Hawking on Human Nature and Aliens

Professor Stephen Hawking argues that as alien as other life forms might be to us, they will share a common trait - human nature. They may be blue skinned and apparently peace loving, but if they show up, expect to be decimated and then cut down to a tenth of our population, and then decimated again.

We could describe this as the "Hawking view of human nature", but it isn't unique to Hawking. If course, it's a fairly accurate view of human nature, but it's like watching all of The Fifth Element except for the last 10 minutes.

Interestingly he suggests that, rather than actively trying to communicate with extra-terrestrials, humans should do everything possible to avoid contact.

So, do we shut down SETI and start masking our radio transmissions? We either take the Professor seriously, or we outfit him with a complete set of Mary-Jane, Skipper, Gilligan and so forth.

Hawking: It's life Jim, just as we know it

Aliens almost certainly exist but humans should avoid making contact, Professor Stephen Hawking has warned.

In a series for the Discovery Channel the renowned astrophysicist said it was "perfectly rational" to assume intelligent life exists elsewhere.

But he warned that aliens might simply raid Earth for resources, then move on.

"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said.