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Human xenophobia extends beyond this planet.

We are part of ONE universe and it is beyond me to understand why extra terrestrials are called 'aliens' (in a sense that is driven by ignorance and fear of ETs).

Perhaps we are called Terrestrials by other civilizations (vis á vis 'aliens')

Fractal artists often name their works with terms like 'alien pollen, landscape, cities' etc. However, their creations are the work of the human imagination. As yet I have to meet one artist who collaborates with an ET to generate what is essentially the outcome of Mandelbrot mathematics.

It is true that fractal dynamics apply throughout the universe. And there exists the possibility that other civilizations have developed fractals to serve higher purposes in a far more complex structure in relation to gravity, magnetism, dark matter and so on.

The universe is ONE organism. As humans we have grown up with seeing the 'other' as an alien, however, those with intelligence no longer see the people of other races as 'aliens' (which is essentially a derogatory and xenophobic term).
What I propose is that we do not refer to ETs as 'aliens'.

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/another_word_01_14/

We are all part of ONE planet, yet we call other humans "aliens" with nobody complaining.  In the US there are "Illegal Aliens" who object to being called "Illegal" but never to being called "Alien".  It just means "Not from this local area" and makes no value judgement at all, nor does it mean "from another planet" - those are just a couple of the many uses for the word.


One does not need to meet an actual extraterrestrial to imagine them.  Art is an act of Imagination more than anything else, so pretending to hold it to any rules at all is self defeating.


Is it?

That theory is still debated and quite very far from settled.

There are many examples of fractal-like processes, but I have never seen a single true fractal anywhere in the universe!

Not all iterative processes are fractal.

I believe fractals to be a mathematical construct with only approximations existing in reality - but never a true fractal.  Like the mathematical concepts of Zero and Infinity - they are very useful for math, but people tend to think of them as real when they are purely a thought experiment.


I see nothing derogatory or xenophobic about the term alien.  That is purely a subjective thing which will vary from person to person.  And the universe is not an organism - it is not alive by any accepted definition of life.

What definition of life are you using to arrive at such a far reaching conclusion?

It would be a very nice thing if the universe had extraterrestrial life, even more so if that life were intelligent, but there has yet to be any convincing evidence of that theory.

Thanks for your response. I am researching for a Ph.D. It would take a thesis to answer
the valuable counter-points you raised.

I've thrown out what I said as a survey to collect various (subjective) responses.

I will get back when I have a coherent (and short summary) of my research/survey.

For now, however, regarding the concept of Zero and Infinity; they originated in Indian Hinduism
(although they have come into the West through Arabic mathematicians) and are experienced realities in a meditative state.
It is interesting to note that in computers alpha is referred to transparency or an empty space channel and likewise much
scientific experiments have demonstrated elevated alpha waves in the brain during meditative states i.e. empty.

The universe is one organism : the micro an macro cannot be cut off. For example one's kidneys on their own
cannot work without the synchronic functions of other organs to keep one alive. Likewise the earth cannot be alive without
the sun and the solar system which are only functioning in the macrocosm of the galaxy and that in turn function in an important
relationship to other galaxies ad infinitum. The legacy of Cartesian Dualism has done too much damage already - in the sense
that it removes interconnections; mind and body; man and nature; and so on. We have recently all seen the 'butterfly effect' in the
extreme weather originating in the Philippines effecting freezing North America and finally hitting our UK isles with . . . .
Further on my 'wild' assertions later.

Good luck with the thesis!  What is your major?  Sounds like Philosophy, but could be Cosmology or something else. I studied more than my share of Philosophy in college and accidentally got the degree by taking every course in the department as electives   :alien:


Not the poll in this thread, I hope!  I deliberately did not answer it as, despite appearances, I don't think the answer is as black and white as the options imply.


No hurry, we are all busy folks.


I learned meditation while studying martial arts, and did not find the states I experienced to be either completely empty, or completely infinite.  My awareness was rather heightened but I drew different conclusions as to what that state of mind represented  (despite being told what it was supposed to mean by others).  Same experience, different interpretation.


I know of many such experiments and still maintain that what they are calling empty I call relaxed.  Alpha waves are associated with sleep, which has been demonstrated to be far from emptyness, even while not dreaming.


Again, I think our beliefs are not so disparate as all that.  Of course everything is connected.  If everything sprang from some sort of "singularity" as modern science asserts, then of course it is all connected.

But I believe to extrapolate from that the notion that the entire universe is alive is unfounded.  That would be like saying there is nothing inanimate or un-alive in the universe.

I prefer to draw a distinction between life and death - alive and not.  If it's all one, then there is no room for that distinction and the result would be philosophically unacceptable and lead to unresolvable ethical problems  ("But Officer - I didn't kill him! There is no such thing as death!").

It would, to me, be like saying there can't be any distinctions drawn between any two things - red may as well be blue since they are both manifestations of the same thing; electromagnetic radiation.

Cartesian Dualism has it's purpose.  It aids us in distinguishing between different aspects of otherwise connected things  (like red and blue - both are EM Radiation, and share many qualities, but they are distinctly different aspects of the phenomenon).  

So I maintain that all things can be connected, but all things can not be one.


I look forward to it.  You raise some interesting points   O0

I totally agree that the Western mainstream media portrays aliens as a frightening "other" intent on human destruction, to scare the populus into supporting real-life yet useless wars against the "other". Us -vs- them.  It's an age old tactic... And while there are some movies that are more obviously propaganda for current wars, they can't make too many of those or people would catch on and stop watching. And what about when the enemy changes again? Those movies become nothing more than historical reminders. Scary aliens on the other hand can represent any enemy, addressed as metaphor, and so these movies are timeless. And the propaganda is less obvious to people this way as well, so they actually get super excited about it en masse. Even in movies with "safe" aliens like E.T., we are conditioned to accept that big daddy government will be called in to take care of things whether we like it or not! And, Sockratease, as you pointed out illegal immigrants are referred to as "aliens" in mainstream news... this is no mistake, they are very careful with words. We are meant to be afraid of illegal immigrants, so that we support (even demand) things like the giant fence with armed guards to keep people out like they are doing here in the US.
And the same people pushing this alien metaphor war propaganda have a bigger agenda - global government - and they believe they are actually close to achieving this (I don't think they will achieve it any time soon because their entire control structure is based upon Euclidean geometry! :fiery:). A common enemy from outer space could (allegedly) unite all of Earth under this new government. So the movies and TV shows work today to spur people into supporting useless wasteful wars on earth, and it's preconditioning people to accept what might come tomorrow.
So, do I think this applies to people posting fractals online and calling it an alien landscape? Of course not! Their use is entirely benign, appropriate, and agenda-free. I think you are responding to the fact that the meaning of word "alien" has been deliberately twisted for nefarious means.
In closing, kill your TV and read some books about fractals!

Thanks for your input. I was playing with linguistic & emotional weight of the use of the word 'alien' and I agree with you that fractal art does no have any sinister under/overtones when one sees an alien landscape. However, the idea of 'alien' did not come from TV rather the vast number of fractals entitled 'alien' this or that. No worries about reading. I did my masters thesis one of the first books on fractals by John Briggs 'Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos'.

http://fractalfoundation.org/fractal-store/bookshelf/