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Aliens will take us out in three seconds, says Ridley Scott

Commentary: The famous director insists that beings out there are a lot smarter than we are.

Chris Matyszczyk
2 min read

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


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Ridley Scott isn't entirely optimistic.

Jason LaVeris, FilmMagic

As we become ever more obsessed with our screens and ourselves, we also express an occasional fascination with what's out there in the vast beyond.

Space may or may not be the final frontier, but, if we believe Stephen Hawking and Newt Gingrich, we might have to escape there before long.

But what if there are aliens out there and they're far smarter than we are?

Ridley Scott, director of the original "Alien" movie and the upcoming "Alien: Covenant," is convinced we could be in trouble.

As Scott told Sky News: "I believe in superior beings. I think it is certainly likely."

He said that a NASA expert had put it to him in simple terms: "Have you ever looked in the sky at night? You mean to tell me we are it?"

All too often, we do think we're it. Scott, though, insists that experts believe there are between 100 and 200 worlds out there that might be at the same evolutionary stage as we are. (Wait, we're evolving?)

If it ever came to a meeting of our world with another, Scott isn't confident of our ability to manage it.

"So when you see a big thing in the sky, run for it," he said. "Because they are a lot smarter than we are, and if you are stupid enough to challenge them you will be taken out in three seconds."


He isn't alone in his fear. Hawking himself has mused that aliens might loathe the very sight of us. He, too, fears that nomadic aliens might crush us, just because that's what nomadic aliens do.

Perhaps, then, we should hone our ability to charm otherworldly beings. Should we meet them, we should be self-deprecatory.

We could even sit them down to watch the absurd movies we have made about, well, otherworldly beings.

At least that way, we could die laughing.

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