Anticipating Our First Encounter with Advanced Extraterrestrial Life

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This blogger, Pericles21, let go of earth-focused restraints to muse on a recent web article on the subject of what we might expect when advanced extraterrestrial life is 'discovered': 'New Advances in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life --Will It Be Inconceivable to Us?, (DailyGalaxy, August 8, 2015).

First, 'when ET is discovered' is such an ego-centered frailty of humankind. For self-protection (i.e., to prevent arrogant, and dangerous, presumptions of our superiority), we should shift our frame from humans 'discovering' ET to a reality that, indeed, it is us humans that will be 'discovered'... by a far more advanced life-form. This reframing will be necessary since it is ET who will have the advanced technology to visit us while we will not have the technology to return the courtesy (as far as the public knows).

The Daily Galaxy begins by framing their article using earth as a reference point:

A thin layer near the surface of Earth is teeming with life of huge diversity: from micro-organisms to plants and animals, and even intelligent species. Up to now, this forms the only known sample of life in the Universe. We now readily accept that the laws and concepts of physics and chemistry apply throughout the cosmos. Is there a general biology as well: is there life beyond Earth?

With the Sun just about half-way through its life-time, humankind as we know it is likely to constitute a rather short transient episode, and advanced extra-terrestrial life might be inconceivable to us in its complexity, just as human life is to amoebae.

As the article points out, the wide range of biodiversity here on earth that produces new species 'discoveries' every year suggests we should be prepared for a surprise when we 'find' ET because ET will have had many-fold more time-cycles of their evolution to produce a hugely wider variation of ET life forms than we have on earth.

But to be balanced in perspective, there is the contra-diversity theory of "convergent evolution" championed by Simon Morris (The Runes Of Evolution)(2015) that posits ET will probably look like us at least in basic morphology (number of limbs, eyes, etc). Professor Morris makes the case for a:

ubiquitous "map of life" that governs the way in which all living things develop.
It builds on the established principle of convergent evolution, a widely-supported theory -- although one still disputed by some biologists -- that different species will independently evolve similar features.

Pericles21 partially, but significantly, disagrees with the 'convergent' view of evolution and posits an 'interpreted diversity of life' point of view that:

although advanced extraterrestrial life may evolve towards a similar morphology (shape), advanced ET life will likely show us an immense diversity of function and internal life-chemistry that will not necessarily be 'bio-organic' ... nor human in appearance.

This will be addressed later.

To help us prepare to meet diversity in ET life, we must adapt our understanding of what is life. This definition has to be 'Reductionist':

how do/can we identify the most simple, basic features that might describe what is 'life'.

Pericles21 posits that first, there should be 'containment', then 'form', an 'energy gathering-utilization mechanism' (e.g., bio-ingestion, radiation absorption, temperature/density gradient, etc), a charge transfer-based sensory network serving to operate a potential energy machine, an information/sentience system analogous in function to DNA, and a mechanism to assure longevity or survival of the sentient unit or community.

From these proposed principles of life, one hypothetical example of ET "life" might derive from the recently announced (DARPA project) nanoscale, Nernst-reversible, metallic-dendritic growth-retraction mechanism that looks to be a solid state analogy to bio-neuronic network components (axions). This suggests a model of low temperature, quasi-solid, metallic-based ET 'life' with cognitive reflexes thousands of times faster than the human brain.

Pericles21 champions a personal, entropic theory of shape that:

evolution is driven to minimize entropy, i.e., to take a shape that is the most streamlined (least entropy)

This least entropic state, this evolutionary 'end-point', may take the appearance of shapelessness, where the highest evolved morphology will appear to be a 'spherical or globular form. But so far, we can only muse about ET since we have only one publicly known data point of life in the universe, our own planet Earth. We will have to wait to expand on evolution until a second data point is discovered or revealed. Then our knowledge, and science, of life will take a 'quantum leap'.

Posted by: Resonanz | August 11, 2015 at 08:58 AM

How Would Humans Appear to an Alien Visitor: A Manual for Investigating the Human Species

this comment was posted in response to the above question, 'How Would Humans Appear to an Alien Visitor'.

"Biologically, humans are still in a primitive, furred stage with constant emission through their dermal encasement sac (aka 'skin') of gaseous and liquid wastes that are toxic to self and to other humans unless proper space is available - a very messy and unsanitary species to be around. Note: a significant human social effort and giving up of possessions is involved in the often intricate cultural ritual and apparatus of dermal cleansing humans call, 'bathing', which is essentially immersing themselves in a terrible hydride chemical fluid they call 'water' which however is the same fluid environment that nurtured them in their early biological history before they adopted their current shape. Also, though they describe themselves as 'civilized' and 'evolved', humans still give top priority to energy-draining designs for their space exploration by insisting on biological support systems primarily involved with provision and management of bio-input ('food) and output (waste treatment and recycling). Humans have not progressed to accepting the limits to bio-bodies and moving towards cyber existence.

Humans suffer extreme protective anxiety over food and food symbols such as personally 'owned' trinkets (material objects of value), opposite sex (reward symbolism) or trinkets of others. Humans can ingest almost any other bio-species on their planet to obtain energy for movement and thought. Additionally, Humans are primitive to the point of even engaging in cannibalism when normative 'food' is scarce.

