1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff from the Science Lab from how stuff 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: works dot com. Hey, guys, welcome to the podcast. This 3 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: is Alice and I don't know if the science editor 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. This is Robert Lamb, science 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: writer at how stuff works dot com. And today we're 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: tackling a pretty big question and one that, uh, at 7 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: the time of this recording, was still making the rounds 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 1: in the news media. Um, will aliens destroy us? And 9 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: I need a need of stress here that we're dealing 10 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: with a a big cosmological question here, one of the biggest. 11 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: There's a lot of speculation in this, like like very 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: high minded speculation, not like you know what if a 13 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: you know, just it's um, it's not based necessarily in 14 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: in strict scientific research. You know that. That's the whole 15 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: nature of some of these big cosmological questions. Yeah, said, 16 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: we're gonna be having more of a conversation than a 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: discussed and tearing apart some study today. So the reason 18 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: this was making the news is because I've been series 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:13,639 Speaker 1: currently airing on Discovery. Yeah, Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking. 20 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: You wrote for this, right, Yeah, I wrote for the website. Um, 21 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: did some summaries a couple of really cool quizzes on 22 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: aliens and time traveling, a couple of really hard quizzes. Yeah, 23 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: I couldn't even get them right, they're that hard. And 24 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: I wrote the during things. Um but but yeah, so 25 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 1: that the first episode right out of the gate was 26 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: Aliens and uh and I'm just gonna go ahead and 27 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: read part of the script here. You know that of 28 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: what Hawking says, he says, we only have to look 29 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into 30 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: something we wouldn't want to meet. We humans are already 31 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: capable of manipulating the course of our own evolution. Exactly 32 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: the same, presumably, would be true of advanced extraterrestrials. Ultimately, 33 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: they could halt aging and become virtually immortal. What's more, 34 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: they might have reached that point in many millions of 35 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: years ago. It might sound unlikely, but if you think 36 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: about it, logically, alien technology should be as extraordinary to 37 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: us as a rocket ship is to a caveman. I 38 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: imagine they might exist in massive ships like these. And 39 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: this is where in the show you get to see 40 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: like a big giant spaceship, you know, yeah, um, like 41 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: these having used up all the resources from from the 42 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: home planet below. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads 43 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach. 44 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: If so, it makes sense for them to exploit each 45 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: new planet for materials to build more spaceships. Uh, so 46 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: they could move on and naturally with quotes like these 47 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: news stories were right on it, and it's pretty soon 48 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: they started producing headlines like don't talk to aliens, weren't 49 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: Stephen Hawking from Fox News or seen Stephen Hawking? Aliens 50 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: might hate us? I like that one. So yeah, I 51 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: think it was. It was kind of a slow newsweek 52 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,959 Speaker 1: when all this hit, Like this was right before um, 53 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: you know, we had some environmental issues pop up and 54 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: some some other big stories hit, so and you got 55 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: to fill that science section of the website with something. Right. 56 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: But I don't think Hawking was engaged in fear mongering, 57 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: and I really wasn't his intent. It was speculation. Yes, 58 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: So we can't stress stress it enough that that Hawking 59 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: was not saying, you know, go, you know, buy a 60 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: shotgun and hiding your basement because the aliens are coming 61 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: to harvest the planet. The argument is simply, hey, if 62 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: life universally evolves from the chemistry on planets where the 63 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 1: you know, you have the correct minerals, the right temperature range, 64 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: and there's enough time for it to evolve. Then and 65 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: you know, if if that's true, and if they are 66 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: eventually evolved to the point where they have technology sufficient 67 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: enough to reach us, then what might they be like? 68 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of the same way that we 69 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: we figure out how solar systems work by looking at 70 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: our own solar system. It's the best model we have 71 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: in the closest likewise with life. So if we you know, 72 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: we we look at how life has evolved here on 73 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: