The Aliens Have (Maybe) Landed
Instead of little green men, how about little red cells?
A scientist in India is positing that "red rain" that fell there contains extraterrestrial cellular matter lacking DNA, possibly bacteria adapted to interstellar conditions that was stripped from a passing comet or meteor and found its way into a rain cloud. He may be utterly wrong about this--tests are being done, but the jury's still out--but wouldn't it be cool if he's right?!
Humanoid creatures in space ships would be pretty exciting, true, but would also create a host of complications. Better we should find our way into acceptance of the existence of life elsewhere in a more gradual way. Sentient aliens are likely to spawn fear, possibly war--and at the very least misunderstanding. (Of course they would be a lot harder for the intelligent design crowd to deny.) Heck, humans have trouble understanding each other and living peacefully; I don't hold out a lot of hope for peaceful interactions with extraterrestrials, based on prior evidence.
But cells . . . not life-changing for most of us. And therefore not threatening, except ideologically, and again, mostly to those who have inflexible ideologies and who are accustomed to denying the evidence of science when it conflicts with their beliefs, so no real change for them, either. But once a generation grows up with the notion that there are cells from other places, then other life forms in other places: a natural and expected consequence. So when we finally do happen on the little green men--or whatever form they take--perhaps people will be open to the possibility, prepared for it, welcoming of it.
Hmm . . . so what if these cells were part of a master plan with that very goal?
A scientist in India is positing that "red rain" that fell there contains extraterrestrial cellular matter lacking DNA, possibly bacteria adapted to interstellar conditions that was stripped from a passing comet or meteor and found its way into a rain cloud. He may be utterly wrong about this--tests are being done, but the jury's still out--but wouldn't it be cool if he's right?!
Humanoid creatures in space ships would be pretty exciting, true, but would also create a host of complications. Better we should find our way into acceptance of the existence of life elsewhere in a more gradual way. Sentient aliens are likely to spawn fear, possibly war--and at the very least misunderstanding. (Of course they would be a lot harder for the intelligent design crowd to deny.) Heck, humans have trouble understanding each other and living peacefully; I don't hold out a lot of hope for peaceful interactions with extraterrestrials, based on prior evidence.
But cells . . . not life-changing for most of us. And therefore not threatening, except ideologically, and again, mostly to those who have inflexible ideologies and who are accustomed to denying the evidence of science when it conflicts with their beliefs, so no real change for them, either. But once a generation grows up with the notion that there are cells from other places, then other life forms in other places: a natural and expected consequence. So when we finally do happen on the little green men--or whatever form they take--perhaps people will be open to the possibility, prepared for it, welcoming of it.
Hmm . . . so what if these cells were part of a master plan with that very goal?
posted by Maines at 4:01 PM
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