These Simple Alien Gifts Could Change the World

What do we really have to gain from meeting extraterrestrials?

https://medium.com/predict/these-simple-alien-gifts-could-change-the-world-b50206d9bce4

Since we first discovered planets around other stars, humans have wanted to meet any alien neighbors we might have. But what could we really gain from such a meeting?

Glad (alien) tidings

I’ve had lots of interesting discussions with my personal ET acquaintances, on topics ranging from society and politics, to their favourite type of music. But they have given little in terms of actual, physical gifts.

One of them punches my arm right now, reminding me of the postcard they sent me for my high school graduation. Yes, I got a card.

So I asked them what they’d offer humanity as a whole if they had a chance. What they told me could change the course of human history.

Any gift from aliens could potentially be a game changer.

1. Technology

First on the list is no doubt awesome, incredibly useful tech straight out of sci-fi comic books. This includes things like:

Spacecraft designs

Solutions to difficult mathematics/physics problems, such as these ones.

Machines and gadgets we’ve never thought of before, or deemed possible

Lightsabers!

Even if our benefactors are just a few centuries older than humanity, their technology could usher in a new era of unprecedented advancement. By building on their foundations, humans could create even more radical inventions. And the tools they provide could help us accomplish important tasks faster than ever before.

I want a lightsaber, don’t you?

2. Knowledge

With a few more thousand years of experience, aliens could be a source of vast knowledge about our Universe, biology, and basically everything there is to know. Imagine having access to Wikipedia, but from two millennia in the future. It’d be absolutely groundbreaking—the key to the future.

Astronomers would be thrilled by their detailed maps of far away parts of the galaxy—some even made first-hand. Physicists would be overjoyed by the results of countless experiments that are beyond the reach of current human means. Biologists would be enraptured by specimens collected from around the Universe, and of strange fauna and flora.

And even knowledge without immediate practical applications would be of immense value. Musings by extraterrestrial philosophers would astound Socrates himself. Alien poetry and literature would offer new perspectives on our perception of reality.

And they’d be able to answer basically any question. Isn’t that amazing?

3. Novel social systems

Lastly, I’d like to think that aliens would have developed more efficient systems than capitalism and democracy. It’d be interesting to try them out.

In Arrival, the heptapods offer humanity a language that, essentially, causes a shift in our perspective. Imagine doing that, but on a global scale. It would change the world.

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I Treat People Who Believe They've Been Abducted By Aliens

Nicholas Dumont is the go-to psychologist for people who are certain they've met aliens.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/9k7jy5/i-treat-people-who-believe-theyve-been-abducted-by-aliens

Nicolas Dumont could not be more casual as we chat alien abductions. "It's not a hallucinatory experience or a spiritual one," says the clinical psychologist ov. "The experience leaves physical marks behind, plus victims get extraordinary powers, like the gift of healing or clairvoyance."

So what's the evidence you look for that makes you believe a patient may have been abducted?

Often these people tell me they were awoken in the middle of the night and found themselves paralysed. They saw non-human beings around them, whether they were at home or in an external place that might have been a spaceship. Sometimes they were in both. Some hadn't experienced anything until they woke up at home thinking it was morning before realising 48 hours had just gone by. We call that "missing time" – it's very common. The best-known case is that of Betty and Barney Hill in 1966.

From there, whatever your culture and background, the same elements are always there. Almost universally, my patients talk about the presence of a table, very specific beings and telepathic contact. Mentioning these specifics right away focuses my thinking towards whether the person has actually experienced something or not. Very often, these people claim to have new powers. Some people can float out of their bodies, while others acquire healing powers. And most have marks on them from the experience.

"I don’t fear for my reputation; I want to understand and help people. Other psychologists are afraid to talk about this to their colleagues. I’m not bothered by anything about it, because I approach it with clinical psychology tools."