Ask Steve Perry

[War Wager]

Comparing Aliens to dogs is stupid. They're not like anything on Earth.

[Flaming Firefox]

Comparing Aliens to dogs is stupid. They're not like anything on Earth.

I have to agree, they certainly don't exhibit any behaviors in common with dogs so I don't see how they can easily be compaired to them.

[SiL]

Almost all dogs that seem smart because of the tricks they can do have had intensive training to get them to that point, even German Sheppards. I've ownded dogs my whole life and I currently have several and I can tell you they just don't pop out knowing how to do complex stuff. It takes a lot of work.

Well no duh. Humans don't pop out as rocket scientists and I'm sure Preds don't, either. But it's the capacity for that intelligence. And when you consider that the Aliens have this level of intelligence when born, just think of where they could go if we saw a hive that was older than 3 weeks.

I have to agree, they certainly don't exhibit any behaviors in common with dogs so I don't see how they can easily be compaired to them.

No-one was talking about having the same behaviour ...

[War Wager]

Heres something that'll put Alien intelligence into perspective:

Say you've got an newly molted Alien standing in a dark, dank corridor that has masses of pipes lining the ceiling. Theres a gun at the side of the wall. Is it going to pick up the gun and keep a finger on the trigger? No. It'll most likley place the thing in plain view in the middle of the corridor and hide in the pipes above. Note that this is purely just to kill something, to satisfy it's most primal instict, but in order to do it it needs to use it's surroundings. If Aliens weren't that smart wouldn't they would just parade around the corridors and charge at anything they come across?

[Flaming Firefox]

Well no duh. Humans don't pop out as rocket scientists and I'm sure Preds don't, either. But it's the capacity for that intelligence. And when you consider that the Aliens have this level of intelligence when born, just think of where they could go if we saw a hive that was older than 3 weeks.

Thanks for the sarcasm, 
Yeah, that's the point I'm making. Aliens have that intelligence right off the start, whereas most other intelligent creatures have to be taught everything. Everything I said made sense in relation to post 329.

No-one was talking about having the same behaviour ...

Ugh, again the Alien was being compaired to dogs, I'm just saying they don't compair well, who gives a shit if someone compaired their behaviors or not.

[SiL]

Ugh, again the Alien was being compaired to dogs, I'm just saying they don't compair well, who gives a shit if someone compaired their behaviors or not.

Well, you, obviously, seeing as you were saying it was a bad comparison because they don't have similar behaviour. No-one was saying anything about behaviour. They were speaking about intelligence. Whole differently ball game.

[steveperry]

Comparing Aliens to dogs is stupid. They're not like anything on Earth.

Um, just to, you know, keep this in perspective ...

Dogs are real. I have a couple curled up on the floor of my office.

Aliens, in the form of the xenomorph bugs about which much as been said here, don't exist. No such creatures. They are like Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, and Princess Leia -- made-up characters brought to ersatz-life by writers, actors, directors, producers, publishers, printers and the guy sitting in the booth up behind the seats at your friendly, neighborhood multiplex.

So one can imbue them with whatever powers and abilities one wishes. In the first movie, they looked scary-cool, but they make no structural sense whatsoever. They are fantasy creatures who would collapse under their own weight in one gravity. Any engineers here? Any biologists?

As one of the guys who got to present them a few times, with the blessings of the guys who own it all, I see humans, Predators, and Aliens, and no matter how I slice it, the Aliens come up last on the smarts-scale.

As I've said all along, your mileage may vary, but don't get too het up about it -- it's all make-believe.
It's once-upon-a-time -- don't give yourself ulcers over it. Life is too short.

[SiL]

Aliens, in the form of the xenomorph bugs about which much as been said here, don't exit.

Stage right, followed by bear.

[SM]

Bare EVEN!!!!

[War Wager]

I apologise if it looks like I'm taking this to seriously Mr Perry, I get a little carried away at times. But the fact is humans can be smarter than A/P, Aliens can be smarter than H/P and Predators can be smarter than H/A.

[SiL]

I think in fairness it just comes down to the fact Aliens don't have egos to worry about. Unclouded by conscious, remorse, or delusions or morality - You're less likely to make stupid mistakes if all you're thinking about is your goal.

See also, the death of every Predator vs. the death of every Alien. Preds always die when they get cocky; Aliens only die when you do your damnedest to kill them because they're not going to make stupid mistakes and let slip.

And no, I don't count "running into sentry guns" a stupid mistake.

[Flaming Firefox]

Ugh, again the Alien was being compaired to dogs, I'm just saying they don't compair well, who gives a shit if someone compaired their behaviors or not.

Well, you, obviously, seeing as you were saying it was a bad comparison because they don't have similar behaviour. No-one was saying anything about behaviour. They were speaking about intelligence. Whole differently ball game.

I will only say this- often time behavior can reveal intellignece. So no they aren't a different ball game.

[marrerom]

the problem with the dog argument is that dogs have to be trained very rigerously by their owners to accomplish what they do at dog shows. aliens on the other hand learn by themselves in a much much shorter amount of time. they are obviously much smarter then any dog.

[The Diesel]

Comparing Aliens to dogs is stupid. They're not like anything on Earth.

Um, just to, you know, keep this in perspective ...

Dogs are real. I have a couple curled up on the floor of my office.

Aliens, in the form of the xenomorph bugs about which much as been said here, don't exist. No such creatures. They are like Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, and Princess Leia -- made-up characters brought to ersatz-life by writers, actors, directors, producers, publishers, printers and the guy sitting in the booth up behind the seats at your friendly, neighborhood multiplex.

So one can imbue them with whatever powers and abilities one wishes. In the first movie, they looked scary-cool, but they make no structural sense whatsoever. They are fantasy creatures who would collapse under their own weight in one gravity. Any engineers here? Any biologists?

As one of the guys who got to present them a few times, with the blessings of the guys who own it all, I see humans, Predators, and Aliens, and no matter how I slice it, the Aliens come up last on the smarts-scale.

As I've said all along, your mileage may vary, but don't get too het up about it -- it's all make-believe.
It's once-upon-a-time -- don't give yourself ulcers over it. Life is too short.

I'm a scientist with a lot of engineering background so I know exactly what you're talking about.  They would collapse under their own weight.  That's one of the things about the American Godzilla movie.  That thing could never exist in Earth's gravity.  The sheer weight of it's body would crush itself. 

I do agree that the Aliens do stack up last behind humans and Predators.

[SiL]

Why would they collapse under their own weight?