Originally Posted by Norse Sword
Stephen Hawking suggests that we should avoid contact with alien life, simply because it is most likely the same reason, what we would do if human kind traveled to a distant planet, and found it occupied by a primitive life form.
The laws of physics apply everywhere in the observable universe, it isn’t illogical to presume that the laws of life do as well.

If that is the case Hawking is correct in my opinion. Any species will expand unless prevented and will do so at the expense of other forms, here on earth man is the most successful form of life, like it or not many species are now on borrowed time (perhaps including humanity).

One of the reasons I’m sceptical about alien intelligence is because we are still here. Ten billion years is a long time, someone should have colonised the galaxy by now.