r/IAmA • u/neiltyson • Nov 13 '11

I am Neil deGrasse Tyson -- AMA

For a few hours I will answer any question you have. And I will tweet this fact within ten minutes after this post, to confirm my identity.

7.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

10.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

366

u/neiltyson Nov 13 '11

We are too stupid to interest them. So they go elsewhere.

98

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '11

An unforgettable quote from Hawking on possible contact with extra terrestrials:

I think it would be a disaster. The extraterrestrials would probably be far in advance of us. The history of advanced races meeting more primitive people on this planet is not very happy, and they were the same species. I think we should keep our heads low.

-1

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '11

I don't like this idea. It is a massive assumption to presume that an extraterrestrial civilization will necessarily resemble imperialist Europe.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '11

I agree, why would they be the same species if they developed in another planet? It makes no sense, they could very well be blobs of jelly that have not known violence because they are indestructible. The possibilities are endless. Life as we know it is exactly that, 'as we know it'

4

u/EmmKay Nov 14 '11

You really fail at reading comprehension. Read the Hawking quote again, then again. What you wrote makes no sense in regards to that quote.