John,

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:59:38 +0200, John Donson wrote:

Randall Schulz wrote:

John,

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 05:39:14 +0200, John Donson wrote:

Randall Schulz wrote:

Hi,

Recently it occurred to me to wonder what is the latest date in
Earth history when an extraterrestrial visit (a non-clandestine
visit, i.e.) could have occurred without having been recognized as
such?

...

What makes you think that a visit from an alien today would be
recognised as such anywhere on earth?

Assuming you're not joking, I'd have to ask what it would take to go
unnoticed if an extraterrestrial appeared openly today? ...

...

Again, I'm talking about a completely open appearance. Landing a craft
on the Mall in Washington D.C. or in Red Square or the Champs Elysees,
or some such.

No, I'm not joking. You are looking at it from your own cultural
perspective. Just throw a dart on the world map a couple of times and
imagine what anyone living in the area where the dart lands would think
of an alien being. How about Borneo? Kenia? The Amazon basin?

That's valid, of course, and that perspective is within the scope of the
question as I conceived of it. The "drop-dead" date may be different in
different parts of the world, but I still doubt that in 2004 there is any
place on Earth where an alien could visit and not be recognoized as such.
So I'm still comfortable assuming this latest date of non-recognition has
passed for all of Earth.

Also, try turning your point around: Could a human be transported across
the planet to a society in which he or she appeared very exotic be
mistaken for an alien? Almost certainly not. Humans always recognize each
other--despite all the attempts made over time to dehumanize members of
widely differing cultures--and they will always interbreed when brought
into contact with each other. Species recognition is so important to
biology that evolution never lets it lapse in any very significant way.

RRS