09:05:58 From Linda Billings to Everyone : My boyfriend’s favorite scene from the movie “Eraser” is when Arnold Schwarzenegger jumps out of a plane, lands on top of a car in a junkyard, sees two kids staring at him, and asks them, “Where am I?” The little girl says, “Earth. Welcome.”

 

09:06:41 From Joe Gottlieb to Everyone : Great scene! Also, the portable rail guns in that movie were kinda cool...

 

09:07:53 From Andrew Kennedy to Everyone : well written movie. of course, how long does it take before you want to stop the childlike questions from a kid who is enjoying the attention? 

 

09:09:45 From Kelly Smith to Everyone : Good metaquestion 

 

09:12:17 From Nick Nielsen to Everyone : Yesterday Carlos Santana argued that an aggressive stance would be preferable to being cooperative.

 

09:12:18 From Joe Gottlieb to Everyone : @ John T: why exactly is asking questions arrogant?

 

09:12:46 From Kelly Smith to Everyone : I think John meant not asking questions is arrogant (self-absorbed is maybe a better term) 09:13:50 From Nick Nielsen to Everyone : Self-absorbed bluster is one way to make an impression.

 

09:13:51 From John Traphagan to Everyone : Asking questions is a sign of humility.  Trying to tell everyone about yourself is more a sign of a lack of humility, perhaps, at least right at the start.  So projects like sending the google servers into space seems like a fair arrogant act--it assumes we are so wonderful ET wants to know about us. 

 

09:14:36 From Lucas Mix to Everyone : I wonder how much of that is culturally dependent.

 

09:15:02 From Dan Capper to Everyone : Poor Arecibo.  So sad.

 

09:15:16 From Joe Gottlieb to Everyone : @ John T.: well asking questions *as such* isn't a sign of humility. I suppose it depends on which questions we are asking, which just gets back to the prior issue: what questions should we ask, if we ask any

 

09:16:18 From John Traphagan to Everyone : Of course it depends on what questions one asks.  But to begin with, "let me tell you about me" is fairly unambiguously lacking in humility.

 

09:16:49 From Ted Peters to Everyone : In the field of hermeneutics, every question presupposes and answer. That is, our questions embody the linguistic and cultural tradition with accumulated understanding and even knowledge. To ask a question automatically reveals something about ourselves.

 

09:17:17 From Kelly Smith to Everyone : My candidate for the best question to ask first: What do you value?  Of course, this is partly self-interested, because if they respond, “The suffering of our enemies” we need to adjust all future interactions with them…

 

09:17:26 From Lucas Mix to Everyone : John, in a Dark Forrest, is transmitting a more vulnerable and therefore more charitable option. 

 

09:17:59 From Kelly Smith to Everyone : It certainly conveys a high level of trust and perhaps naïveté

 

09:17:59 From Daniela de Paulis to Everyone : I suspect the concept of humility and modesty are culturally dependent, how can we speculate how a potential E.T. might interpret our presumably humble or arrogant approach? Even a neutral approach s fully open to interpretations.

 

09:18:09 From John Traphagan to Everyone : Lucas, the answer to that depends on who is at the other end.