On Sunday 28 July 2013 05:42, Edward Fox wrote:
> All of that talk about furries and multi-species worlds got me thinking. If
> you really think about it humans won the evolution lottery big time. Of all
> of the creatures that could have evolved intelligence a creature got it
> that doesn't have either fur or a muzzle. That didn't have to be the case.
> Now consider that intelligent life has probably evolved on worlds
> throughout our galaxy. Are they going to look more like us or more like
> earth's other animals? I bet a quarter that if earth is ever invited to
> meet with representatives from a galaxy government (if one actually exists)
> that there will be grins on the faces of the furry fans and shock on the
> faces of everybody else. What if none of those representatives look like
> humans? Oh the disappointment! Imagine how people would feel if they had to
> face the simple fact that humans are not the model for all intelligent life
> in the universe. I'd love to see that so bad that I can taste it. :)
Everyone that seriously considers the possibility of there being fellow tool
users out there has long figured out that they probably look nothing like us.
And by nothing like us they seriously mean it: We aren't talking 'they don't
look like thin-furred apes that are about 2m tall,' or even 'they don't look
like mammals,' we're talking 'clearly not a descendant of the early tetrapods
that predate amphibians.' At best we can expect vaguely humanoid and
centauroid body forms to commonly develop, (bilateral symmetry plus a mix of
grasping and motive limbs).
Furry aliens are just as much of a authors conceit as humans with forehead
bumps.
--
Chakat Firepaw - Inventor & Scientist (Mad)
Received on Mon Jul 29 2013 - 21:40:37 CDT