence of the biblical God, one thing we have debated time and time again is the possibility of there being a god-like entity out there somewhere in the universe. However, this being would likely be nothing like our conception of "god," in the sense of wouldn't be omnipresent or the creator of reality itself, but compared to puny mankind, it would be of a divine nature. It's power could destroy an entire world in seconds. It's very presence could drive a person insane. Behold, the concept of the eldtritch abomination, developed by cosmic horror writers such as Hp Lovecraft.

The question is, could such a being exist? Might there be a creature out there in the universe that is so utterly powerful and downright horrifying, it might bring about the apocalypse simply due to its discovery alone? How would your life change upon realizing that such an all powerful creature was out there? Do you ever even for a moment worry about such a thing happening? I don't worry myself all that much over it, but I don't discount that a powerful life form could exist out there in space and that if we discovered it,or it discovered us, it could bring about the end of our society. Let me know your thoughts below.

You seem to reject the idea of a god or pantheon simply to make a political statement, considering you are open to the possibility of an Eldtritch Abomination

[Daarwyrth]

This feels like the premise for a Vsauce episode

In any case, you cant rule it out without proof to rule it out, same applies to God

That’s not how proof works.

Actually, it does work like that. Don't get me wrong, I strongly lean towards agnostic atheism myself, but if you have no proof that something exists but also no proof that it doesn't, then how you can rule it out? Just because the light of a star doesn't reach our planet and we don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We simply may not have the right means to perceive it or gather the proof to prove its existence.

[Probablynotverygoodistan]

Why settle for the lesser evil. Chthullu for president!

[Nakena]

I'd prefer to have Cthulhu in the White House at the moment.

You can have me.

[Daarwyrth]

Is there a political reference I am missing here?

[Kowani]

That’s not how proof works.

Actually, it does work like that. Don't get me wrong, I strongly lean towards agnostic atheism myself, but if you have no proof that something exists but also no proof that it doesn't, then how you can rule it out? Just because the light of a star doesn't reach our planet and we don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We simply may not have the right means to perceive it or gather the proof to prove its existence.

So, there’s two points of formal logic. The first, is that the burden of prof is on the positive claim, negatives being unprovable. The second, is that in the lack of proof, you default to the negative. It’s why we don’t believe in unicorns.

[Kasa Tkoth Sphere]

Atheist here. Looks to me, from the piles and piles of evidence, like the universe is trucking along just fine without any overriding conscious factors. If one did exist, though, I'd probably assume it wouldn't think like humans, and I guess a god that thinks sufficiently differently from humans counts as an eldritch abomination by some metric.

That’s not how proof works.

Actually, it does work like that. Don't get me wrong, I strongly lean towards agnostic atheism myself, but if you have no proof that something exists but also no proof that it doesn't, then how you can rule it out? Just because the light of a star doesn't reach our planet and we don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We simply may not have the right means to perceive it or gather the proof to prove its existence.

You may want to read into Bayesian inference; the more general point to make here is that in this case, the overwhelming lack of evidence from every tested source counts against the final probability. The fact that we don't observe proof against a god doesn't make it a 50/50 chance; because pretty much everything in the universe seems to be consistent with "not god" (or at best "random, uncaring, detached god"), it is very reasonable to conclude that the existence of a (non-random, caring, involved) god is vanishingly unlikely.

[Kowani]

I'd prefer to have Cthulhu in the White House at the moment.

[Daarwyrth]

Actually, it does work like that. Don't get me wrong, I strongly lean towards agnostic atheism myself, but if you have no proof that something exists but also no proof that it doesn't, then how you can rule it out? Just because the light of a star doesn't reach our planet and we don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We simply may not have the right means to perceive it or gather the proof to prove its existence.

So, there’s two points of formal logic. The first, is that the burden of prof is on the positive claim, negatives being unprovable. The second, is that in the lack of proof, you default to the negative. It’s why we don’t believe in unicorns.

Speak for yourself my friend, I happen to fervently believe in Unicorns

All jokes aside, it's best to keep an open mind. Even if something seems unlikely to exist, remain open to the possibility that you may be wrong. Rules of formal logic are all nice and good, but let's not have rules of this or that dictate our lives all the time. Besides, even the rules of formal logic can we wrong. After all, they were thought up by a human and humans, like all other living beings, are flawed.

[Nakena]

So, there’s two points of formal logic. The first, is that the burden of prof is on the positive claim, negatives being unprovable. The second, is that in the lack of proof, you default to the negative. It’s why we don’t believe in unicorns.

Speak for yourself my friend. I happen to fervently believe in Unicorns

All jokes aside, it's best to keep an open mind. Even if something seems unlikely to exist, remain open to the possibility that you may be wrong. Rules of formal logic are all nice and good, but let's not have rules of this or that dictate our lives all the time. Besides, even the rules of formal logic can we wrong. After all, they were thought up by a human and human, like all other living being, are flawed.

Dark matter.

Besides, all those deities, demons and whatever else is around there are more likely than not beings that exist on a different level that consists of pure information and we humans (and quite possibly other beings) can sometimes, in a very crude and scrambled fashion, connect to under certain circumstances.

Probably in a few hundred or thousend years we will have figured that out by sufficiently advanced technology.

Which being said, I wouldn worry too much because from what it appears none of those beings can influence the directly observable physical universe.

Disclaimer: Thats what Nak says. You can take or not. I do not claim that I am right or I am in the know of a secret "truth". It's just my 20 cent I have to offer.

[The Grims]

What does fascinate me about subjects like these is that humans always think up of such things as something terrible , bad and evil. It begs the question whether it reveals more about us than any other lifeform.

If there were such a creature out there, I'd prefer to think of it as something good, or at least, not an abomination. I'd prefer to see it as a creature whose knowledge and curiosity are never sated, who studies planets from afar but never interferes or destroys. I'd prefer to see it as something that has seen so much empty space in the universe that it values life beyond anything and would never seek to destroy it or harm it. But study its enigma instead.

Well, we do tend to treat lesser lifeforms rather horribly. From not caring about the tiny creatures in the ocean to consuming the cow. We slap mosquitos with no remorse and do not care if the grass weeps when you mow it.

Why would something vastly above us act differently ?