Why should we believe in humanoid aliens?

I have been looking into species on Earth right here, and the more I look into it, the more I realize, humanoids are not the best forms for intelligent life. Most of what we hold dear for our selves is simply an illusion that other species have already proven useless.

If we look at aliens from supposed recordings, they are almost always humanoid. Why is this? Humanoid forms are good for running at targets with spears and that's about it. On earth alone, intelligent forms range from our selves, to lumbering elephants, to dolphins, to even crows. In fact, if we rank the most intelligent species on earth, the closest thing to a humanoid, the ape, ranks ranks 4th place!. Humans-Dolphins-crows-elephants-apes. So I continue to ponder, why is it that we are seemingly locked into viewing only humanoid forms as worthy of capabilities like ourselves, when nature clearly says otherwise.

One of the most spearheaded attacks against the humanoid form would be the crow. A species which essentially can do everything apes do and more, and have already shown themselves to be incredibly intelligent. These last survivors of the dinosaurs also pretty much knock off the chances of a reptilian alien looking human as well. You see, the unique thing about the crow is that is can do all this, with a brain about the size of the tip of your thumb. The fact that these little critters are just slightly under the intelligence of our ancestors like homo erectus means that big brains are not the stuff of intelligence. In addition, it means that walking upright is totally unrelated as well.

Their tool use, reasoning abilities, hunting capabilities, and many more mean that corvids in general are a big spike in the homo-centralist view of life.



news.bbc.co.uk...



In addition, we see videos and evidence that elephants are able to recognize speech of different languages, count, reason, and essentially be just as good as crows. So what then?

www.treehugger.com...

Dolphins indeed we have all hear about as well, with their intelligence equal to that of our children. Semi-tool use, love, sex for pleasure, reasoing, friendships, and sociability.

None of these species have hands or thumbs, and yet they make intricate and well crafted tools. None of these species walk upright nor show any sign of developing this feature, but yet they can do all these things. None of these species show any remorse of desire to become more human like, and in fact continue to develop on their own paths and forms.

So thus the question must be asked to the ufo community. If all these intelligent species are evolving, But with no signs of becoming more hominid, how is it that so much intelligence can form on this little rock, but yet in space we are to believe in some kind of Roddenberry fairy tale that anything smart looks like us? Just how certain are you that these things look human, and why must they?

reply to post by Gorman91


Evolutionary paleo-biologist Simon Conway-Morris believes life on Earth planets may not be as strange as we often think. He argues that different species on Earth often find the similar solutions to similar problems. It is possible that a species on another planet meet similar challenges faced by primates on Earth by evolving into a humanoid form.

reply to post by DoomsdayRex


humanoid forms and humanoid intelligences together are two very different things. Human form existed on earth before human intelligence. We were upright bipeds for a whole 750,000 years before we evolved into our modern capabilities.

Thing is, our body evolved before our intelligence. This means are form might very well be quite common, but getting past the intelligence of homo erectus is a whole experience the very same events at the same time is so astronomical say God did it, because that's the only way you will have an ice age, desertification, volcanic action, and a possible meteor event all . Surviving all that is also a whole other story.

Also, that scientist is one man and he's also from another time period. More modern views state otherwise. that guy is from the same time period that made numerous mistakes in skeletons of dinosaurs that we still today fix with more modern algorithms of scanning. i would much rather trust a modern researcher with moderns science then someone who effectively built a career worshiping the evolution of man.

Not that man's evolution isn't unique. It's just that if you changed any one thing, you would not have humanity.

[edit on 26-4-2010 by Gorman91]

[edit on 26-4-2010 by Gorman91]

How About Creator God?

reply to post by masonicon


Why would he be so bland. he created such diversity here. Why use the copy paste button after?

reply to post by DoomsdayRex


yup, kind of like how a bat and a bird both have wings and are capable of true flight when they're not even the same class of animals; its convergent evolution

"One of the most spearheaded attacks against the humanoid form would be the crow. A species which essentially can do everything apes do and more, and have already shown themselves to be incredibly intelligent."


