Is the Earth Too Poor To Attract Aliens?

[Atheist-Lite]

Strangely enough, there's an ant's nest in outer Mongolia where the ants are having this same discussion.

Some say that if there were intelligent life-forms out there, they would have made contact by now.
Others say that the sandiverse is so big, it's not surprising that nothing has got in touch.

I could tell them, but, fuck 'em. They're only ants.

The ants could do so much more. They never think outside the box though.

[Jason]

There is only one treasure I can think of on Earth worth sending back across interstellar distances. DNA.

We have perhaps 20 million species of eucaryotes, each of which has DNA unique to Earth. Who knows what utility an ultra-advanced species could extract from that.

I don't think they'll need to repeat the mistakes here? DNA isn't gonna mean much to a million year old form of intelligent life with computers the size of earths moon. Gotta consider they may be quite choosy about buyer collects options and spam may go in the galactic wastepaper bin?

Perhaps they'd be some sort of symbiotic or parasitic species looking for compatible new hosts? It's possible they migrate from host to host through repeated and intense sexual gratification of both parties - the old host dies happy.

[Atheist-Lite]

There is only one treasure I can think of on Earth worth sending back across interstellar distances. DNA.

We have perhaps 20 million species of eucaryotes, each of which has DNA unique to Earth. Who knows what utility an ultra-advanced species could extract from that.

I don't think they'll need to repeat the mistakes here? DNA isn't gonna mean much to a million year old form of intelligent life with computers the size of earths moon. Gotta consider they may be quite choosy about buyer collects options and spam may go in the galactic wastepaper bin?

Perhaps they'd be some sort of symbiotic or parasitic species looking for compatible new hosts? It's possible they migrate from host to host through repeated and intense sexual gratification of both parties - the old host dies happy.

Having conquered the ageing process at the indivual level using something like SENS procreation might be the least of their interests? They probably have tamed their sexual urges to the point they are withered away to nothing?

[tattuchu]

Time and again people say there is nothing worth crossing the gulf between stars for. And yet it could be done, albeit the technology is unavailable. Is that it though? Maybe the reality is this planet is a loser, a backwater dump. The humans can't imagine a reason to even leave low earth orbit except to play in the sands of mars. There is nothing here worth trading or stealing so why bother talking? You don't talk to the drunk tramp laid out on the pavement, you step over them without a sound so they don't notice.

Yeah, but sometimes you get naked and eat their face for the fuck of it, and no ones ever knows why. There doesn't have to be a good reason.

[amused]

It has a wealth of liquid water which I think would make it attractive...

Astronomers have found an enormous cloud of water - containing 140 trillion times as much as is found on Earth - floating around a distant quasar.

http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/5 ... discovered

Water is apparently not that hard to find.

[Blind groper]

Anything that an alien comes for needs to be able to be reduced to the level of information. The costs of interstellar travel are so enormous that nothing is worth the cost of transport. If Earth was littered with large diamonds, and diamonds were worth twice the current Earth price on our hypothetical alien home world, it still would not pay to come here to get them. But information is different. If necessary, you can convert that to digital data and squirt it homewards via laser beam.

That is why I suggested DNA. It is something an alien could reduce to data, and send the data back. I have no idea what value Earth DNA might have to an advanced alien species, but I really cannot imagine anything else from Earth, able to be converted to data, that might have sufficient value to warrant an interstellar voyage.

[Atheist-Lite]

They may want to determine whether there are any deeper concepts available that they could use as a trade interface with other smarter species they know who have actually got stuff they value? Smart kid joins gang of grunts to figure how they tick. Then utilizes the same approach softly in business to become a success sort of thing.

[mistermack]

It has a wealth of liquid water which I think would make it attractive...

Astronomers have found an enormous cloud of water - containing 140 trillion times as much as is found on Earth - floating around a distant quasar.

http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/5 ... discovered

Water is apparently not that hard to find.

Not scarce at all. Even liquid water isn't that rare. It freezes at 0 degrees, but if it's really salty, it can still be liquid at much colder temperatures.
There is enough water ice on the south pole of Mars to cover the planet with thirty feet of water. And loads more frozen water elsewhere too.

There is water on Europa, too, one of Jupiter's moons. Apparently, there is more water on that one moon, than there is on Earth. And it's reckoned to be liquid, beneath a thick ice covering.

If aliens were clever enough to get here, they would be clever enough to melt water so I doubt that our oceans would be much of an attraction to aliens.

[Atheist-Lite]

I read somewhere on one of the science sites about them finding free standing clouds of water zincatrillions of ticks in size.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

We have liquid beer too...

[Atheist-Lite]

We have liquid beer too...

Sorted. The logic is beginning to work.

[laklak]

Maybe they want to see the pyramids? Get a nice bagel with lox? Plenty of reasons to visit.

[Atheist-Lite]

Strangely enough, there's an ant's nest in outer Mongolia where the ants are having this same discussion.

Some say that if there were intelligent life-forms out there, they would have made contact by now.
Others say that the sandiverse is so big, it's not surprising that nothing has got in touch.

I could tell them, but, fuck 'em. They're only ants.

Maybe they are interested in only the most intelligent species who do not use vulgarity?