Official First Contact In 2021! How Would You React?

[Salus Maior]

And centuries ago they said it was impossible for man to fly. Our understanding of physics at this point in time is not necessarily the absolute truth of the universe.

Impossible according to our present knowledge of physics.

In the 19th century it was impossible for a bumblebee to fly.

We've said that hundreds of times before. It's impossible to go FTL directly, but the thing about physics is there's just about always a way to bend the rules. We just haven't figured how to bend this one.

Didn't realize NSG was full of Physics Doctorates. Guess people who actually work in the field literally just don't know what they're talking about, because nothing can overcome the human spiritTM and apparently that's the absolute rule in the universe.

[Valentine Z]

Maybe impossible now, but hey, who's to say that it's impossible forever? Maybe the current physical models imply that FTL is impossible, but we are always finding new stuff (to get around that)!

If we cannot travel FTL by any manner at all, even by space warps, then that's tough luck, I guess. It's worth a shot, however, to find out more beyond our understanding, and we have not unlocked every secrets of the universe just yet.

To infinity and beyond - the final frontier.

But I digress! I'm just here to meet friendly aliens. ♥

[Rusozak]

And centuries ago they said it was impossible for man to fly. Our understanding of physics at this point in time is not necessarily the absolute truth of the universe.

Impossible according to our present knowledge of physics.

In the 19th century it was impossible for a bumblebee to fly.

We've said that hundreds of times before. It's impossible to go FTL directly, but the thing about physics is there's just about always a way to bend the rules. We just haven't figured how to bend this one.

Didn't realize NSG was full of Physics Doctorates. Guess people who actually work in the field literally just don't know what they're talking about, because nothing can overcome the human spiritTM.

So you argue modern physicists are somehow all-knowing? That we've learned all there is to learn, and nothing can ever surpass the knowledge of the universe we presently have?

[Cetacea]

I’d pray that they don’t go to the USA where they will either be shot or accosted by some lunatic cult

[Salus Maior]

So you argue modern physicists are somehow all-knowing? That we've learned all there is to learn, and nothing can ever surpass the knowledge of the universe we presently have?

No, I'm just not a science-denier.

Scientists have looked into it, and it can't actually happen.

Look, I was skeptical too, and I used a lot of the same arguments most of you people did. But actually looking into it, it's just not in the cards.

[Alcala-Cordel]

And centuries ago they said it was impossible for man to fly. Our understanding of physics at this point in time is not necessarily the absolute truth of the universe.

Impossible according to our present knowledge of physics.

In the 19th century it was impossible for a bumblebee to fly.

We've said that hundreds of times before. It's impossible to go FTL directly, but the thing about physics is there's just about always a way to bend the rules. We just haven't figured how to bend this one.

Didn't realize NSG was full of Physics Doctorates. Guess people who actually work in the field literally just don't know what they're talking about, because nothing can overcome the human spiritTM and apparently that's the absolute rule in the universe.

Maybe we'll never know how to bend this law of physics, but society's not at its pinnacle and we've made "impossible" advances many times before. I don't need a Ph.D in physics to know that, I need a basic understanding of history.

It's a fact that we can't travel FTL, but there is always another way.

[Salus Maior]

Maybe we'll never know how to bend this law of physics, but society's not at its pinnacle and we've made "impossible" advances many times before. I don't need a Ph.D in physics to know that, I need a basic understanding of history.

The difference between flight and FTL is that we've always known things can fly. Everyone has always known birds to exist. We can demonstrate flying things really easily, just make a paper airplane.

FTL is something completely different.

[The Alma Mater]

So you argue modern physicists are somehow all-knowing? That we've learned all there is to learn, and nothing can ever surpass the knowledge of the universe we presently have?

No, I'm just not a science-denier.

Scientists have looked into it, and it can't actually happen.

Except that's not what they are saying.
Sure, we can indeed not accellerate a spaceshuttle to exceed the speed of light, but that does not mean that FTL travel is impossible - just that one form is. We already know that information can be transmitted instantaneous through quantum entanglement for instance (though, sadly, that cannot actually be used for FTL communication).

But, as said - does it matter ? Aliens are alien. They can be perfectly content with travelling millenia.