So, I will not hold my breath until I see a "crow society" become technologically advanced or attempt space travel. Us "Humanoids" dominate the planet for a reason. Our body is designed so that we can create tools and modify our environment and oh by the way, we can document our history so our descendants know from whence they came.

Why oh why did I waste my time with this silliness?

reply to post by expat2368


Documenting history doesn't require hands nor human form, A beak or claw can write just as well. You're also forgetting the fact that whenever one rises to greatness it always suppresses the rest. This is why there is only one kind of dna type, because our dna evolved plants that generated oxygen and made it impossible for other types to develop.

Also, we are not the only ones who modify our environment or build tools. The links I showed had videos of crows making spears. Apes cannot unless taught. Some corvids make tools inheritable, requiring no parental guidance. It's part of their nature.

Also, the human form is only good for spear hunting. That is why we have our form. it is not good for tool use nor altering the environment. This is why our tools that do those things do not look like us. You do not see a giant megatron plowing trees down, you see large specialized tools that look nothing like us. You do not see a large humanoid robot planting seeds, you see a worm like rotators that does this. If our form was good for all these things, we would not need tools in the first place. Our mind, not our form, allows us to make these tools. And these tools exist because we are limited by this form, not because this form allows it. Learn some basic bio first.

reply to post by reject


A wing of a bird and bat do not even have the same structure of skeleton. And they look only the same on the outside. Also, this is not flying, this is civilization, growth and development, and invention. The mind is for that, not the body. This is why we are not the only tool makers on Earth.

If we look at aliens from supposed recordings, they are almost always humanoid. Why is this?

1. Well, it is what it is. I mean, supposing that the witness event is genuine, if that's what is being seen, then the "why" is simple...because that's what they are.

2. In TV shows and movies, it's a lot easier to put an actor in a biped alien costume.

3. Non-bipedal aliens may not even be reported as "aliens" at all, since they wouldn't conform to the popular notion of it. If you saw a Moose with a laser in his mouth, would you think, "wow, that's a moose-like alien" or would you think "what is that moose chewing on"....??? A silly analogy, but hopefully, it illustrates that we may not even recognize a non-bipedal alien if we saw it.

4. We've only got "us" as an example to work with, so that's all we have to use for comparison. While your dolphin illustrates the different forms of intelligence, we don't see them making tools or building civilizations.

the reality is that because we probably are engineered by some alien species, who knows

so we look like them, instead of them looking like us

I really doubt alien life would be humanoid .... REALLY DOUBT

the only way would be if we are made from them in some way or by them

some guy answered GOD ... is that a joke?

Your forget that it is the humanoid form who has domain over the Earth. Althought I agree that aliens are not nessercerly all humanoid. I believe that there is likely a vast variety of alien forms some that we might recognize some that we couldn't even imagine.

Peace (now wouldn't that be a fine thing).

reply to post by ALOSTSOUL


Dominion because we got there first. Don't forget, we exterminated about 3 other hominids who looked kind of like us, but not the same. There have been many species of man as well. Most of whom we killed off ad well. That is why we are dominated. We exterminated our competitors. Also, I'll quote Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. "humans always thought they were the smartest because they invented cities, nuclear bombs, and war. Whereas dolphins thought they were smarter for the exact opposite reason". When you get down to it, you don't need civilization and cities to get to space and build cool technology. Cities just allow protection from your grumpy neighbors so that you can do it in peace. Not saying dolphins are smarter. Saying that it would not surprise me to find an alien civilization with no civilization at all, just technology and spaces.

reply to post by faiol


I do not get the whole engineered aspect of some conspiracy theories. All the bones are there. It is clear how we evolved and from what and why. there are dozens of in between species. Also, why would the master create his creation like himself? God did it in the bible, but why would aliens do the same?

Originally posted by Gorman91
reply to post by masonicon

 

Why would he be so bland. he created such diversity here. Why use the copy paste button after?

