Spacefaring Life

[nerd1]

Humans are better defined by ends than by means. This makes humans tend to interpret the means of others as if they were the other's ends. nerd1 has taken the means of space travel and interpreted it as the end of expansionism.

Space travel could easily be the result of:
Fear of extinction.
Fear of prime numbers. (stops at 4 planets having no desire for a scary 5th planet)
Desire for exotic materials.
Running out of supplies.
Boredom/Exploration.
...

Shared means does not imply the ability to understand each other's ends.

all those reasons are reasons we can understand. .. except for maybe the prime number thing,  so I'm not really sure if you're agreeing with me or disagreeing with me. could you please clarify this?

[OldTrees]

Humans are better defined by ends than by means. This makes humans tend to interpret the means of others as if they were the other's ends. nerd1 has taken the means of space travel and interpreted it as the end of expansionism.

Space travel could easily be the result of:
Fear of extinction.
Fear of prime numbers. (stops at 4 planets having no desire for a scary 5th planet)
Desire for exotic materials.
Running out of supplies.
Boredom/Exploration.
...

Shared means does not imply the ability to understand each other's ends.

all those reasons are reasons we can understand. .. except for maybe the prime number thing,  so I'm not really sure if you're agreeing with me or disagreeing with me. could you please clarify this?

I am disagreeing with you. You assumed they would be expansionist. I showed reasons humans might be space travelers without being expansionist. The prime number is an example of an alien reason. It is not completely alien because I was able to think of it however it does work as an example.

[northcity4]

I am very interested in that FTL speed stuff. How are astronomers/scientists working right now to 'stretch' space at our own will to move a space ship that fast. Also, to be clear, I am understanding FTL as moving a marble across america. You put the marble in California, crunch the map so the marble rolls only a little bit to reach Florida lets say, and then put the map back together.

[Zso_Zso]

Well, as the linked page says: "The Alcubierre drive is a speculative idea", i.e. a theoretical hypothesis, thus very far from being a "feasible technology" and nobody is "working on it". In fact the page also mentions:
"However, this does not necessarily mean that it is physically meaningful or that such a drive could be constructed."

So my point stands that it is far more likely that we wil lbe able to establish some sort of communication long before we can actually meet any aliens.

Another approach -- which is more realistic technologically, is to upload our mind / consciousness into robotic hardware and send that out in a long journey to the stars to make contact:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/uploaded-e-crews-for-interstellar-missions

[northcity4]

Or maybe they are just as advanced as us and thus are facing the same dilemmas. The other issue is, if we could even create a star wars light speed ship or tap into space stretching, it would take quite a while to reach these places. Why does this matter?

Example: fly off for 10 years to the solar system and find nothing...turn around and takes 10 years back. That's 20 years of your life gone and I am not sure anyone wants to give up that time. I am sure some will, but let's not forget that possibility gets smaller as space training will limit those who can go as well.

Travel 10 years and find life...now do you stay for a while? Maybe you stay will be worthless and a waste of time.
I don't know, in my opinion, I would not want to give up that much of my life for something like space searching. Like that movie 'paycheck.' I Don't know if I could give up 3 years (especially young) for money.

[nerd1]

Or maybe they are just as advanced as us and thus are facing the same dilemmas. The other issue is, if we could even create a star wars light speed ship or tap into space stretching, it would take quite a while to reach these places. Why does this matter?

Example: fly off for 10 years to the solar system and find nothing...turn around and takes 10 years back. That's 20 years of your life gone and I am not sure anyone wants to give up that time. I am sure some will, but let's not forget that possibility gets smaller as space training will limit those who can go as well.

Travel 10 years and find life...now do you stay for a while? Maybe you stay will be worthless and a waste of time.
I don't know, in my opinion, I would not want to give up that much of my life for something like space searching. Like that movie 'paycheck.' I Don't know if I could give up 3 years (especially young) for money.

presumably, first contact would be made by probes, with humans only coming after life had been discovered.

[northcity4]

Ya, but there is only so much you can do with probes. Plus, they might destroy it.