News:

MysticWicks endorsement: "I've always, always regarded the Discordians as being people who chose to be Discordians because they can't be arsed to actually do any work to develop a relationship with a specific deity, they were too wishy-washy to choose just one path, and they just want to be a mishmash of everything and not have to work at learning about rituals or traditions or any such thing as that."

Main Menu

Mindfucking Biology

Started by BigBadCalla, November 28, 2009, 07:29:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages 1 2
User actions

Reginald Ret

#15
January 26, 2010, 12:53:30 AM

Wouldn't there be a communication barrier so great that humans would be unable to recognize the aliens as at least somewhat equal?
Maybe there already are intelligent beigns around us, but we just can understand them.
i seem to remember intelligent rock from some scifi book/movie/thing.
it was really smart, just thought veeerrry very slow.
Lord Byron: "Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves."

Nigel saying the wisest words ever uttered: "It's just a suffix."

"The worst forum ever" "The most mediocre forum on the internet" "The dumbest forum on the internet" "The most retarded forum on the internet" "The lamest forum on the internet" "The coolest forum on the internet"

Rococo Modem Basilisk

#16
January 26, 2010, 02:13:33 PM
Apparently slime mold colonies can solve mazes, and can be trained with operant conditioning.


I am not "full of hate" as if I were some passive container. I am a generator of hate, and my rage is a renewable resource, like sunshine.

Golden Applesauce

#17
January 26, 2010, 08:27:13 PM
Quote from: Regret on January 26, 2010, 12:53:30 AM

Wouldn't there be a communication barrier so great that humans would be unable to recognize the aliens as at least somewhat equal?
Maybe there already are intelligent beigns around us, but we just can understand them.
i seem to remember intelligent rock from some scifi book/movie/thing.
it was really smart, just thought veeerrry very slow.

We measure intelligence by how much it's like us (or how much like some idealized Einstein or something.)  So to say that something is intelligent, but not in a manner that humans would be able to recognize sounds like saying that something is the color red, but not in the way people see the color red.

In the rocks example - you explained it yourself.  It's just a slower version of a humanlike intelligence, completely recognizable.  (If it wasn't, then you wouldn't know it was intelligent, right?)
Q: How regularly do you hire 8th graders?
A: We have hired a number of FORMER 8th graders.

LMNO

#18
January 26, 2010, 08:38:57 PM
Quote from: Regret on January 26, 2010, 12:53:30 AM

Wouldn't there be a communication barrier so great that humans would be unable to recognize the aliens as at least somewhat equal?


Cue the Ender's Game trilogy.


Print
Go Up Pages 1 2
User actions