Posted on 04/23/2024 12:09:08 PM PDT by Red Badger
If there are alien civilizations out there close enough to pick up our stray signals, there's a non-zero chance that amongst the first transmissions, they could receive the opening of the 1936 Olympic Games, meaning our first contact with another species (in the unlikely event that they picked them up) could include a speech by Adolf Hitler.
"This wasn't the first broadcast, of course," senior SETI astronomer Seth Shostak explained to RealClearScience. "But it was at a high frequency that might make it through the ionosphere."
In the film Contact, this ended up being the first message humanity received from an alien civilization. The beings sent the signal right back at Earth, not realizing the impact sending broadcasts of Adolf Hitler from space would have on the species they were attempting to initiate contact with. It's a bit like if you said hello to a passing stranger, and in response they accidentally regurgitated a chapter of Mein Kampf.
Thankfully, we likely won't have to go through this scenario, with signal strengths too weak to be detected by alien civilizations.
"It would have been very low power, and with a non-directional antenna," Shostak continued. "The idea that aliens might pick it up is pretty far-fetched."
But, of course, we could end up receiving far more terrifying first transmissions, as people have been discussing over on X (Twitter) and Reddit.
At the moment, likely due to a recent TV series that will not be named, people mainly seem to be focusing on hearing warnings from other civilizations.
According to some solutions to the Fermi Paradox – or the question of "where is everybody?" – the answer is that advanced civilizations are deliberately hiding themselves, out of fear of their own destruction.
Another fear is of an ambiguous message; that aliens will give us few details, other than that they are on their way.
While not enough information is considered terrifying, people also appear to worry about alien civilizations that are overfamiliar with Earth.
There is one theory – known as the Zoo Hypothesis – along these lines. It proposes that aliens are aware of us but keep us isolated in a "zoo" to let us evolve and progress, just as humanity sets aside land as nature reserves and does not contact uncontacted tribes. According to this hypothesis, we could then be contacted when we have achieved sufficient technological and societal maturity, perhaps welcomed into a galactic community.
Despite the fear that contacting an alien civilization will likely involve (even if they are friendly, humans have a pretty solid track record of fearing the unknown), there may be one idea that is scarier.
Perhaps (though we'd bet against it) there are no aliens at all, and Earth contains all sentient life.
To serve man
To Serve Man
We’re here to serve you.
Damn. I was going to say the same thing
Hillary is one of us
We are from the Federation of Planets and we are here to help.
Your God is returning and boy is He pissed.
I don't know what the scariest would be, but the funniest would be "Take me to your leader".
For most of the world: The message of the Bible is real, and Jesus is returning any day now.
God is real, and the Ten Commandments..... (oh m. G!)
My answer to that meme on FB was: Hitchhikers Guide was a documentary
You taste like chicken...
“There’s no point in acting surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for 50 of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. … What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energize the demolition beams.”
“All your base are belong to us.”
In the New Testament, it is mentioned that when Jesus returns, every eye will see Him. This is referred to as the second coming of Jesus Christ. The verses related to this event include Revelation 1:7, which states, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him,” and Matthew 24:27, which says, “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” These verses indicate that Jesus’ return will be a visible and global event, with His appearance being as clear and noticeable as lightning illuminating the sky.
American citizens: The Democrats are already trying that on us.
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