Jan 13 2010
Looking Farther: We Are Not Alone
Don’t tell anyone, but Earth, our very own uniplex habitat, is at this very moment being explored by semi-alien life forms.
Oh, sure, the life forms look familiar. But don’t let that fool you. Though they walk and talk among us, they have minds different from our own!
Wait a minute. What about you . . . . Are you an alien? Would I recognize as familiar the contents of your mind and the full spectrum of your habits?
Although we are both human, and thus have a degree of shared humanity — what about that unshared part? Should I fear it and declare it alien?
Maybe it would be better to educate myself by learning about you and others. Better for me. And the world.
On that theme, I recommend checking out the Humanist Symposium #48: A Winter Wonderland. Perhaps I will meet you there. Don’t be put off by my strange ways, however. I’m pretty much just like you. But different.
[photo thanks to NASA]
