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Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like

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a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 2/27/2018 1:29 PM, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 2018-02-26 09:42, Panthera Tigris Altaica wrote:
>>> On Monday, February 26, 2018 Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 25 Feb 2018, a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com>
>>>>
>>>>> The aliens, like humans
>>>>
>>>> "We have one example of intelligent life (not counting cetaceans,
>>>> elephants, corvids, cephalopods etc) so we're going to generalise from
>>>> that example!"
>>>>
>>>> Sheesh. They need to interview a more interesting class of scientists.
>>
>>> None of those have hands. Corvids might be able to use their beaks and
>>> their feet, but without true hands they'll have serious problems. The
>>> article actually mentioned cephalopods, which have even bigger
>>> disadvantages than do corvids. First, being under water will be a
>>> significant handicap to the development of, among other things,
>>> chemistry (and its sidekick metallurgy) and electricity (and its
>>> sidekicks electromagnetic fields). Second, they don't have hands
>>> either, and tentacles are notably clumsier. Elephants and cetaceans
>>> are simply out of the running; an elephant's trunk is just one, very
>>> clumsy, tentacle, making them even worse off than cephalopods, and
>>> cetaceans don't even have that. No hands equals no hope of developing
>>> anything even close to a technical civilisation.

Since the context is aliens, can't we assume that different
planetary environments will mean different selection pressures
and hence different adaptations? Say, fingers at the ends of
trunks or tentacles, or...?



>>
>> ObSFW:
>>
>> The issues of hands-free intelligent life are examined in some of the
>> Known Space works, most pertinently in "The Handicapped".
>
> One interesting to me, totally different viewpoint, comes from
> Poul Anderson's "Trader to the Stars", where Nicholas Van Rijn
> has overhauled, captured and boarded a ship they needed
> badly. But the 'race' controlling the ship had it's controls
> securely locked, and then they vanished into the on board
> 'zoo population.
>
> None of the on board creatures could possibly be the
> ship masters. It had to be a pairing, one creature
> was very smart, and able to control a creature with
> a body capable of both fine controls and good strength.
>
> So, for example, have a smart crow, sitting on a head
> of a monkey.
>


This reminds me that both Poul Anderson and Hal Clement did several
stories where the body types & capabilities of the inhabitants were
pretty well thought out from the setting/planetary environment -
Clement's Mesklin stories coming to mind, first and foremost.

Tony

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OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-02-25 19:57 -0800
  Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2018-02-26 10:06 +0000
    Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Panthera Tigris Altaica <northerntiger@outlook.com> - 2018-02-26 07:42 -0800
      Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2018-02-26 22:26 -0500
        Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-02-26 21:44 -0800
          Re: Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2018-02-27 20:53 -0600
        Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Panthera Tigris Altaica <northerntiger@outlook.com> - 2018-02-27 14:35 -0800
          Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2018-02-27 21:55 -0500
            Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2018-02-27 21:46 -0800
              Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-02-28 08:27 -0700
            Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2018-02-27 21:49 -0800
            Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like Panthera Tigris Altaica <northerntiger@outlook.com> - 2018-02-28 07:46 -0800
              Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2018-02-28 11:55 -0800
              Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2018-02-28 22:19 -0500
                Re: OT suspected - Here�s what aliens probably look like Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2018-03-01 16:37 +1300
      Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like "Michael F. Stemper" <michael.stemper@gmail.com> - 2018-02-27 15:29 -0600
        Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-02-28 06:56 +0000
          Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2018-02-28 07:18 +0000
            Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-02-28 14:53 +0000
          Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2018-02-28 00:23 -0800
            Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like Sjouke Burry <burrynulnulfour@ppllaanneett.nnll> - 2018-02-28 13:42 +0100
            Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-02-28 14:54 +0000
        Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-02-28 10:33 -0800
          Re: OT suspected - Here's what aliens probably look like nance@math.ohio-state.edu (Anthony Nance) - 2018-03-01 14:07 +0000
    Re: OT suspected - Here’s what aliens probably look like a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-02-26 10:17 -0800

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