More UN Idiocy -or- Take Me To Your Leader

[dales]

Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 3:56 PM on 26th September 2010

If aliens ever land on Earth there will no longer be any confusion over who will greet them with the news the United Nations is set to appoint an astrophysicist to be their first human contact.

Mazlan Othman is expected to be tasked with coordinating humanity's response to an extraterrestrial visit, if ever required.

The 58-year-old Malaysian will tell a conference next week that with the recent discovery of hundreds of planets orbiting around other stars, the detection of alien life is becoming more and more likely.

Ms Othman, currently the head of the UN's Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa), recently told fellow scientists that mankind needed to be ready to deal with alien contact. ......they're pissing away money on this nonsense while the world goes to h#ll, how d@mned stupid!

'The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that some day human kind will received signals from extraterrestrials,' she said.

'When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject.

'The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination.'

Friendly? Professor Stephen Hawking has questioned the theory of non-threatening alien visitors, such as ET in the Hollywood film

Plans to make Unoose the coordinating body for dealing with alien encounters are set to be debated by UN scientific advisory committees.

If the idea is backed it will then head to General Assembly.

Professor Richard Crowther, head of the UK delegation to the UN committee, admitted recently: '[Ms] Othman is absolutely the nearest thing we have to a "take me to your leader" person.'

In April though Professor Stephen Hawking warned that the alien contact, if it ever comes, may not be as friendly as has been hoped.

In a documentary, the 68-year-old scientist said he imagined aliens arriving in 'massive ships' and could try to colonise Earth and plunder the planet's resources.

'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet,' he said.

'I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.'

He added: 'It would be 'too risky' to attempt to make contact with alien races. If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... z10kSbQUaS

[oldr_n_wsr]

He added: 'It would be 'too risky' to attempt to make contact with alien races. If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.'

I concur.

[loCAtek]

When did he become a Scientologist!?

[Andrew D]

'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet,' he said.

Maybe not so "intelligent" after all?

[loCAtek]

Well, in the US we already have a 'Think Tank' for just such emergencies. The UN should have called first;

SIGMA

SIGMA is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the understanding of the future and the long-term consequences of government actions.

As the future is the common ground for science fiction writers, so SIGMA is willing to share its knowledge of this unknown territory for the good of the nation.

They've already been tasked by Homeland Security

[Sue U]

SIGMA is willing to share its knowledge of this unknown territory

Its knowledge of unknown territory? Hahahaha. I think they mean "shit we just make up because the 'territory' is, y'know, by definition, 'unknown.'"

The chance of encountering space-traveling life forms from other planets is so ridiciulously remote as to be thoroughly laughable. In a universe more than 12 billion years old -- and where our own planet, after 4 billion years, just yesterday got around to producing us -- any life form even close to parity with our own is most likely to have come and gone from existence millions of years ago, or will not arise until millions of years in the future. And even then, the problems of practical inter-stellar -- let alone inter-galactic -- travel are likely insurmountable. So while we Earth creatures may not be the only life in the universe, we are almost certainly the only life we will ever know.

[loCAtek]

Well, I wouldn't call it 'shit';

Members

Many SIGMA members are Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers; all are science fiction writers who have spent careers applying their technical and literary talents in exploring the future of science, technology, society and cultures. SIGMA provides a significant pool of talent for volunteer pro bono consultation with the Federal government and other organizations which need the imagination that only speculative writers can provide.

With sufficient notice, SIGMA can provide a panel of distinguished science fiction authors with real-world expertise ranging over physics, astrophysics, nuclear science, advanced weaponry, engineering, nanotechnology, biomedicine, human factors and a common element of practical futurism. Other members can be recruited as needed; a large pool of potential SIGMAns exists within the professional science fiction community.

SIGMA members have each committed to consult with Federal authorities for taskings on vital national issues for several days, for travel and lodging expenses only. For extended effort or research, compensation may be based on individual contracts, as appropriate. Current Federal employees may be available on detailee status.

All SIGMA activities are strictly voluntary, and any member can decline any proposed tasking or meeting for any reason, with no further explanation.
Dr. Arlan Andrews, Sr. Austen Andrews Dr. Catherine Asaro
John Barnes Greg Bear Dr. J. Douglas Beason
Dr. Gregory Benford Dr. Ben Bova Dr. David Brin
Jeffrey A. Carver Michael F. Flynn Marianne Dyson
Alan Dean Foster Dr. Charles E. Gannon Kathleen A. Goonan
Steven Gould Peter J. Heck John Hemry
Dr. Yoji Kondo Jeffery D. Kooistra Nancy Kress
Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis Edward M. Lerner Dr. Paul Levinson
Tom Ligon Wil McCarthy Victor Milan
Elizabeth Moon Dr. Larry Niven Mark O'Green
Stephanie Osborn Tom Purdom Dr. Jerry Pournelle
Mary A. Rosenblum Dr. Stanley Schmidt Bud Sparhawk
Bruce Sterling Steve Stirling Michael Swanwick
Dr. Ian Tregillis Walter Jon Williams

[Sue U]

all are science fiction writers who ... volunteer pro bono ... the imagination that only speculative writers can provide.

Sci-fi writers x (imagination + speculation) / free = shit we made up (and are giving away 'cause no one's buying).

[Lord Jim]

The chance of encountering space-traveling life forms from other planets is so ridiciulously remote as to be thoroughly laughable. In a universe more than 12 billion years old -- and where our own planet, after 4 billion years, just yesterday got around to producing us -- any life form even close to parity with our own is most likely to have come and gone from existence millions of years ago, or will not arise until millions of years in the future. And even then, the problems of practical inter-stellar -- let alone inter-galactic -- travel are likely insurmountable. So while we Earth creatures may not be the only life in the universe, we are almost certainly the only life we will ever know.

I agree completely with Sue on this. (Now quick Sue, go post something political so I can go back to completely disagreeing and feel better about myself.... )

[dales]

Is there anyone out there?

I've exhausted the dating pool here on Earth.

[loCAtek]

OK, they put out a higher quality shit, than the average to low daily bullshit.

[Burning Petard]

OK. But one name on this list will no longer be contributing. Yesterday the NY Times published an obit for Dr. Jerry Pournelle

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/obit ... at-84.html

Bottom line-oriented business men paid him for writing because they found his stuff useful and practical. He once told Robert Heinlein that he was writing more science fiction for Boeing than Heinlein was publishing--and he did not have to put in any characters.

I read abut hiS death last Tuesday and to refresh my memory I pulled off my shelf something slender he wrote with Larry Niven and Steven Barnes in 2011--'The Secret of Black Ship Island' It is a sort of scary story in the tradition of teen agers in the haunted house and don't go down in the basement. It is placed in the same fictional universe as 'The Legacy of Heorot' and 'Beowulf's Island'

Nice little epigram from early on in the story: "Three! Pay attention. It isn't what you don't know that will kill you. It's what you think you know that ain't so. There is only one cure for lies. Only one cure for Ignorance. PAY ATTENTION."

Good rule for our time and universe as well. The first non-collaboration book by Pournelle I read was Janissaries.

snailgate