do ya think that aliens can be a species of future humans?

Discussion in 'Pseudoscience Archive' started by parul, Nov 26, 2011.

?

can you imagine aliens as future outlook of humans?

Poll closed Dec 20, 2011.
  1. yes

    1 vote(s)
    33.3%
  2. no

    2 vote(s)
    66.7%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. parul Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    24
    scientists approve the idea of presence of water on mars + when we look at the most common hypothetical image of aliens, they resemble a bit to humans(excluding the vestigeal organs)
    why not is it possible that the extra terrestial life outside the earth could be a species of future humans?

    in future, well i am pretty sure, climate and environment would be drastic enough to mutate the genetic composition of an organism.
    what you peoples think??????????????????/

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  3. Crunchy Cat F-in' *meow* baby!!! Valued Senior Member

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    This thread belongs in the science fiction forum.
     
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  5. wellwisher Banned Banned

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    If you look at medical science we are learning to manipulate the DNA to tailor the body. Relative to aliens, if they were future humans, why would the humans of the future chose to look like that, since by then they could tailor the human body to look like a god or goddess?

    Humans are not exactly under evolution since natural selection does not always apply when it comes to humans. We can use medicine to fight against natural selection which is trying to thin the herd. Instead of concentrating down to a natural selection, we keep even unhealthy options for breeding. If big breast give a female reproductive advantage, instead of nature providing a few here and there, we can make as many as we want at $5-10K a pop.

    With the future of cosmetic medicine and genetic manipulation, why would the future humans want to look like spooky aliens? I suppose, fashion industry doesn't always make sense, since it needs to cycle and try new things to keep the money flowing since people get bored.

    On the other hand, maybe the human ability to avoid natural selection in favor of artificial selection, eventually weakness human genes, until there is a species wide degradation. The result will be uglier alien humans with less vitality. Without technology they would be like a blob.

    For example, say we start with a herd of deer. We take the sickliest of them and spend all the resources to make them better. Then we use artificial selection to breed this $10M deer. The state if the art medical prosthesis is able to overcome the bad genes of this former sickly mother deer, but her offspring will start with her bad genes being propped plus genetic drift. Her baby is now is more worse off, but we have the medical technology to prop that up. After many generations the babies look like aliens weak, skinny, with bad skin color. They need technology to stay alive since we weakened the genetic pool for money.

    In the deer example, natural selection approaches this differently. The sickliest would become food for other animals. There is a saving in resources. The naturally strong will pass it genes forward so they get better over time, with little resources. In that alien future the animals look good and are vital, but the humans are ugly blobs totally dependent on technology for support.
     
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  7. Yazata Valued Senior Member

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    5,902
    I don't believe that humans have encountered any real extraterrestrials. The "aliens" of mythology are simply that, aliens of mythology. They are an example of contemporary folklore, the modern pseudo-scientific equivalent of the angels and demons of past centuries.

    But having said that, you are on to something.

    Any "life" that originates on another planet, completely independent of our own kind of life, is probably going to be fundamentally different. Most likely it won't use the same kind of DNA code. It might have a very different energy metabolism. It might not be divided up into cells. I suspect that our kind of life is the result of a long history of chemical and early cellular evolution. Many of its technical details are very likely fortuitous, the result of its history. And a truly separate lineage of life is going to have a different history.

    Anatomically, our humanoid form is probably fortuitous as well, a development of the original tetrapod form of the first chordates to emerge from the oceans onto land. Worms, insects, snails etc. are different lineages that had already diverged from the same original cellular roots in the seas much earlier, continuing to develop independently on land.

    So space aliens are probably going to be radically different from us biochemically, and will likely have dramatically different anatomies. Probably far more different than we currently imagine.

    Seen in that light, if the mythical aliens of ufology really are real (something I don't believe), then they probably do have some genetic relationship to ourselves that would explain their simularity to us.

    If we are determined to believe in them, then it probably does make more sense to think of them as time-travelers than as space aliens.

    Of course, my view on the simularity is that it is simply the result of humanity's predisposition to anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism (we see the same thing in how religion imagines gods as heavenly persons). Our inability/unwillingness to imagine something that's truly different than ourselves means that even our imaginary space-aliens are ultimately modeled on ourselves.

    When/if we meet aliens for real, we are probably going to learn, suddenly, unexpectedly and with a tremendous psychological shock, just how wrong that is.
     
  8. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    Isn't it interesting that they always land out on a farm in the backwoods of Missouri, rather than on the Quad at Harvard where they could talk to all the scientists!
    On a warmer planet it might be silicon-based rather than carbon.