Why would we assume he even exists?

And if we were to assume that, then we could assume that he is humanoid as well, and all his creations would be formed after him.

All assumptions.

reply to post by Gorman91

Why should we believe in humanoid aliens?

Well, considering the vastness of the universe, the likelihood that another life-form similar or identical to us in shape, form and mind has evolved is probably pretty high.

Then again, so is the possibility that a form of extremophile – maybe Hyperthermophiles who thrive at really hot temperatures, or Cryophiles who love really cold places, or even Endoliths who live in spaces within rocks (perhaps Phobos is actually a dirty big Endolith starship!) - have developed sentience and formed space-faring civilizations.

Then again, why assume that any alien life-form is even carbon based? What about silicon and some walking crystals?

Or what about ammonia, boron or nitrogen based beasties that might be watching us with envious eyes?

There is no feasible limit to the possibilities of body-types that could evolve, not should it be dependant on what fundamental archetype they are formed from or evolve into.

Thinking that the humanoid shape is universal may well be correct. Then again, it could also be just a little ego-centric.

I think people belive in humanoid like aliens because they do not know anything else. I mean, they don't even consider what dolphins and crows do as intelligence. "Humans are the dominant species, therefore the most intelligent". That's why life on other planets must be dominated by humanoid like beings.

In my opinion, we haven't evolved much if we kill each other for no reason or even made up ones . Granted, we have some pretty advanced technology, but if humans kill each other what's the point. I think living in peace is the highest form of evolution.

Again, just in my humble opinion.

[edit on 26-4-2010 by Casandra]

reply to post by Beamish


Remember, n/infinity=0. The population of the universe of finite beings in infinite space is, on average, 0. And anyone encountered is a deranged dream.


But in all seriousness, I was basically asking why we assume all aliens must be upright walking humanoids when on our own planet already a species does 1/3 our abilities with less then 1/10 the brain mass. That's pretty amazing. And without any need for a big brain, there's no reason to walk upright, walk on two legs, or even to have hands at all. Technically tentacles are the best for tool making because you don't have to worry about bones, limits of size, or even cutting them off. They grow right back.

Also, just for interest sake, silicon life would not like water, and because our world is mainly silicon, but carbon on the surface, it would be interested in our world, but not in us. Nitrogen life forms would be lighter and good for gravity worlds, and ammonium based life forms would be more common, seeing as their elements are easier to form and the earth was an ammonia rich world long ago. That means they would evolve first if given the right time.

reply to post by Gorman91


Humanoid aliens and aliens in general are products of human imagination. We shouldn't treat this fantasy any different than other fantasies like the tooth fairy, santa claus or the hundreds of deities we've imagined. Now science may say that humanoid aliens/aliens are probable but that doesn't make them any more real.

I had always assumed that a civilised technological species would at least need a way of using tools that goes beyond the mouth. If you look at our hands they are specialised for manipulating the environment and can do things that a crow would find very difficult even with tools and intelligence.

I'd say the best species on earth to base aliens on after humans would be Octopuses. They're intelligent and their tentacles are good manipulators. The disadvantage is that they are underwater creatures.

Sure, crows are crafty and intelligent creatures, but when was the last time you saw one hold a hammer?

it is the sheer adaptability of a humanoid template that makes it an evolutionary logical choice

a few basic things that a humanoid template can do :

1 - leap across an obstacle twice its body lenth

2 - leap over an obstacle 1/2 its body height

3 - drop and crawl under / through an obstacle 0nly 105% of its body cross section

4 - carry a load equal to its body weight

5 - swim in a liquid environment - and hold its breath for one minuite to dive to 10m

6 - climb a tree / cliff

7 - possess opposable thumb for tool use and manipulation

what other form factor can addapt to so many evironments / challenges ?

the oposable thumb is the only thing a humanoid has a a unique ability - but while they are outclassed by something in every sphere of activity - its thier ability to have SOME competance in almost every feild except unaided flight that