First contact with alien

Whether there are any intelligent beings living on other planets than the earth is a question yet to be answered. Some people believe them.

So far, many Sci-Fi writers have accomplished amazing novels regarding aliens from outer planets. They travel for a long time approaching the earth. Some of the works describe a utopia in which the human culture and alien's one are well combined. Other believe aliens are willing to conquer us. If they exist, will be the first contact a happy event?

Michael Varnum, an assistant professor in Arizona State University, claims that the majority will be happy when they meet an alien. His specialty is psychology, not astronomy.

Independent: Humans will be happy if aliens invade Earth, scientists find

According to Varnum, in most articles he investigated, people who saw things suspected as an alien looked excited and joyful. But, we should not jump to the conclusion. It is quite natural that people who believe to have seen an alien are excited about their experience. They are those who willing to see and to report such events. In contrast, people who believe contact with an alien will be a tragedy would not report their experience if they actually see the alien. Otherwise, they do not believe the things they saw. It is a typical "selection bias."

Varnum made another experiment, however. He made a group of volunteers into two subgroups. In this experiment, members of one group were offered the media explaining aliens, while the other group was exposed to the media regarding the history of life. As a result, members belonging to the former group were more excited than the latter.

However, it is difficult to believe this experiment without a doubt. In general, the topic of alien is interesting than that of evolution. Thus, this experiment proved only the difference of the interest level between the two materials. Also, it is doubtful that participants who were exposed to the media regarding alien believed the existence of aliens. They might enjoy the media as a fiction.

After all, it is difficult to estimate the impact when we encounter an external life. In my opinion, an exclusive policy will rise when meeting with aliens, considering the recent trend in the world.