Earth and we we use that as a model for 74 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: how it might have applied, how how it might have 75 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: evolved elsewhere. And so we sort of have to look 76 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: in the mirror and consider what that first contact would 77 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: be like. You know, so if you think about aliens 78 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: in fact reaching our planet, then you have to think that, uh, 79 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: such a scientific development would also be accompanied by an 80 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: ethical development, right, if they're going to reach our planet, 81 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,919 Speaker 1: they probably value life. Well, that's that's yeah, that's a 82 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: counter argument, that's that's come out. You know, people say 83 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: they're probably not going to be like some sort of 84 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: evil like or grace intent on destruction. And you've read 85 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 1: something about the Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hillier making this claim. 86 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: I hadn't seen that. Well, yeah, this was making the 87 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: rounds and uh. And they're saying that he's he's claimed 88 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: that they've been visiting for a while and they haven't 89 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: done any harm yet. And I actually, you know, there're 90 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: probably a lot of people out there who would say, hey, 91 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: you know, I think aliens have come to this planet 92 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: and they haven't. You know, enslaved usn't taken all our 93 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: resources yet. I'm sorry, So you think that they No, 94 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: I don't think that at all. So the Canadian Defense 95 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: minister thinks that they're already here. That's what some news 96 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: sources are saying. The former this former Canadian defense minister. 97 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 1: I wonder why he's a former, because I don't know 98 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: the aliens benefits something to do with it. But yeah, 99 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: the the argument about the ethics is that like an 100 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: ethical stance would end up taking over um or you know, 101 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: augmenting what Darwinian evolution started, you know, because it's it's 102 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: easy to say it's like, all right, survival of the fittest, 103 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 1: you know, looking at an organism. You know, big organisms 104 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 1: either want to consume other organisms or compete with them 105 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 1: for the same resources. And if you just follow that structure, 106 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: then you know, even like if you had a starship, 107 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: you would still be an organism intent on getting more 108 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: resources unless you you develop these ethics along the way 109 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: where you have you know, high minded ideas about I 110 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: don't want to destroy another planet because that's an independent, um, 111 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: you know, evolution, and I don't want to interfere with it. 112 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: Maybe I just want to observe it, et cetera. Or 113 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: it could be maybe I just want to exploit the 114 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: resources and slave the people. It's kind of a whole 115 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: like our aliens gonna be touchy feely or are they 116 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: going to be jerks? You know, I personally would prefer 117 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: them to be touchy feely. Well, and basically Hawking was 118 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: I would prefer that too, and imagine Hawking would prefer 119 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 1: would prefer that. Yeah, but he's just saying it's like, well, 120 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: let's look at what we know. What we've seen. The 121 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: model that, you know, the best model we have shows 122 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: humans kind of being jerks. That's true. Nuclear weapons are 123 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: up there, um, yeah, the you know, exploiting less technologically 124 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: advanced people's, etcetera. Another reason put out there not to 125 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 1: fear an alien invasion is that they probably don't know 126 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: we're here. Um Like, even if you even a look 127 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 1: at the d take the Drake equation and you you know, 128 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: extrapolate it in a very um, you know liberal way. 129 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: Do we have a lot of different races out there 130 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: with with technology sufficient to either detect our signals or 131 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: you know, or even travel to us. Um. You have 132 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: to take take into account that these places are like 133 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,920 Speaker 1: thousands of light years away, so they won't they won't 134 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: even know about us. They won't be able to detect 135 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: a signal until about three three thousand a d. I mean, 136 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:10,679 Speaker 1: that's that's that's one of the big, one, big reasons 137 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: not to get all up in arms over this is 138 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: because the universe is so big, the distances are so vast. Uh. 139 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: You know, it takes that long for light to travel 140 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: so and and as far as we know, traveling faster 141 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: than light is impossible. That's the universal speed limit. So 142 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: even so, they're limited in their ability to even detect 143 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: