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It actually is kind of assholish to take someone's honest and genuine desire to speculate on a subject and just say "Well it wouldn't happen anyway, so don't think about it." It's like the response of "What did God do before making the universe? Making Hell for those who asked such questions." It's a legitimate and interesting topic to speculate about, and we should at least respect the motivation behind it enough to entertain the notions, at least for a while.  As for what I think would happen? Well, day one of First Contact would be the most astonishing, earthshattering revelation in human history. It would be bigger than 9/11 -- literally every news outlet and social media platform would be talking about it non-stop. I mean, think about it, it's actual proof of the existence of intellects greater than man's, capable of technological miracles like interstellar travel. The effect would be comparable to some kind of global religious event or awakening, as humans realized that it was not only not alone in the universe, but also vastly inferior to whatever is out there. In the coming weeks, there would be an enormous, global discussion about the ramifications of this, how to respond, etc. Many of the current preoccupations of humanity might cease or be put on a backburner as the human race attempts to reconcile with the existence of these alien visitors. There would be a huge resurgence in religiosity, extremism of all sorts, cults forming, and millenarian groups from the various Abrahamic religions claiming that it's the end times. In a way, it would be -- the end of the current human epoch and the beginning of another. There would probably be mass suicides, religious orgies, throngs of people flocking to public squares to watch the alien visitors broadcast on big screens. The gist of it is that the first few weeks post Contact would probably be a major disruption to our currently-known way of life, possibly resulting in an economic collapse. Then there would be a tremendous beeline to be first to interact with the visitors. It'd be like dropping a big rock in a small puddle. Beyond that, I'm not really sure.
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Mar 20, 2016 15:48
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| # ¿ May 8, 2024 08:40 |
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Well just think about the stock markets and how they might react to news of alien first contact. Some industries I could think of that would immediately be affected and have to reassess everything would be the insurance industry. Premiums and factors going into "human survival" would have to be fundamentally readjusted to include the possibility of disruptions due to alien technology being integrated, human mass responses to alien culture and the existence of superintelligent, cosmic beings, and global uncertainty and unrest. Insurance already considers global climate change in its calculations -- specifically the reinsurance business -- so it's not unlikely to think that the insurance industry could suffer major disruptions during its reassessment period. The main issue being uncertainty. Investors might want to pull out of most of their equity and pour money into valuables and commodities due to uncertainties over the stability of world governments and the business world due to the sudden and unprecedented appearance of alien powers. That sort of massive selloff alone could cause the global financial markets to spiral out of control in the wake of first contact.
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Mar 20, 2016 19:19
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