The Sword and Laser discussion
Who would you pick to make first contact?
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Morgan Freeman. With that voice greeting you nobody could make war.
Jodie Foster.
If we thought they were peaceful- Sir Patrick StewartIf we thought they might be hostile- Rosie O'Donnell
Micah wrote: "Morgan Freeman. With that voice greeting you nobody could make war."This is why I'd almost go with someone like James Earl Jones, Kenneth Branagh, or Patrick Stewart.
Or, for grins, Kathy Griffin or CarrotTop? :D ;)
Mod
If we think they may be hostile, I'd send Paul Reubens in character as Pee-Wee Herman.
Let them underestimate us and think that we are harmless and a bit simple.
If we know they are hostile, send Sigourney Weaver and Arnie ;-)
Being serious I would probably have to pick the Dalai Lama. I think of all the people that might be seriously considered his beliefs would be the best to put forward.If we know they are hostile, well if they allowed us to meet a leader... I would say find someone willing to go up and not come back. Place as many compressed air bombs in them as possible, most likely swallowed or surgically implanted within the abdominal cavity with a wireless detonator. Followed by every deadly disease we can get our hands on and are easily contracted place them in very thin glass capsules and place them just below the skin along front of the gut. Give detonator to the person and wave goodbye as he goes up to talk to the aliens.
PS: No i did not just come up with that hostile plan. Its amazing what my friends and I can come up with at 3 in the morning after celebrating that finals are over. One of their little brothers was a bit more coherent and told us most of what we said and did. I still have a scar from flaming tennis ball tennis. >,<
terpkristin wrote: "This is why I'd almost go with someone like James Earl Jones, Kenneth Branagh, or Patrick Stewart.Or, for grins, Kathy Griffin or CarrotTop? "
If you send Kathy Griffin or Carrot Top in you might as well throw in Fran Drescher (SP?) to insure that they either totally annihilate our planet or leave and never come back :)
Tony Blair...he's expendable
if he was healthy enough Jerry Pournelle otherwise Neal Stephenson...
Serious answer: Dalai Lama - he'd keep them entertained. Non-serious answer(s):
Neil Gaiman - he'd read them something awesome or give them an audio-book.
Richard Dawkins - he's probably say they don't exist or something...
Westboro Baptist Church - do I need a reason? :D
Borat - Don't really need a reason for him either.
Sarah Palin - I'd quite like to see her reaction basically.
The Artist Formally Known as Prince - ...
:)
Hmmm... Stephen Fry is a good choice, but I think I would have to nominate Neil deGrasse Tyson. I believe he would represent us well, and he would ask the right questions about the visiting civilization, and their mode of travel in particular.
Tazzmann wrote: "Hmmm... Stephen Fry is a good choice, but I think I would have to nominate Neil deGrasse Tyson. I believe he would represent us well, and he would ask the right questions about the visiting civiliz..."You beat me to it, as Carl Sagan is no longer with us.
Carrot Top would have a conflict of interest as he is already the ambassador of another world. A horrible, scary, scary world. That same world has a embassy in Canada. Their delegates try and integrate by putting out that Just for Laughs: Gags programming. The Quebecois are already under their sway. It is only a matter of time.
Seriously the Dalai Lama - because behind that kind peaceful demeanor he knows that certain principles cannot be compromised and has no qualms about acting to defend them.On a lighter note Will Smith seems to have a good record with aliens and if the first contact goes well he could teach them to get jiggy..
What is the name of that wealthy Australian adventure junkie, Richard something? Someone who seems inhuman in what they have accomplished, to overwhelm them with accomplishment rather than force.
Mod
Do you mean Richard Branson? Sadly he is not one of us,he is English.
I'm surprised at the number of suggestions for the Dalai Lama.
He'd be the Hollywood choice, but for political reasons he would never be considered.
Most governments will not have official meetings with him, as they don't want to risk antagonising China.
Someone not acceptable to the most populous country (and also one of the most influential countries economically) could never be chosen for first contact
Tassie Dave wrote: "I'd send Stephen Fry. He is someone who has the gravitas to handle a diplomatic assignment but who also has a quick comedic brain if needed to lighten up the conversation."I second the Stephen Fry suggestion, great idea!
