Tuesday, December 14, 2010

So what if there are aliens

I was reading a BBC article about why we have not made any contact with aliens yet and what would it mean to us if we did. "It's probably the most important question there is," says Dr Frank Drake, who was a pioneer of radio astronomy and is considered the father of Seti - the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.

Then I started thinking at a personal level what exactly would it mean to me. Like everyone else, I am fascinated with the topic. And I am sure I will be very exited if we actually find someone. But will it have so profound an effect on me personally. Assume that I read in tomorrow's newspaper that they actually found something concrete. Would it shatter my world. I don't think so. I will just finish my tea, get dressed and come to work. I will surely discuss this with people at work, shout a lot and then go back to find an alternate design for the problem at hand.

Of course the level of excitement will depend on what they actually find. It will have a much more dramatic effect if the aliens actually land on earth on a spaceship like ET. But even then, at a personal level, what effect will it have. Will it change the meaning of life to me, will it change my value system, will it force me to rethink my priorities in life? Will it change me noticeably as a human being? Not sure. But I doubt it will have any profound, everlasting effect on me personally.

What if they find that there are aliens out there at a very distant part of the universe (say one trillion light years away), so far that we can never make physical contact with them? What effect will that have on me personally. Even if we find that they are almost same as us? What if one of them is named "Subhendu" :)

Another possibility is that they find someones nearby, who are technically at our level or even better, but emotionally like a worm? How will that effect my thoughts.

Interesting. I will explore these questions in next few days.