Should we spread life in the universe?

[Atlas2342]

5 hours ago, RainDreamer said:

Well, lets just hope that we don't one day become the alien invaders in our movies: locusts like, moving between world to world destroy all lifeforms in between to consume and propergate.

I think humans have been partially doing this. I mean, think of all the species of plants and animals that humans have made extinct, directly or indirectly.

[RainDreamer]

1 hour ago, Atlas2342 said:

I think humans have been partially doing this. I mean, think of all the species of plants and animals that humans have made extinct, directly or indirectly.

At least it is still on our own planet.

[TheAurora]

2 hours ago, Atlas2342 said:

I think humans have been partially doing this. I mean, think of all the species of plants and animals that humans have made extinct, directly or indirectly.

Humans have been doing this, but I think that over the Earth's history, many species have done it. Life is naturally conquering other life. Survival of the fittest. Just think of the Great Oxygenation Event. That was a massive extinction caused by other organisms changing the world, just like we sort of do right now. I think that life is naturally like locusts, and it is why locusts act the way they do. They want to survive and thrive. That's what life is, isn't it? A sort of organized process focused solely on survival?

[vger]

7 minutes ago, TheAurora said:

Humans have been doing this, but I think that over the Earth's history, many species have done it. Life is naturally conquering other life. Survival of the fittest. Just think of the Great Oxygenation Event. That was a massive extinction caused by other organisms changing the world, just like we sort of do right now. I think that life is naturally like locusts, and it is why locusts act the way they do. They want to survive and thrive. That's what life is, isn't it? A sort of organized process focused solely on survival?

Humans are the only ones who have done it intentionally though. I hope that by the time we've mastered interstellar space travel, we will finally be done with colonialism.

[TheAurora]

1 minute ago, vger said:

Humans are the only ones who have done it intentionally though. I hope that by the time we've mastered interstellar space travel, we will finally be done with colonialism.

Perhaps, though I feel as if this kind of thing would be natural for intelligent life. If locusts had the knowledge on how to improve their survival, or if ants had the knowledge to know how to fight us directly for their survival, I feel as if they would do it. I think they would conquer and compete aggressively if they knew how. Intelligence perhaps just expands on the scale and the means of ensuring survival. Though I hope I am wrong, and I do hope humans can learn to overcome their desire to conquer others too.   

[PB666]

1 hour ago, vger said:

Humans are the only ones who have done it intentionally though. I hope that by the time we've mastered interstellar space travel, we will finally be done with colonialism.

Hmmm, mastering IS space and not colonize. Sounds very oxymoronic to me.

At some level conquering IS space is colonizing since you would be kind of foolish to venture to stars way outside of range directly, particularly with humans on board.

Over long periods of time stars can be seen as transport mechanisms, they move in cycles with relationships to other stars, bring distal stars into proximity. If you want to move humans from star to star you need to be able to catch a ride along the bus route, and wait at and colonize the bus stops. This does not have to include bumping life of planets, but it would probably include colonize the planet along the way as a means of establishing permanency. Remembering that sterile planets or planets in the very early stage of evolution do not have much in the way of fossil fuels, establishing space worthy colonies will take time, and the bus routes also take time, so one is afforded an appreciable colonization time before the next prime IS jumptime is available.

[Guest]

As in colonies: yes, it's going to be a requirement for our species' survival someday.

As in bringing bacteria and throwing it around like it's confetti all over the solar system: no.

Until we find extraterrestrial lifeforms and manage to study it, I think we shouldn't go around seeding planets, because contamination.

 

Explore with probes first. Send humans later.

[kerbiloid]

19 hours ago, Atlas2342 said:

I think humans have been partially doing this. I mean, think of all the species of plants and animals that humans have made extinct, directly or indirectly.

This is sad of course, but most of the species facing extiction are either last relics of epochs gone long ago or local side effects of evolution.
They would extinct anyway, human efforts are just the last drop of evil for them. (Like asteroid for dinosaurs)

(Of course this doesn't mean that people should help the process).

P.S.
We should spread tardigrades. It's easy, they can easily survive where others cannot, and as they have the same chemical basement as we do, they are edible (You don't like tardigrades? You just can't cook them right.).
When brave Earth colonists will approach far and wild planets, they will meet fat herds of cow-sized evolved tardigrades, and can ride them, eat, get tardigrade eggs. Maybe even speak with them if they evolve sufficiently high.

Edited June 8, 2016 by kerbiloid