    The Star Trek franchise did a reasonable job of inventing alien lifeforms that were really alien. Obviously it had to populate the set with Klingons and Vulcans and so forth that looked just like humans with a few cosmetic differences (we used to call it "Forehead Theater"), if only because humans had to play the roles. But with some regularity they ran into lifeforms that were nothing like us, in fact nothing like earth's biology at all. Once they encountered creatures that lived out in open space.

    They tried to open our minds to the likelihood that the human form is not a universal template.
    But both Chordata and Arthropoda are members of the clade Bilateria--animals with bilateral symmetry. So are snails and most or all worms (I didn't take the time to look them all up, and they are not all related).
    Note that arguably our most beloved animal, the one that was featured in prehistoric art and which even today is the image of popular playthings for our children, is the bear: one that often walks bipedally like us.
     
  9. Hercules Rockefeller Beatings will continue until morale improves. Moderator

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    This thread might have been prematurely moved from B&G to the “Monsters” subforum; there is scope for legitimate and interesting biological discussion to be had.

    As to the question in the OP, I think the answer is a qualified yes. If we permanently transplanted humans to another environment they would evolve in response to selective pressures, just as we do here and now. (Yes, that’s right, let’s have none of this popular interweb guff about how humans are no longer evolving.) If those selective pressures were sufficient, we could evolve into something quite different to what we are now, given enough time.
     
  10. Reiku Banned Banned

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    11,238
    There is certainly the contention that perhaps Aliens share biological traits with that of all lifeforms in the universe. One theory which traditionally accepts this idea is Panspermia theory. Then you might have a more outlandish claim, but still plausible I suppose, that Humans were biologically engineered at some point in our history.

    As outlandish the claim might be, it does actually answer for a lot.
     
  11. Reiku Banned Banned

    Messages:
    11,238
    (But for future humans) I think the OP is really asking whether aliens in their traditional ''grey'' appearances are really humans who have time-travelled from our future.

    I think Jack Sarfatti PhD agrees with this idea. I don't.
     
  12. Hercules Rockefeller Beatings will continue until morale improves. Moderator

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    Such as....?
     
  13. Reiku Banned Banned

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    11,238
    Well, aliens bioligically engineered us is pretty outlandish in my eyes.

    That must state that life cannot usually find a way without the interaction of some beings which have a special side to evolution.
     
  14. Reiku Banned Banned

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    11,238
    Oh sorry.. you are asking what it answers for...
     
  15. Reiku Banned Banned

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    well, remind yourself I said it was outlandish. So please, do not scrutanize me.

    But one thing it might answer for, is the Biological missing link of evolution.
     
  16. Hercules Rockefeller Beatings will continue until morale improves. Moderator

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    Well, you suggested that the concept of humans being genetically engineered by intelligent extraterrestrials explains “a lot”. If there are lots of such explanations to choose from, it should be a simple matter to choose a few for me as examples.


    What does that mean? The phrase “biological missing link of evolution” is very unclear and non-specific. Please clarify.
     
  17. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    33,264
    So why would they come back here and "devolve" themselves to what we humans are today?:shrug: If what you say were true wouldn't they try to make themselves better than they are today and then genetically make "us" a high-bred? On the other hand humans have not as yet traveled off Earth that far as to start a new society elesewhere in the universe that we know about. That would make it impossible to have "future" humans living anywhere but here.
     
  18. Repo Man Valued Senior Member

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    4,955
  19. Pincho Paxton Banned Banned

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    2,387
    I don't believe in the future. Time goes... present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,present, present,....
     
  20. Reiku Banned Banned

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    Hercules, I won't define something which is pretty much well known everywhere.


    the missing biological link...


    ... what do you think it is?
     
  21. Robittybob1 Banned Banned

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    4,199
    It will depend on viruses transmitting short sections of alien DNA into the human population over a period of time. If there is enough contact this DNA (plasmid transfer) will happen and the Human population may become "alien like" but only if that is an advantage. The laws of evolution will dictate. A distinct hybrid subpopulation may evolve separately from the main stream Homo sapiens, but only if they were to isolate and become inbred compared to the rest.
    That is biologically risky but might be worth it, if the subpopulation want to get to Kepler 22b.

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  22. AlexG Like nailing Jello to a tree Valued Senior Member

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    This is Mister's way of saying, 'I'm full of crap but I won't admit it'.
     
  23. Reiku Banned Banned

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    Transitional fossil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Evolution
    |
    Limitations of...
    |
    Evolutionary...
    |
    Comparison to...

    The idea of a " missing link" between humans and so-called "lower" animals remains lodged in ... Due to the specialized and rare circumstances required for a biological ...
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_link - Cached

    yeah, full of crap I am!!!!

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