Comment on I wonder what it means
porkins@lemmy.world 10 months agoOxygen is also a catalyst for life. It’s kind of like a drug for us. It’s good and bad at the same time. It kind of burns the wick of life. It helps us product energy and destroy old cells. It is thought to be something that we would find in abundance on any planet with complex life.
In theory, the reason that our evolution won was because it is a very effective design pattern. It is possible that aliens might come from a planet with stronger or weaker gravity, so could have differing musculoskeletal structure, however the humanoid form would still provide the correct support. Perhaps, in lower gravity, our heads might have been bigger light some depictions of Greys.
We have been working on a first contact protocol for ages and would be certain to quickly establish a means of communication. I highly recommend watching the movie Arrival, which goes through this at great detail and definitely pokes at the idea that aliens might perceive different dimensions.
CitizenKong@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Jury is still out if the humanoid form really is such an evolutionary advantage. Sharks exist for already at least 450 million years, predating trees by about 90 million years.
porkins@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Yet in that time, they didn’t figure out how to build spaceships. Two legs seems optimal for getting through tight spaces. Being able to sweat allows us to run for hours and exhaust our prey. Hands with opposable thumbs make is able to build and wield anything. Our brain folds make it so we can plan and recall. Our brains are actually really good at locational memory, which is less relevant with GPS, but can be hacked for massive memorization abilities. Sharks sense a mass of life that smells fishy and eat it. It matters how you define success. Is it just survival in place or advancing science, exploration, the arts, etc.?
PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 10 months ago
Animals that live in water will never develop technology, as they can’t make fire, so that’s an evolutionary dead end.
Also, you need a way to manipulate material, so hands and arms/appendages are also going to be a prerequisite.
My bet is that the first advanced alien species discovered will be giant land crabs with hands instead of pincers.