Some scientists think that there are intelligent life forms on other planets and messages should be sent to contact them. Others think it is a bad idea and could be dangerous. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Some astrophysicists claim we should endeavour to contact alien civilizations that could potentially exist somewhere in the universe.

However

, other scientists are sceptical and advise against

such

attempts.

This

essay will discuss both perspectives in support of the latter. Scientists suggesting the possibility of extraterrestrial life insist that contact should be established with aliens by,

for example

, sending out radio signals. Speculating that they may be far more technologically advanced than we are, proponents believe that mankind would possibly benefit from

this

in positive ways,

for instance

, by harnessing stellar energy. What if,

on the other hand

, space beings were aggressive rather than cooperative?

According to

sceptics, coming into contact with aliens might

also

result in human demise or enslavement in case they were technologically superior, especially in Warcraft. The famous late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking made exactly the same argument, citing what happened when European colonists first met indigenous American peoples; natives faced humiliating slavery and carnage at the hands of Europeans, to whom they were inferior in technological terms. The same scenario, opponents

thus

argue, may well be repeated should we show up to the hypothetical space intelligence.

Finally

, even if the supposed space counterparts are friendly, the transmission of unwanted diseases to humans, even with the most optimism, cannot be ruled out. It is biologically proved that microbes, bacteria, and parasites peacefully coexisting with one host can be passed on to another if the intercourse is intimate enough, causing inconveniences, the least of which is terminal diseases if not total extinction of the entire invaded host species. The incidence of Easter Island where a whole civilization collapsed is a salient example of

this

. The isolated islanders all simply died of a common cold caught by the European outlanders who came to steal the riches of the island. On balance, the contention that drawing the attention of alien civilizations could prove precarious seems more justifiable as it is not worth risking our safety and health for the sake of our curiosity.