If there are aliens, what will they look like?

[Jstpssng]

Due to their size (40-50 lbs) and already their brain proportion what if in tens of millions of years before us or instead of us the dominant specie had become among their descendants?

I actually was listening to a show on NPR a few months ago when they discussed that. Along with the things you cite, as egg layers they also were much more prolific. Imagine the bacteria rich environment resulting from all of those dead bodies lying around, after the apocalypse which killed off the dinosaurs. The reason we became the dominant life form was because we are warm blooded and able to ward off the pathogens which were prevalent. They were scientists and I'm not, so am not sure if they were saying body temps of the first warm blooded animals was 149 degrees. (Temp at which bacteria start to die.)

 

[2LaneCruzer]

i disagree what made us make the leap of evolution was us adapting to our environment when the climat change and the dense forest change to plains we started to walk upright on two legs and that free our hands to be able to carry thing and use tools to reach high fat/proteins food that made us smarter to change our environment… standing upright was the key … our first discovered upright ancestor is called “Lucy” lived 3.2 million years ago.

I do not see any inconsistency with what you say. Our early upright ancestors were not all that bright, and the enlargement of the brain coincided with other changes. I imagine Lucy's greatest skill was being able to run, chase down game and whack it with a club. Australopithicus and Pithecanthropus were beginning to make tools, if I recall correctly.
An aboreal dweller on the ground loses most of its survival skills. We compensated by walking upright, wielding clubs and rocks, and living and working in groups. A man with a club is no match for a lion; but 10 men with clubs and spears are. We also learned to cook and eat meat, which gave the calories needed for the larger brain. Also, a human hand, designed to do delicate tasks, is not the same as one designed for a brachiating animal.

We have rearranged our environment like no other being. I have never seen a Chimp eating Omaha steaks, living in a codo and driving a cadillac wearing a Brooks Brothers suit, and running a corporation.

 

[the old grind]

Earth hasn't always been 'like this'. We've progressed during a period of a few million years of conditions that we can only hope will remain constant. Mass extinctions have occurred when temperature & oxygen levels weren't. For this reason I consider life on other planets might be discovered but not necessarily able to survive here without controlled environment 'suits' or similar, much less visit us.

There are only so many places where we can go buck naked. I suggest that visiting aliens wouldn't arrive here that way either and they'd look like the design of their adaptive gear, perhaps seen as robot-like in their space suits. Verbal communication between us and alien visitors might depend on which languages are translated first and the ability of our or their vocal apparatus to be able to speak intelligibly to each other.

btw, trust Hollywood to tell us that carnivorous dinosaurs had blood curdling roars and that plant eaters grunted or squawked. Trust the internet to tell us that North America is the continent aliens visit most often.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I do not see any inconsistency with what you say. Our early upright ancestors were not all that bright, and the enlargement of the brain coincided with other changes. I imagine Lucy's greatest skill was being able to run, chase down game and whack it with a club. Australopithicus and Pithecanthropus were beginning to make tools, if I recall correctly.
An aboreal dweller on the ground loses most of its survival skills. We compensated by walking upright, wielding clubs and rocks, and living and working in groups. A man with a club is no match for a lion; but 10 men with clubs and spears are. We also learned to cook and eat meat, which gave the calories needed for the larger brain. Also, a human hand, designed to do delicate tasks, is not the same as one designed for a brachiating animal.

We have rearranged our environment like no other being. I have never seen a Chimp eating Omaha steaks, living in a codo and driving a cadillac wearing a Brooks Brothers suit, and running a corporation.

I agree with everything you are saying, the reason for my disagreement was in your first statement, you said that the reason for our survival was our ability to change our environment to survive. I am making the point that in the first place if we didn't adapt to our environment we wouldn't had survive ... but our ability to change our environment to suite us made us thrive to what we are today ... I know I am disagreeing on a technicality

side note its not evident that Luci was a predator they think she mostly eat plants and fruits, and only scavenge meat once in a while the hunting came later with the ability to create tools.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Now thats some deep stuff right there 2Lane.

