Nick Bostrom on life on Mars - part 1/2

Philosopher Nick Bostrom explains why discovering aliens would be a disaster for humanity.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Nick Bostrom
• Future of Humanity

[writersblock26]

Thank you for posting this, FHIOxford.

[BoyintheMachine]

@chinable

Bostrom seems to believe that if we are being visited then we would know. My argument is that we may not be able to know when and if we are being visited.

Bostrom's Simulation Arguement has nothing to do with aliens visiting us. It is seperate from this argument in this video. Please don't mix the two.

[chinable]

See, I don't think that's an error. He definitely doesn't discount the possibility that we've been visited a hundred-odd million years ago (it's in the second part, maybe?)

Also, read a bit more bostrom. Most importantly, his bits on living in a simulation. if we are in a simulation, that seems to be a practical (functional) equivalent to being visited by aliens.

I also do not think the rest of the recording is along the vein of "they don't exist". Rather, "let us hope they are done existing"

[BoyintheMachine]

@chinable

#3 is an error because it is the unconscious assumption that we would know if any aliens were visiting us. Please realize that the with regards to "knowing", witnessing doesn't count, but rather actual evidence.

What I'm trying to communicate is that many people operate under the assumption that "They aren't here because we would know". I'm saying we may not be able to know outside of say that "something is occuring", as in the UFO phenomenon.

[chinable]

@BoyintheMachine

#3 is not an error. He is not saying they do not exist. He is rather saying that we don't know about them yet, and should approach space/exploration as such. Not that we should discount the possibility of their existence (past, present, or future)

Yay humanity!

[BoyintheMachine]

(continued)...so expect to hear more about the Marian meteorite here in the next few years.

Also, the key filtering event for an intelligent civilization similar to our own, not going back to filtering events in the past, is the technological singularity. Such change may have destroyed countless civilizations. This may mean that humanity might go extince this century as we are expected to enter the singularity by 2050.

[BoyintheMachine]

(continued)

4.) Error nuber 4 is his assumpition of just ONE filtering event, when in all likliehood it would involve multiple filtering events.

In addition, Bostrom is not aware that the case for life in the Martian meteorite is about to break out again. The scientists working on it didn't just give it up when their peers offered other interpretations of the date. They have been working to disprove these ulterior interpretations, leaving only life as an explanation. (continued)

[BoyintheMachine]

Bostrom's argument is flawed.

His error: We don't see the aliens so they obviously don't exist.

1.) Error number one is his rejection of the UFO phenomenon which MIGHT represent such visitations.

2.) Error number 2 is the assumption that we could gather proof of such visitation, refrence point number 1. Its possible we may not be capable of gathering sufficient proof of such visitation.

3.) Error number 3 is that the aliens could not visit us w/out us knowing it.

(continued)

[chrislang14]

you cant counquer physics there are other planets out there like ours but we cant get to them becuase of physics but we can connect to then trough waves of sound

[crazycaleb]

nick bostrom ftw!!!11