[Big Jim P]

I’d pray that they don’t go to the USA where they will either be shot or accosted by some lunatic cult

Or they taste like chicken.

[Socio Polor]

Probably wouldn't care, because it's impossible.

FTL travel is scientifically impossible. And so, even if extraterrestrial civilizations do exist somewhere, there's no actual way for them to reach here.

What if FTL travel isn't how they get here, heard of wormholes?

[Big Jim P]

Maybe we'll never know how to bend this law of physics, but society's not at its pinnacle and we've made "impossible" advances many times before. I don't need a Ph.D in physics to know that, I need a basic understanding of history.

The difference between flight and FTL is that we've always known things can fly. Everyone has always known birds to exist. We can demonstrate flying things really easily, just make a paper airplane.

FTL is something completely different.

Neutrinos move faster than light as well as gravity effects and quantum entanglement.

[Alcala-Cordel]

Maybe we'll never know how to bend this law of physics, but society's not at its pinnacle and we've made "impossible" advances many times before. I don't need a Ph.D in physics to know that, I need a basic understanding of history.

The difference between flight and FTL is that we've always known things can fly. Everyone has always known birds to exist. We can demonstrate flying things really easily, just make a paper airplane.

FTL is something completely different.

Given or extremely limited understanding of space and time, maybe we just haven't discovered it yet.

Just look at all those unnatural elements on the periodic table. Many of those are so unstable they'll collapse in fractions of a second. That could never be found in nature, and until we got a better understanding of the elements we had no idea these things even existed, much less how to create them.

[Salus Maior]

The difference between flight and FTL is that we've always known things can fly. Everyone has always known birds to exist. We can demonstrate flying things really easily, just make a paper airplane.

FTL is something completely different.

Given or extremely limited understanding of space and time, maybe we just haven't discovered it yet.

Just look at all those unnatural elements on the periodic table. Many of those are so unstable they'll collapse in fractions of a second. That could never be found in nature, and until we got a better understanding of the elements we had no idea these things even existed, much less how to create them.

*shrug* Bring it up to a Physicist sometime.

[Alcala-Cordel]

Given or extremely limited understanding of space and time, maybe we just haven't discovered it yet.

Just look at all those unnatural elements on the periodic table. Many of those are so unstable they'll collapse in fractions of a second. That could never be found in nature, and until we got a better understanding of the elements we had no idea these things even existed, much less how to create them.

*shrug* Bring it up to a Physicist sometime.

Maybe I will if I see one around, they know they haven't discovered everything.

[Socio Polor]

As someone who's about to study physics I will tell u guys that they're many things in physics that were once thought impossible, until physicists were proven wrong. Black Holes were once thought to be impossible. Now recently we captured a photo of one, consider the possibilities

[Twicetagram and JYPe]

Putting science and physics aside, imagine the awkwardness and silence when we and the aliens meet for the first time before everyone goes frantically scrambling back to their homes.

[Major-Tom]

Please, just take me with you.

[Organized States]

LET'S KILL THEM AND TAKE THEIR SHIT!

[New haven america]

And centuries ago they said it was impossible for man to fly. Our understanding of physics at this point in time is not necessarily the absolute truth of the universe.

Impossible according to our present knowledge of physics.

In the 19th century it was impossible for a bumblebee to fly.

We've said that hundreds of times before. It's impossible to go FTL directly, but the thing about physics is there's just about always a way to bend the rules. We just haven't figured how to bend this one.

Didn't realize NSG was full of Physics Doctorates. Guess people who actually work in the field literally just don't know what they're talking about, because nothing can overcome the human spiritTM and apparently that's the absolute rule in the universe.

I mean, if you look at modern science starting around Galileo (So ~400-500 years) a lot of it is made up of people having wild ideas, getting denied and ridiculed by the governing science body at large, and then actually being proven correct during or after their lifetime.

Heliocentrism, how disease spreads, human reproduction, continental drift and tectonic plates, artificial flight, etc... just to name a few were all thought to be ludicrous ideas made up by madmen and idiots who had no idea what they were talking about, when in reality they were right all along.