Food for thought. Some of the TV aliens are so ridiculous looking, that I can't see them doing anything except maybe chasing rabbits. They couldn't button a shirt, let alone make a spacecraft or even turn the page of a book.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I agree with everything you are saying, the reason for my disagreement was in your first statement, you said that the reason for our survival was our ability to change our environment to survive. I am making the point that in the first place if we didn't adapt to our environment we wouldn't had survive ... but our ability to change our environment to suite us made us thrive to what we are today ... I know I am disagreeing on a technicality

side note its not evident that Luci was a predator they think she mostly eat plants and fruits, and only scavenge meat once in a while the hunting came later with the ability to create tools.

Have you read the book "The Naked Ape"? I read it many, many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed. It's basically about how the modern human came to possess the body and skills he has, and also how his sexuality, coupled with culture and child raising, fits into the scheme. Example...we are the "naked ape" because of our evolution as a hunter; the lack of hair is a temperature regulating adaption for running long distances chasing game.

Although a man is not particularly fast, compared to a deer, a group of them has the ability to run long distances, and completely exhaust their game. I understand the the Native Americans used to capture wild horses by running them down on foot.
In any case, have enjoyed this exchange.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Have you read the book "The Naked Ape"? I read it many, many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed. It's basically about how the modern human came to possess the body and skills he has, and also how his sexuality, coupled with culture and child raising, fits into the scheme. Example...we are the "naked ape" because of our evolution as a hunter; the lack of hair is a temperature regulating adaption for running long distances chasing game.

Although a man is not particularly fast, compared to a deer, a group of them has the ability to run long distances, and completely exhaust their game. I understand the the Native Americans used to capture wild horses by running them down on foot.
In any case, have enjoyed this exchange.

No I haven't read it but I will right that down. One thing I have to point out is this book is from 1967, Lucy was found in in 1974 but it wasn't recognize as our oldest ancestor until much later because it didn't fit the ''narrative'' the accepted theory at the time was the brain developpe first then we walk upright, and also the theory was our evolution was a straight line when it is actually a tree with multiples branches leading to nowhere but ours, my point is some of the stated information in this book if they talk about our lineage and physical evolution might be ''outdated'' for the lack of better word we have made great advance in our understanding of human history in the last 30 years. I have done extensive research on the origin of mankind and its evolution its a subject that fascinate me...
yes I have came across this fact its fascinating.

same here cheers.

 

[tradosaurus]

No I haven't read it but I will right that down. One thing I have to point out is this book is from 1967, Lucy was found in in 1974 but it wasn't recognize as our oldest ancestor until much later because it didn't fit the ''narrative'' the accepted theory at the time was the brain developpe first then we walk upright, and also the theory was our evolution was a straight line when it is actually a tree with multiples branches leading to nowhere but ours, my point is some of the stated information in this book if they talk about our lineage and physical evolution might be ''outdated'' for the lack of better word we have made great advance in our understanding of human history in the last 30 years. I have done extensive research on the origin of mankind and its evolution its a subject that fascinate me...
yes I have came across this fact its fascinating.

same here cheers.

"Lucy, arguably the world’s most famous early human fossil, is not quite all she seems. A careful look at the ancient hominin’s skeleton suggests one bone may actually belong to a baboon."

Lucy was a fraud

There is absolutely no proof for evolution and the law of entropy proves a fish can't become a human over time. Evolution is a belief system.

 

[RoyJackson]

"Lucy, arguably the world’s most famous early human fossil, is not quite all she seems. A careful look at the ancient hominin’s skeleton suggests one bone may actually belong to a baboon."

Lucy was a fraud

There is absolutely no proof for evolution and the law of entropy proves a fish can't become a human over time. Evolution is a belief system.

A link from a pseudo-science site...total BS...no science here, just propaganda

 

[MossRoad]

A link from a pseudo-science site...total BS...no science here, just propaganda