tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216910.post5907572574976465520..comments2023-10-30T01:52:04.961-07:00Comments on Miniver Cheevy: Humans are scaryJonathan Kormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249159323930786199noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216910.post-91512447008583094442017-08-16T07:03:22.779-07:002017-08-16T07:03:22.779-07:00This is also basically the plot of E.T.; small, ho...This is also basically the plot of E.T.; small, hobbity, plant-collecting aliens vs. big scary authoritarian apes. I guess it would make sense that the majority of species that managed to cooperate long enough to get off-planet before they wiped themselves out would be less aggressive and environmentally destructive than humans. And the jury's still out on us, of course... stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18132728262588599801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216910.post-76483794212995476902016-12-29T06:17:27.297-08:002016-12-29T06:17:27.297-08:00I still think a nice exoskeleton would nice. I hav...I still think a nice exoskeleton would nice. I have found that my soft fleshy exterior is able to be harmed by sharp, bladed instruments, explosives, incendiaries, firearms and Xacto knives (which, although technically a "sharp, bladed instrument", really belongs in a class of its own. And since, yes, I have healed from stabbings, slicings, shootings and a few chemistry experiments gone slightly awry I would agree that we humans have a wonderfully uncanny ability to heal. Perhaps we could install a "volume" dial or dampening device on our extremely intricate and expansive network of nerve endings? The healing process doesn't feel too quick when your nerve endings feel like you are being burned with electricity. Just some suggested upgrades I've noticed as my amazing human meat suit gets older and more experienced. Chinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03840168570453872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216910.post-67233606637792010432016-09-30T09:37:10.810-07:002016-09-30T09:37:10.810-07:00Ummm... in my reading of sf, it seems to me overal...Ummm... in my reading of sf, it seems to me overall like humans as humdrum remains a minority, even slightly radical position -- it's human exceptionalism that's the norm, especially that we're the toughest, most resilient, most adaptable, and overall most unbeatable species around. Poul Anderson's 1960 _The High Crusade_ is an exemplar. Disch's 1965 _The Genocides_ prominently inverted the trope in which despite their overwhelming advantages and incredible technology, the aliens... won. We started seeing other examples in the '70's in Tiptree and Varley.<br /><br />But it still looks to me like "Independence Day" is the rule.Zed Lopezhttp://zedlopez.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216910.post-61984447487848625512016-06-05T11:03:31.335-07:002016-06-05T11:03:31.335-07:00Pursuit predation is exactly what cheetahs do. Wha...Pursuit predation is exactly what cheetahs do. What you describe for humans is persistence hunting.Don Rebahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18015532040220223370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216910.post-633569920220731132016-04-18T15:28:17.742-07:002016-04-18T15:28:17.742-07:00From the Notebooks of Lazarus Long:
By the data to...From the Notebooks of Lazarus Long:<br />By the data to date, there is only one animal in the Galaxy dangerous to man--man himself. So he must supply his own indispensable competition. He has no enemy to help him. J'Carlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11811626573349505654noreply@blogger.com