Oh. Hi there!
I didn’t expect you so soon!
It’s just that you seem to be so preoccupied, lately.
I didn’t think that you would be interested. At least not yet anyway. I thought you were having too much fun. Distracted by all this amazing technology. No time to pause and look around. Not while the party is still going on!
Oh, interested in what?
Well, you know. How we got into this mess!
Oh? You’re not interested in that? Still having too much fun? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Did you click on me hoping to find some really neat outer space stuff? Creepy Aliens with ray guns? More entertainment?
Sorry. But that’s not what I’m here for.
My task is a bit more mundane.
But it does have one advantage!
I’m here to talk about Reality. You know, that nasty mess in the corner that you keep meaning to clean up someday?
So, I’m really sorry.
I know this must be terribly disappointing news.
But Alien View is not about aliens.
We’ve never met aliens, been abducted by aliens, traveled to other galaxies, or had any out-of-body experiences.
Although that all sounds really fun!
So, if you’re interested in that sort of thing, you’re in the wrong place.
Then what are we about?
Well, our goal at Alien View is to promote greater awareness of the impact of science and technology on human behavior.
What? Too boring? I’m not too sure about that. The challenges of technology today are anything but boring.
For some reason, science and technology keep crashing into human behavior. Sometimes with disastrous results.
While we are hoping to have a bit of fun along the way, please note that Alien View is firmly grounded in the scientific method.
Oh? Too boring again?
Sorry, but we do not promote pseudo-scientific theories that contravene the basic laws of nature. We also don’t advocate for any particular ethnic, religious, political, or cultural viewpoint. And we’re not affiliated with, or sponsored by, any organization.
Yet, while we are firmly grounded in the logic of science, Alien View does not believe that science and technology have all the answers to life’s questions, or that scientific progress always leads to positive outcomes.
Look, we’ve all benefited from advances in science. But some of those advances have presented our planet with pretty serious challenges.
We don’t mean to be too negative, but that annoying “human behavior” part has definitely caused some complications for our brave new world of advanced technology.
But, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater!
We are humans, after all. Maybe when we finally invent those super smart A.I. robots that always seem to be just around the corner, we can finally ditch our pesky human foibles.
But in the meantime, we’re stuck! We’re just going to have to figure this stuff out ourselves!
But, we can do it! After all, some of us at Alien View are scientists, too! Well, sort of. They’re data scientists. They employ the arcane tools of logic, probability, and mathematics.
Okay, we know that logic isn’t very popular these days. But stay with us! We promise not to bore you with abstract math or dry formulas. No way! We’re going to have fun!
However, the fun will be constrained by the unfortunate straightjacket of Reality.
You know, that mess you keep forgetting about? The one you work so hard to ignore?
And we don’t mean the fantasy land that some people call reality. We mean the real Reality.
Haha! That’s a funny expression, huh? Real Reality?
By stepping away from a strictly “human-centric” point of view, the goal of Alien View is to take a different approach.
And now, some good news.
We promise to entertain you along the way!
After all, talking about the real Reality can be pretty stressful.
But, take heart! We offer really comfortable lounge chairs on this cruise. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Have you ever met someone who is amazingly perceptive about others, yet lacks insight into their own personality, or how they appear to others? Perhaps someone who overestimates their reasoning skills, attractiveness, or other talents?
Might we humans, as a species, lack such insight into ourselves? Might we be prone to over-valuing the power of our intellect to solve the problems around us?
What would we look like to a species far more intelligent than ours? How would those Aliens view us?
Our goal is to rhetorically step out of our skin and look at the world through other eyes. Alien eyes.
We call this the Alien View.
Okay, okay. We know. We’re just humans, too! We’re not really Aliens, although we can dress pretty strange at times.
But, please bear with us. Help us to think out of the box. If you can, we promise you an interesting journey.
We are an international family of learners. Your comments are welcome, so please join the conversation!
After all, our topics are a series of discussions. These dialogues can be found at our website, AlienView.org. You can read the scripts, listen to them, or best of all, watch the really cool animatic videos!
We hope to see you there!