| Steven Hawking noted that things generally go really bad for civilizations being 'discovered' by technologically advanced socities. I agree that if we stumble upon a civilization, the one with the most advanced war technology will destroy the other rather quickly (within a century, at the most).
The question is pertinent because I believe we are on the cusp of finding life forms on Titan or Europa (within a generation). Even bacterial life must be treated carefully if/when we stumble across it. |