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[EveryZig]

On the other hand, I would speculate that significant damage might be done by a primitive invasive organism that harms people indirectly, such as an alien rock mold that produces poisonous gas.

yeah, like those nasty cyanobacteria that filled our atmosphere with a very poisonous gas, causing a mass extinction a bajillion years ago

Did you also hear about that one from a certain Larry Niven book?

[Askot Bokbondeler]

actually, no. who's the guy?

[EveryZig]

actually, no. who's the guy?

A fairly well known science fiction writer.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

reading up on him, never read anything by him.
i was hoping you'd expand a bit on his connection to cyanobacteria

edit:"The Green Marauder"?
edit2:"The Green Marauder".

[Scoops Novel]

Let's get a little more terrestrial. Past, present and future scenarios? Including self aware AI.

[Sheb]

Remember me of a great book I read about the first Europeans to go into the Papuan Highland in the 30's. They were taken for gods, then traded shells for labor for work in the gold mines.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Past, present and future scenarios? Including self aware AI.

I've always thought of it to be highly likely that if we ever do reach 'expand' into space, it'll be our descendants in the form of advanced AIs. Of course to facilitate this the whole singularity thing needs to happen and humanity removed from the equation, being wasteful and useless in terms of space travel.

It would also be very alarming to me if the singularity happened to another race at one point [possibly even with similar 'electronics' that lead to an even more powerful type of AI, note I did hypothesize this about '87 on a good mushroom trip] which could eventually lead to that hivemind rolling into the Milky Way and annihilating us. I just can't see any type of intelligent beings escaping a singularity-like event, especially if they utilize and kind of electronics. It's also a giant pain in the ass to move things with a lifespan around the universe, so that kind-of pushes any type of space-faring civilization into making an autonomous system to run their space exploration.  Atleast that's how I see it, barring any type of 'warp'/teleporting/FTL travel technology.

[Scoops Novel]

Actually, on that note how likely would you say a space-faring hivemind/zerg/tyrannid etc. race is?

[10ebbor10]

Actually, on that note how likely would you say a space-faring hivemind/zerg/tyrannid etc. race is?

In the intrepretation as given: Ie Zerg, tyranid. Quite unlikely. There are several problems with their expansion style. Their ships are organic, which is not good for propulsion and long term survival. They require organic planets to consume, and their hivemind system is practically impossible.(Though not really, they could use radio signals for communication, in some weird alien way).

A hivemind race is however quite probable. This would most likely be a communal intelligence. Ie, individuals of the species are dumb, but when one of them learns something by trial and error, it spreads horizontally through the population. This trial and error strategy is not that good to develop a spaceprogram though.

[Loud Whispers]

Actually, on that note how likely would you say a space-faring hivemind/zerg/tyrannid etc. race is?

If they functioned anything like bees or ants using chemicals for communication as a single large entity composed of the hundreds of thousands of tiny organisms but on a planetwide scale? Yes, it could be possible. The chances of such an entity developing space travel? Unlikely. We'd be more likely to find them than them to us.

(And then they hitch a ride on a spehss ship and invade other planets. Muahuahahaha)

[lemon10]

Actually, on that note how likely would you say a space-faring hivemind/zerg/tyrannid etc. race is?

If they functioned anything like bees or ants using chemicals for communication as a single large entity composed of the hundreds of thousands of tiny organisms but on a planetwide scale? Yes, it could be possible. The chances of such an entity developing space travel? Unlikely. We'd be more likely to find them than them to us.

(And then they hitch a ride on a spehss ship and invade other planets. Muahuahahaha)

I don't think chemicals would work on a planetwide scale.
On a hive scale? Sure, but getting larger then that wouldn't work due to delays and problems communicating over distance.
Other ways would work (using wireless wavelengths, electronic communication using trees or nerve's or whatever over great distance), but I am not sure how easy they would be able to get any of those naturally (although I could see a constructed race or an AI swarm or something using it pretty easily).

[Loud Whispers]

Actually, on that note how likely would you say a space-faring hivemind/zerg/tyrannid etc. race is?

If they functioned anything like bees or ants using chemicals for communication as a single large entity composed of the hundreds of thousands of tiny organisms but on a planetwide scale? Yes, it could be possible. The chances of such an entity developing space travel? Unlikely. We'd be more likely to find them than them to us.

(And then they hitch a ride on a spehss ship and invade other planets. Muahuahahaha)

I don't think chemicals would work on a planetwide scale.
On a hive scale? Sure, but getting larger then that wouldn't work due to delays and problems communicating over distance.
Other ways would work (using wireless wavelengths, electronic communication using trees or nerve's or whatever over great distance), but I am not sure how easy they would be able to get any of those naturally (although I could see a constructed race or an AI swarm or something using it pretty easily).

http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/01/04/7-architectural-wonders-of-the-natural-world/

"To add to their eeriness, they (Molerats) are essentially cold-blooded and feel absolutely no pain."

"The largest ant colony discovered to date stretches over 4000 miles across Europe – this super-colony is suspected to have billions of ants.

And that's assuming any swarm-like mind wouldn't be mobile, like Locusts.

[lemon10]

Ants don't actually have a hivemind. It can appear that they have one, and they work amazingly together, but they can't pool their intellect, their behavior is genetically based, and they lack other things that a true hivemind would have.

[10ebbor10]

Ants don't actually have a hivemind. It can appear that they have one, and they work amazingly together, but they can't pool their intellect, their behavior is genetically based, and they lack other things that a true hivemind would have.

Ants do have a hivemind. They only don't have the sci fi intrepretation of a hivemind. The difference between those is that the ant one is possible from a scientific perspective, while the second one is heavily dependent on the abilitiy to psychically connect.

Besides, who said ants can't pool intellect. The definition of a hivemind is that they are individually dumb, but smart in numbers. Ants can solve a maze quite quickly, by each taking a different route and covering it with a chemical. The shortest route will be covered the most, so all ants start following it.

Hive mind may refer to:
- Collective consciousness (Ie, not your intrepretation)
- The apparent consciousness of colonies of social insects such as ants, bees and termites (Ants)
- Swarm intelligence, the collective behaviour of decentralized, self-organized systems, natural or artificial (My intrepretation)

[Loud Whispers]

Ants don't actually have a hivemind. It can appear that they have one, and they work amazingly together, but they can't pool their intellect, their behavior is genetically based, and they lack other things that a true hivemind would have.

Not a sci-fi hivemind, no.
But they along with bees function as a super organism. Where they actually do pool their intellect together. Groups of specialists working in concerto can achieve what individuals cannot, and our own swarms give us a good idea of that.
If a scout finds food, it leaves chemical trails so that workers can find them. If the colony needs to fragment, the females may no long be chemically suppressed and become queens.
Then you've got the downright awesome examples of the supply lines soldier ants make, or the ant boats

Ninja'd.