The arrogance of man

[BigMommaJesca]

My brother just started a forum to discuss "the big questions."  I signed up for it today, and decided to make my first post about aliens, since that section was still empty.  I liked what I wrote, and haven't journaled here in forever, so I decided to post it here, too.

I hadn't really taken a side on the alien issue by the time I was in 9th grade. That was about the time they were really popular, and there wasn't a product in existence that you couldn't sell 20 more of by slapping a big green head with black almond eyes on it.

I don't know WHAT set him off, but the Colonel who taught my Aerospace Technology class went OFF on most of the (I thought at the time) generally-accepted ideas about aliens. His tirade went something like this:

"How ARROGANT can you get, to assume that in an infinite amount of space, with more suns and planets than you can count in your lifetime, you and those like you are the ONLY living beings? And for those who DO believe in aliens, and think they look like this (Here, he drew one of those popular big-headed, almond-eyed creatures.), what on earth makes you believe that in that aforementioned expanse, other beings would look ANYTHING like humans? Creatures on other planets, with different atmospheres, different temperatures, different needs, would not need to look the same as us! All these aliens I see depicted everywhere have two eyes, noses, two arms, two legs, and are proportioned similarly to humans. That's ridiculous!"

Anyway, regarding the subject of aliens, nobody has ever said anything to me that made more sense than the Colonel that day.

[RanaAurora]

Jun. 26, 2009 at 2:25 PM

I completely agree with him, and always have.

[evwsquared]

Jun. 26, 2009 at 2:47 PM

Yup. He was a smart man. Unfortunately, the way that we've chosen to portray alens scared me so much as a child that I couldn't begin to investigate the wonderful world of astronomy until I was older and rid myself of that fear.

[Rebeccalynn_dj]

Jun. 26, 2009 at 5:57 PM

It does make sense. 

[callmeann]

Jun. 27, 2009 at 7:19 PM

His idea of the appearance of aliens is definitely on target, I think.  Having a God-centered view of the universe, though, I think He could have reasons to make only one creature.  I don't know of course, but if He had a reason, then that's how He did it.