According to the Bible, man was made in the image of God. What about the Extraterrestrial? Why is it that our mental image of a visiting alien is usually always humanoid in appearance? Why are we seeing humanoids?
Skeptics argue that such beings would have little resemblance to our human physical form. They claim that “popular images” of ET are ridiculous. They argue that humans are simply putting our desires for the alien’s appearance onto ET’s body. People think of ET in terms of life as we know it, according to science writer Dr. Craig Freudenrich. “For most of history, aliens had to be performed by human actors dressed in alien clothes,” he commented sarcastically.
This makes having shapes other than humanoid challenging.” “And you can’t make an alien seem too different from a human since the audience has to recognize it,” he says. We are quite adept at recognizing humanoid shapes psychologically, therefore an alien shaped like a coffee table would not be very good.” According to Freudenrich, we aren’t pleased with bacteria or even jellyfish; we want little green guys or benign Klingons, and this is what we see when we see ET.
Science has trained us to reject the anthropocentric perspective of view. They’ve been doing it since the Copernican Revolution demonstrated that the Earth is not the center of the cosmos. When scientists evaluate observations, they make a concerted effort to eliminate human values. They despise their humanity. They claim that science should not be centered on humans. They tell us that the chances of ET possessing intellect are tiny, and that even if they exist, the chances of their resembling “humans” are extremely distant. Though we are not the center of the universe, the pendulum of thought has swung much too far in this direction.
We should not be afraid to consider the most obvious possibility – that ET is extremely similar to us!
For good reason, ET visitors frequently arrive in human-like shapes. Because they must, they have heads, torsos, four limbs, and bilateral symmetry. “Well, the Aliens could be green slimey globs – but if they’re coming here, hands and feet sure would be helpful!” reasoned a friend’s little youngster.
And the kid is correct. Aliens are most likely blobs, slithering things, and inconceivable things on their various planets. However, if the Alien is able to leave its home planet and visit us, it must be capable of doing it manually. It must be able to articulate movement in order to create things. Appendages with opposable digits are required for this. To ambulate within the environment, it would require limb-like components. It must be seen in order to be made. As a result, it has “hands,” “arms,” “legs,” and “eyes.” And it needs structure – a “skeleton” or frame to keep it upright – and “skin” to keep what’s inside contained. The Visitors are humanoid by necessity. A crab or a cat, no matter how brilliant, will never be able to move a spaceship through space-time.
The Space Shuttle Dr. Ulrich Walter, a Columbia astronaut and physicist, makes a compelling case in a 2004 paper. He defies conventional scientific thinking about what ET would look like. “No matter from which angle you approach the topic, the only plausible option appears to be the variant realized by the human race,” he says of the visiting alien form. He delves into the reasons why carbon chemistry, or organic chemistry, has been the foundation of such evolutionary existence. This is why, in terms of basic ingredients, ET cannot be that different from Earthly life.
Space-faring organisms would require stereoscopic vision and hand-eye coordination similar to humans. According to Dr. Walter, any sentient ET life would be composed of “flesh” (agglomerate of reproducing watery cells) and “blood” (a liquid which transports needed substances.) A humanoid’s “flesh” and “blood.” Dr. Walter comes to the conclusion that ET’s functional counterparts are identical to ours, and that “the only question that remains is where these components are located.”
When asked, “What does ET look like?” another child replied, “They can be anything.” He, too, is correct. If the world is teeming with sentient life, then there are ancient and advanced beings. Those who survive are those who adapt. Technology has undoubtedly enabled them to seem how they wish over the millennia. And if something is sufficiently alien, it can take on any form. Or it may not want to be regarded as “alive” or as sentient at all. Their shape is most likely anything they want it to be. It has been “self-engineered.” Aliens who visit us would have to be incomprehensibly flexible – with the ability to shift shape in order to exploit all environment. ET’s appearance can change just as their craft (and the material from which they are made) can.
ET’s essential nature remains humanoid, regardless of how they seem. Because we have a common ancestor, their form is very recognizable to us. We share a same ancestor. And one day, we’ll do the same thing they do. The truth is that both Man and Visitor represent the boundless image of God, rendering the word “Alien” meaningless.