I would also consider Matt Smith as a good potential alternative.
Tassie Dave wrote: "Jenny wrote: "What is the name of that wealthy Australian adventure junkie, Richard something?"Do you mean Richard Branson? Sadly he is not one of us,he is English.."
I revoke my suggestion.
Being Australian was half his cool factor.
Jenny wrote: "I revoke my suggestion. Being Australian was half his cool factor. "
You just made me lol. For Real.
There is only one real choice...Steven Seagal.
How about a representative from each species? A menagerie that includes a human amongst all others we know of?
Richard Dean Anderson (maybe with 3 of his close friends).
Brother Guy, the Jesuit astronomer. He's a science fiction fan too. He's got a good head on his shoulders.http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/brother_...
I think I'd rather have someone who is exceptional at math and physics be our representative at first contact. They say that math is universal, and a species travelling through outer space would most likely be able to communicate via mathematics at the very least. But if we're going for comedic value, probably Rowan Atkinson can bring the slapstick like only Mr. Bean can.
Richard Feynman would have been the perfect ambassador for humanity. The only problem would be that the aliens might look at the rest of humanity and think we'd done a bait-and-switch.
Personally I think a face to face meeting with Aliens, even if they did show up one day, would be unlikely. Forgiving the fact that neither us nor the aliens would be able to survive in the others environment (atmospheric make-up, air pressure, gravity adaptability etc.) there is almost absolutely no way that any human-perceived traits such as 'friendliness' or 'calmness' would mean anything to an alien race that has completely different perceptions of such things.All of this is moot however, because I think that, the only chance of actual contact will be, as I remember was once mentioned on the TWIT.tv show Fourcast, in 10,000 years time when one of our early space probes passes an equally old alien space probe going in the opposite direction and they beep at each other for a few minutes. Uninspiring I know, likely nonetheless.
Loved your response Astatine.I am still trying to figure out exactly who... Would need to a great speaker, one that can think on the fly, not one that reads from a prepared script. I would probably just go. 'Ahhhh...' and do the chicken dance or something silly like that. - j/k :)
Latoya Jackson. That way the aliens would likely think they were being greeted by one of their own.
Gordon Ramsay. "Call that a spaceship? Looks more like an old dustbin you *BEEP*ing little, bug eyed *BEEP* *BEEP*". :)
Ian McKellen as Gandalf.You shall not pass, aliens!...
Or that dude that sended the boat capitan back to the ship.Aliens,vada a bordo, cazzo.
There may, or may not, be a real person who has this job: Mazlan Othman, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, a Malaysian astrophysicist. There were a few news stories about it in the fall of 2010 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/sp...) but then denials came out (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2...).I really hope it is true. She seems like a really awesome person who would make a good impression on aliens (http://www.un.org/apps/news/newsmaker...).
They have star ships, we don't.They're not likely to be impressed by a deep voice
or pair of Air Jordan's.
So the answer is cannibals. Very polite cannibals.
We' don't want to start a war, but nothing says stay off the lawn
quite like traces of cannibalism.
They'll let themselves out.
I think we should have Tom Cruise make the first contact. He is good looking and non-threatening. And as a Scientologist he has the belief in aliens and other worlds. Didn't L.Ron Hubbard write about contact with aliens in his book Dianetics?
Send a Mathis guy and a pron star. That way the aliens can communicate with us, and study our physiology. Plus I like old fifties yarns.
Joyce wrote: "I think we should have Tom Cruise make the first contact. He is good looking and non-threatening. And as a Scientologist he has the belief in aliens and other worlds. Didn't L.Ron Hubbard write abo..."How would a short crazy man jumping over couches be a great introduction of humanity to the Aliens? ;) I think if Tom Cruise was their 1st contact they would probably just wipe us out and take all the minerals thinking we were barely functioning primates. ;)
having said that I do still enjoy most of his movies :)
I'm probably fumbling the question but there it is. Would you choose someone different if they were hostile than neutral?
I don't honestly have an opinion, I know who I wouldn't pick but curious on other thoughts. It can be anyone.