quote:These aren't just human foibles but behavior we see in every form of life with DNA (i.e., all known life).
Every form of life....on Earth.
If I may tweak a Big Lebowski quote here....we have no(real) frame of reference. I guess there's two schools of thought here; one sees the trends of life on Earth and concludes that every species must share similar traits, and the other sees how isolated Earth is and concludes that the same rules can't be applied to different galaxies.
Then again, it can be a middle ground with some of the familiar and some completely alien (no pun intended) traits in creatures outside our system.
quote:Originally posted by Animalman:
quote:It lives at the expense of other things, multiplies as far and as fast and as often as it can, and consumes resources until they're gone.
I would contend that last attribute applies only to humans.
It's not exactly a scientific reference, but I think it's apt, nevertheless: My favorite sequence in The Matrix(the original) was the interrogation between Agent Smith and Morpheus, where Smith gives his theory of humanity's true classification. Unlike other animals, humans don't adapt to their surroundings. They assume control of them, change them, warp them, suck the resources around them dry, then move on. Like a virus.
Which is one of the many things I felt was wrong with the Matrix movie. Apparently the Wack. Bros. have never heard of a beaver or a wevil or locust. Wevils and locust consume in masse and leave devistation behind. Beavers build damns and back up and redirect streams. Birds build nests. Alligators dig dens. Very few animals don't change their environments. They both adapt biologically as well as their physical surroundings to make themselves more comfortable. Just like humans have.
This arguement doesn't hold water for that reason alone. Plus, if a civilization does have interstellar flight, then it is apparent that they consume resources; and nothing is ever unlimited. So a need for more materials or even another planet with a liveable atmosphere could draw an alien culture to our little blue/green ball.