The minds and thinking of Humans are 'Unlinked' so they have, so far, had to rely on external devices to communicate with each other via various biological (facial expressions, sounds, pheronomes) and artificial (technical) contrivances such as books, electromagnetic radiative contraptions visual signaling. In the last respect, human technology has become more and more intricate for their species though they don't realize that their stubborn insistence on retaining their bio-shells is an obsession that leads to a dead-end and merely prolongs the inevitable progress to cyber-state existence. However, the tragic lack of a bio-interlink with other humans causes them great pain and tragedy as the result of individual isolation and the need to achieve 'certainty' and clarity about their world by employing consensus and trading back and forth vocal and non-vocal signals, aka spoken languages, writing, and body (facial mostly) exertions.

As a result of their being Unlinked', humans suffer from a constant sense of being isolated. Consequently, humans must be treated with caution as their lack of true connectedness coupled with their still-primitive reliance on fear-fight-or fight bio-coded instincts makes them dangerously suspicious, afraid and psychologically inconsistent (unstable). In fact, another intricate cultural pre-occupation has developed to try to bridge the communication gap - this is known as 'therapy'...and some 'therapies' are quite touching and inventive and are also known as 'philosophical systems'. Furthermore, humans have a special kind of need and brain structure that makes them search for true and pure communication which they feel must be possessed by a perfected breed of human they call, symbolically, 'gods'. Humans have created often elaborate and admittedly appealing mind structures to help them in the matter of 'religion' and their gods who they often attach with human weaknesses and personalities. Human religions should be regarded carefully and respected by the explorer and exo-scientist as much for care and respect for human subjects as much as for avoiding dangerous emotional collapse in humans by taking away the mental stability structure of the human subjects. Religions are for many humans, sometimes like a blind person finding his way with a special cane...take away the cane and the result is predictable, or not which is the danger with humans.

Special Note: human lack of bio-connectedness, creates constant opportunities for deception (facial 'lies' and spoken words) in pursuit of material trinkets and perceived 'gain'. 'Gain' is a human trait of desiring more than an individual's fair share of needed energy or even trinkets. Humans have an interesting way of treating their 'more than fair share' - they hide the excess share(s) away and protected from other humans. This trait has also led to the development of a significant human cultural phenomenon called 'banking systems and investments' - which are again often elaborate systems of lies, deceptions and visual tricks (misleading advertising) to persuade some humans to give up some of their excess in hopes (or false promises) of multiplying their 'investment'.

Humans have other undesirable traits and features. They are burdened by their need to manage personal bio-wastes or else suffer disease and death. They are ridden with bio-parasites that result in early demise. Again, significant cultural structures and time occupations have been developed to address the constancy of human disease - an activity-set humans call 'doctoring' with elabroarate infrastructures for training principals and support staff. Humans give up much of their surplus nation and individual wealth to the 'doctoring' sector of human social organization.

Lastly, but not least, humans recognize their great species 'lack' from not having #BioConnectedness creates both good and bad.

On the good side, humans acknowledge that being unlinked, along with a seemingly innate drive to trickery, can with practice (following prescribed cerebral formulae) lead to artful expressions known as 'comedy'. 'Comedy' is a human behavior with apparent rules that creates a sort of substance-free addiction marked by positive, elevated emotional states usually accompanied by uncontrollable throat expulsions humans call 'laughter'.

On the bad side, humans also acknowledge their non-connectedness has and will continue to offer opprotunities, or requirements, for deceptions and trickery to extort from others their possessions and rights. Humans allocate a significant portion of their waking lives to combat and control this human physiological loophole (regulate) and results by developing an elaborate systems of regulation and formalisms of communication among individuals and groups. The generic territory of these systems is 'Law'. The conducting and acting out of these systems and their rituals are done by individuals and groups specially trained - lawyers, juries and courts. All of currently encountered human study subjects involve some form of their 'Law' apparatus. It is wise for the exo-scientist to remember this feature of human behavior and social organization.

But, humans being what they are, even acting out the rituals of 'Law' some humans are not able to wean themselves completely away from their species inclination to indulge in trickery and deception.

Consequently, much of current human 'comedy' has to do with (to humans) the antics of those in the Law sector. The exo-scientist will constantly hear references to these tales ('lawyer-jokes'), accompanied by even more vigorous throat explosions. These recitations (jokes) are sometimes very elaborate in complexity or are so linked to basic human physiology and physiological activities as to be either difficult to interpret or difficult to witness in their mental imaging.

For a primitive and coarse species, humans can be unfathomable in their preoccupation with their base functions. And why humans so frequently associate in their 'comedy', practioners of 'Law' with human waste and acts of reproduction is a subject of serious study as it seems to represent the surfacing of as yet unknown human traits.

In summary, the exo-scientist is cautioned when investigating the human species. Humans are inherently inconsistent and lack the rationality of post-biological species. They tend to compensate for their Great Lacking (of wireless Bio-linkaging) with over-aggressiveness, suspicion and a knack to somewhat readily drift away on tangential courses to follow exceptionally 'de-ranged' human indivuals or individual interpretations of reality (supersitition). Humans show exceptional inventiveness concerning the imaging and implementing of these mental abberrations in the form of physical tools devoted to perpetrating physiological mayhem on other humans. These traits, along with being principally omnivorous, inquisitive, and focused on species reproduction, render humans often dangerous or at least embarrassing to be around. Treat humans with care for the sake of investigator safety and sanity.