that we're here and uh, and also in the in 144 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: their ability to travel to us in a reasonable amount 145 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:38,559 Speaker 1: of time. You know, if they're if you're three thousand 146 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: light years away and you can travel the speed of light, 147 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: it's gonna take you three thousand years to reach us. 148 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: And what could you possibly want that bad that's worth 149 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: that kind of trip, you know, Well, yeah, but then 150 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: you could get that um by just communicating with us. 151 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: You know, we could just have a long term relationship 152 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: us in the aliens. There's no need to you know, 153 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: speed things up. You can't speed things up faster than 154 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: the speed of light. You know, we could just text message, yeah, exactly, 155 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: send a long email, heartfelt Yeah, why would they need 156 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: to show up? So that actually goes into one of 157 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: the reasons to be afraid is that if an alien 158 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: the distance is so great that an alien actually showed 159 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: up at our doorstep, he would have to be he she, 160 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: It would have to be here for something on the planet, like, 161 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: because everything else could be done via communication. You know. 162 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: It's like if you're you're having like an email exchange 163 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: with somebody online and it's like, oh, this, this relationship 164 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: is fine, this is exactly where it needs to be. 165 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: We're emailing back and forth, and then that person shows 166 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: up here your doorstep. Call the cops because there's something up, 167 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: And that's that's kind of the argument here, unless faster 168 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,439 Speaker 1: than light travel is somehow possible for a ridiculously advanced 169 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: alien civilization, in which case it's, you know, no big 170 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: deal for him to show up at your doorstep. So 171 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: I don't know if the other thing is that time 172 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:55,559 Speaker 1: isn't on our side. Given the age of the universe, 173 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: which we know to be thirteen point seven billion years 174 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: courtesy of w MAP, Thank you, w UP, it's more 175 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 1: probable that they're intelligent species that are ten thousand, a million, 176 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: even ten million years more advanced than us, which is 177 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: kind of a crazy thought. Yeah, the technology ten million 178 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: years ahead. Yeah, like they would just be so I 179 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: mean we can't even comprehend that. It's like an aunt 180 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: trying to figure out like how you know an iPhone 181 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 1: works or something, right, I mean, they would be gods 182 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: and we would be the m Yeah, we would be 183 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,959 Speaker 1: just at the mercy of the the iPhone. Another cool point, 184 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: this goes back to the whole alien showing up at 185 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: your doorstep. After an email conversation, Ray Billard pointed this 186 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: out on just the Discovery Space blogs. Um, have you 187 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: seen the movie avatar. I haven't, okay, I badly want 188 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: to see it. All right, Well this this is not 189 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: a spoiler. But the whole reason that the evil humans 190 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: come to this alien world is to harvest a special 191 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: element do you know that called unobtanium which on the 192 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: far future period at the table. But but that the 193 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: thing is, the whole idea is, oh, it's unobtainium. It's 194 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: this magic element you can only get one place in 195 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: the universe, and that's why we're going to do everything 196 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: in our in our power, no matter how cruel, to 197 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: harvest it um. But in reality, there's no such things 198 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: as is unobtainium or anything like this. Like, there's nothing 199 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 1: on Earth that that aliens could want that bad, that 200 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: would merit that kind of a journey and that much 201 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: time and effort, unless they are just jerks and want 202 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: to kick us around. Well, what about something in the 203 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: Amazon rainforest, perhaps a very rare cure that's only found 204 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: deep in the reaches of the Amazon rainforest, and they 205 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: know they have very little time left because the rainforest 206 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: is being chopped down acres per day, And maybe it's that. Yeah, 207 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 1: but if you have that kind of technology, what could 208 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: possibly exist in the Amazon rainforest that you couldn't create 209 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: on your own, you know, you could a genetic code 210 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: for it. Maybe they're not that good at recreating the 211 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 1: natural world. But I guess if you're that far advance, 212 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,679 Speaker 1: what do you need with the natural world? You can 213 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: create anything, unless what they want our art, you know, 214 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,680 Speaker 1: or to communicate with our whales. Right. And the other 215 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: thing that's really key in our discussion is the is 216 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: our concept of aliens, what we imagine aliens to be. 217 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: Even if they are highly technologically advanced, maybe there are microorganisms. 