STEPHEN HAWKING & ALIENS

Commentary #044

April 28, 2010

 

In advance of a TV documentary featuring Stephen Hawking discussing space and time in general and the subject of aliens in particular as zeroed in on by the media, Professor Hawking speaks out publicly expressing within this overall context his well known belief that we here on Earth should try to avoid contact with aliens. Of course this position by definition admits to not only the possibility but the probability of intelligent and advanced extraterrestrial life and Professor Hawking says as much.

Now, as most of us know, Stephen Hawking is a brilliant British theoretical physicist and readily recognized as one of the foremost mainstream scientists of our time. He and I were born in the same year during World War II with he being slightly older than I by some months. I have a lot of respect for him and his many accomplishments made in spite of some really severe physical handicaps that few of us can imagine trying to deal with. However, I do not agree with him on this issue of no alien contact.

Some will take comfort that Hawking like the Vatican is publicly acknowledging that aliens can in theory exist at all but that is really an undeniable given. The man is a great mathematician and it is statistically impossible that intelligent technologically advanced life other than our own do not exist somewhere in the immense Universe, so what else is he going to say on that? The rub comes into the picture when he says that we should avoid contact as long as possible mostly because of the risk it represents to Earth humanity.

Yes every time we encounter or do something new with a strong element of the unknown present in it, risk is part of it and always has been. When a brave scientist climbs down in that volcanic pit to test without having sufficient knowledge as to when the volcano may erupt again, that unknown element represents risk that is part of it. Some have lost their lives in this way but knowledge was gained and added. When that test pilot pushed that experimental aircraft to its limits and perhaps beyond, very significant risk was part of it. Again some have lost their lives in this way but knowledge was gained and added.

When that great navigator Columbus sailed straight out west on the open Atlantic Ocean toward the unknown Americas in 1492, he may or may not have been taking on that much risk from his more navigator informed point of view. However most of those sailors setting out with him weren't navigators and those brave souls were taking a big risk from their less well informed point of view. You know how that story went eventually establishing one of the most powerful nations on Earth.

However, those pioneering risk takers and the many others like them, and the risk they accepted would not likely have affected the survival ability of the entire Earth human race and I suspect that may be why Professor Hawking is concerned about any contact with aliens and especially any that are more advanced than we are. In other words, the risk is that as a race we and this place we call home could be over powered, subjugated, and exploited even to extinction.

A prime example of this concern would be the movie "The Chronicles of Riddick" where a race of powerful religious nomadic human type raiders enter and gobble up entire human civilizations and systems and move on leaving nothing behind to survive on their way to their "Underverse." Of course this concern presumes that this type of negative psychology exists out there somewhere and I would agree that it is possible. After all, if there is a niche not filled good or bad, it is likely that something will eventually fill it. One of the constants when it comes to intelligent life is its diversity.

So I would agree with Professor Hawking that the risk is real in absolute terms but the question of whether the probability is there or not is another matter. When Columbus undertook his risk on the ocean blue in 1492, as a navigator he likely knew the world was round, that he would eventually encounter land if he could hold out long enough heading west, and that he would not be falling off the end of the flat Earth. In other words, the probability was working for him just as turned out to be the case.

Now Professor Hawking and many in the academic/scientific community may not accept this but I think that it is fairly obvious to many independent thinkers as evidenced by the many thousands of UFO sightings that Earth is being observed by others who are not us and that our existence, technology level, and location has been long known by them. Therefore, trying to maintain a lowered hidden profile in the Universe as suggested by Professor Hawking is not likely going to be a successful tactic. After all, many years ago we even sent a disc out in space designed in part by Carl Sagan announcing our presence and it is long too late to take that back.

Likewise, in all the time we appear to have been observed as represented by the world wide ongoing UFO experience, nothing bad appears to have happened to us from this exposure. We've seen no real known evidence of planet wide hostile or aggressive behavior from any others observing us. In fact, the only behavior that seems to be the case is few if any of these others appear to want to interact with us beyond observing. Considering our racial predilection for emotional aggressive behavior in the face of what we don't readily understand, can't say as I blame them either.

If we assume that some of our own often exhibited human traits like greed, avarice, and expediency are traits at times shared by those observing us, then it is fair to consider that they are at least exercising restraint in relation to us which it is presumed is a hallmark of a more civilized societies. So, based on this limited experience, my thinking is that, although the possibility may be there, the probability is low that we can expect bad things to happen to us planet wide in any interaction scenario with aliens.

However, it also depends on one's definition is of what may constitute a bad experience. For example, at this early stage in our Earth human development, the likelihood is that any aliens we interact with will likely be more advanced than we are. Yes it is possible or even probable that such interaction will produce a few psychological busted fantasy bubbles in our social fabric and some real mental stretching may occur to encompass new information and concepts. However, I regard that more as a reality check and a good healthy thing associated with human growth but some may see it differently.

In my opinion Professor Hawking, we have already been publicly hiding from the truth of our greater environment for decades and any avoidance or adapting time has already been used up. It is now time to fish or cut bait as the old saying goes. Our now rapidly advancing technology is taking us off this planet and in doing so perhaps into contact with others at the same time as information available to the general public and their growth is proliferating. In other words Professor Hawking, contact is unavoidable and soon and we're just going to have no choice but to face it now rather than later.

I must also add that I see a far bigger danger and threat than anything produced by general open alien contact. Our advancing technology has likely already produced contact by a few here on Earth with aliens where greed, avarice and expediency is a ruling behavioral trait on both sides. Not only are we likely to loose such an engagement due to our inexperience, this generates a pervasive using and myopic me oriented psychology that is not good.

The result of avoidance so far in our world social fabric is the proliferation of secrecy with the most important knowledge limited to a few and more and more serving primarily their personal interests and view. The proliferation of secrecy isolates the few with knowledge that elevates them to a perceived elite status that soon corrupts. This in turn results in the the fostering of ignorance and dumbing down of populations to keep the secrets rather than challenging them to become involved in their own wider affairs. Finally as the schism widens more and more, a powerful but hidden and secretive 5th column forms in world affairs essentially enslaving populations in ignorance.

So Professor Hawking, yes the risk potential may be real in absolute terms when associated with alien contact and particularly if we are not sufficiently cautious, but I am much more concerned at how this secrecy, schism, and 5th column business is already in the here and now corrupting our social fabric in very destructive ways. We may eventually need a united voice on this planet to deal with others but achieving it by a power elite take over through ignorance and dumbing down of populations and the loss of personal freedoms is not the way to it. I will fight that and I suspect many others will as well.

It is my suspicion that your interaction with others exists in more academic exalted circles where elitism concepts finds more fertile ground and you are more exposed to filtered information that elitists would prefer for you. I would invite you to bring that brilliant mind to the other side of the issue and examine it and us closer. Populations being relegated to ignorance as to the truth of our space exploration and of our greater environment is not a good thing.

Rational objectivity and fair treatment from someone like you would be much appreciated.