So yes, accelerating an object to go faster than the speed of light as well as not dealing with relativity is impossible, no one is arguing against that, but that doesn't mean FTL travel is impossible because we haven't even tried yet. As proven by most sci-fi shows, books, and movie, there's more than 1 way to go have FTL travel. (Wormholes are a popular way and tend to be used in most sci-fi works that lean on realism)

[MGTOWia]

Didn't realize NSG was full of Physics Doctorates. Guess people who actually work in the field literally just don't know what they're talking about, because nothing can overcome the human spiritTM and apparently that's the absolute rule in the universe.

I mean, if you look at modern science starting around Galileo (So ~400-500 years) a lot of it is made up of people having wild ideas, getting denied and ridiculed by the governing science body at large, and then actually being proven correct during or after their lifetime.

Heliocentrism, how disease spreads, human reproduction, continental drift and tectonic plates, artificial flight, etc... just to name a few were all thought to be ludicrous ideas made up by madmen and idiots who had no idea what they were talking about, when in reality they were right all along.

So yes, accelerating an object to go faster than the speed of light as well as not dealing with relativity is impossible, no one is arguing against that, but that doesn't mean FTL travel is impossible because we haven't even tried yet. As proven by most sci-fi shows, books, and movie, there's more than 1 way to go have FTL travel. (Wormholes are a popular way and tend to be used in most sci-fi works that lean on realism)

Two words: Alcubierre Drive.

[Stellar Colonies]

FTL isn't necessary.

They could fire a shower of little packets of technology at the Asteroid or Kuiper Belts, which on arrival* would manufacture everything needed from the resources present there. Ships, fleshy (or not) aliens, trinkets for the native rock lichen, etc. etc. That would be better for them anyway, because they would have already securely established themselves in our star system far enough from Earth to keep us from interfering with their preparations, and then take their sweet time moving inwards towards Earth.

Any ships we have landing on the White House lawn would be made from good ol' Sol system stuff.

*Slowing back down would be...difficult however.

[Punished UMN]

Instruct the government to delete all copies of the movie species before the aliens can discover just how much we we want to fuck them

[Stellar Colonies]

Instruct the government to delete all copies of the movie species before the aliens can discover just how much we we want to fuck them

Well, that's two or three minutes of Wiki reading which I desperately want to be erased from my memory.

And there are three sequels? Jesus Christ.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Let's imagine for a moment...a hypothetical scenario. A scenario in which you found out that next year, 2021, will be the year that various extraterrestrial civilizations come to earth to make contact with us humans. When I say contact, I don't mean an invasion like scenario where ETs are coming to take over the planet and enslave or wipe out humankind. I speak of a scenario where multiple different ET civilizations (lets say well over two dozen of them) come to land their crafts in a public location in order to establish open peaceful contact with the human race for the purpose of meeting each other, we as humans finding out we aren't alone in the universe, sharing cultural knowledge, etc.

Let me see. How would I react if someone walked right into my house just because the door was open, and started garbling at me in a language I can't even guess let alone understand?

Earth is our home. And we have nowhere else, we can't split out the back door and call the police to deal with the intruders. Any ET's who landed without "knocking first" would be treated to a taste of what we humans do best!

Now if they take an orbit at a safe distance (say beyond the moon) and communicate peaceful intentions without using too many big words, and we spend a year or two getting to know each other ... obviously pitifully inadequate time for that, but we have to move on to trading art and culture future tech and Earth boys. Or girls of course, you can never tell what ET might be into.

Then we can meet somewhere, in orbit or perhaps on the Moon. Considering our planet is a festering sore of diseases compared to the inside of an ET starship, ET might think better of physically meeting us at all. "Just send the black ladyboys you owe us, in stasis with that machine we taught you to build. We'll disinfect them ourselves, then de-stasis them in the replica of Paris we built on the zoo planet ... they'll be well cared for."

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Instruct the government to delete all copies of the movie species before the aliens can discover just how much we we want to fuck them

Well, that's two or three minutes of Wiki reading which I desperately want to be erased from my memory.

And there are three sequels? Jesus Christ.

The worst movies always have sequels. "If at first you don't succeed ..."

Two words: Alcubierre Drive.

Huge fan. It requires insane amounts of power to go, then goes faster than light, and after an interstellar run releases so much energy it will blow away the stellar system it's going to. And of course itself.

"We come in peace! Hello? Anyone home?"