Monday, April 26, 2010

Hawking: Beware the aliens

In keeping with the theme of Sunday's post: The renowned Stephen Hawking warns humans that aliens could be bad news.

The parallel he draws: The arrival of Europeans to North and South America, " ... which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans."

Superior technology and foreign diseases could all contribute to mankind's decimation in such a scenario; of course, it could go the other way, too (these themes are nothing new in discussions of alien invasions: H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" hinged on it, and it sure saved Tom Cruise's butt in the 2005 film).

For the purposes of this blog, what interests me is alien cultures and, more specifically, any sense of supernatural or spiritual practices/institutions.

That could be an exciting TV show: Anthropologists in Space!

Another possible parallel to the arrival of Europeans: proselytizing. Imagine a scenario where erstwhile space aliens try and convert large swaths of the human populace to their religion.

Actually, I find the theme ripe for speculation; religion and space travel are a theme I intend to develop in this blog.

CLICK HERE for the article about Hawking's warning.

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