218 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: Maybe they're alien micro organisms which pose the greatest danger 219 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: to us, to life on Earth. Yeah, like, even if 220 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: they were to you know, to again show up at 221 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: our doorstep and well, you know, whether they were ethical 222 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: or jerks, what if they had some sort of little 223 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: uh little illness, you know, hanging around in their bodies 224 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 1: that is nothing to them, but would just you know, 225 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: be chaos for us, Be like a war of the 226 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: world's except the reverse right in the Spanish conquister doors 227 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: exactly bring with them some sort of accidental bioweapon, which yeah, 228 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: I mean all the the Europeans coming to the New World. 229 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: I mean just you know, they've accidental bioweapons over the place, 230 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,719 Speaker 1: you know, measles and small boy term. I mean it 231 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: kind of won the battle for the Conquista doors. So again, 232 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: if you look took to past model of what it's 233 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: like when an alien species such as the Spanish, you know, 234 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: arrives on an alien world such as that of you know, 235 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: South America, Um, what what can happen? People can be jerks, 236 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: people can carry um microbes that the their their hosts 237 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: aren't prepared for to turn to imperialism if you want 238 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:24,960 Speaker 1: to know what's going to happen between aliens and us? 239 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: And that's that's Hawking's whole argument. Yeah, well, it's definitely 240 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: an excellent thought provoking question. Yeah, that's a great thing 241 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: about it. I mean it makes us think about the 242 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:37,199 Speaker 1: far future, about our place in the cosmos, and look, 243 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 1: you know, at ourselves and just what we're capable of. 244 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: So what do you think? Are you afraid? Now? I'm not. 245 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 1: I'm curious, yea, infinitely curious. What about you? I used 246 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: to be afraid. I used to be afraid of UFOs 247 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: that I would mainly that I would be abductive, not 248 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: that I would be that our planet would be enslaved 249 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: and harvested for its resources. More that they would just 250 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: come get me. To me, that seems a little egosential 251 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: to think. I mean, why would they pick you? I 252 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,079 Speaker 1: was like thirteen. I mean, everybody's at the center of 253 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: their own universe thirteen. But you know, it's like Unsolved 254 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: Mysteries had all these UFO abductions going on, you know, 255 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: like that was like half of the program. And so 256 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: the idea was, if you're looking up into into the 257 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: stars there, you're going to see a UFO, and they're 258 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: gonna know that you saw the UFO and then they 259 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: have no choice but to come and get you. It 260 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: does seem funny though some of the people who have 261 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,439 Speaker 1: said that they're abducted by aliens. Why why would the 262 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: aliens pick you? If I were an alien, I would 263 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: pick some famous mind, maybe ahead of state something like that. 264 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: Really just a thirteen year old I don't know. Yeah, 265 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: I don't know. I'd probably pick up Brian Cox unless 266 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: it was Ender Wiggins. Can you tell I've been reading 267 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: my science fiction? Are you reading that one? Okay? So 268 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 1: if you guys have any thoughts on whether aliens are 269 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: going to destroy us, send us an email. At science 270 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:53,079 Speaker 1: stuff at how stuff first dot com. Yeah, just dropped 271 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: by the website and search for SETI search for aliens. 272 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 1: We have a whole bunch of cool articles about those topics. Uh. 273 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: And we also have a Twitter account and uh and 274 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: do you think aliens have Twitter and Facebook? Yes? Yeah 275 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: they do. I just like friended one on Facebook the 276 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: other day, but but no Facebook. Twitter. You can find 277 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: us there where lab stuff or search for stuff from 278 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 1: the Science Lab lead you right to us. Um interact 279 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: with us there, ask us questions, see what we're up to. Yeah, 280 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: that's all we got. Thanks for listening, guys. For more 281 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics, is that how 282 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Want more how stuff works, check 283 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: out our blogs on the house stuff works dot com 284 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: home page.