It's rare enough that [i/]one[/i] intelligent species would develop in a hundred [i/]solar systems[/i].
Let alone multiple on a single planet.
Let alone multiple on a single planet.
Why is there almost never more than one intelligent species on a planet in Scifi.
- Thread starter recharge330
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Wrong on the first count right on the second.Tarkand said:
There where multiple intelligent species and sub species of humans on this very planet. We wiped out and bread out of existence all others - excluding the ones that died out on their own.
Intelligence is pretty damn important to scavenging species, and high levels of intelligence can be found in some surprising places here on earth. Not human intelligence mind you, but that maybe more a product of our social upbring then you want to believe. Look up wild children. Basically a child that is not in a social environment growing up never develops the language skills, and the complex problem solving skills... and basically most only function around the level of a 5 year old kid.
Most writers are lazy. It's far easier to create one race than thousands like we have on earth.
Also on a side note why do scientists assume all life needs water and oxygen? Just because we do here on earth doesn't mean there isn't some being out in the universe that breathes in sulfur and breathes out rainbows and dies at the mere mention of water.
Right?
Also on a side note why do scientists assume all life needs water and oxygen? Just because we do here on earth doesn't mean there isn't some being out in the universe that breathes in sulfur and breathes out rainbows and dies at the mere mention of water.
Right?
Well, we kinda had that on Earth long ago (Neanderthals), didn't really work out (for them, that is).recharge330 said:
It's fairly safe to assume that one of the two species will exterminate the other early on, so unless both species develop as natural pacifists, not much chance of them both surviving. Also, even if two species do survive, it's fairly likely that they might be genetically close enough for crossbreeding of some sort in which case they mix or one gets absorbed into the other (alternate theory for Neanderthals).
And finally, it HAS been done in Sci Fi. In Star Trek, and I'm fairly sure I've seen in in Stargate. Likely other examples as well...
The same reason there is only one human race, not humans and the other near human races that were around at the same time as us at one stage, we killed the bastards off. Unless the divide takes place after language and society is invented by the race, chances are one race will have murdered the crap out of the other race.recharge330 said:
Babylon 5 did have two races evolve on one world, they fought for most of their history until one race (the Centarui) finally genocided the other race into the history books.
Of course of a world the size of earth assuming two a number of super continents (twice the size of say Australia) separated by large oceans it might be possible, but again chances one race would kill the other for resources, or simply enslave them, just look at how humans have acted to other humans with slightly different skin tones!
We have to write off what we know, we've never met another alien race, all we've got to go on is some loose guesses, sure there might be Aliens out there shaped like squids that eat rocks and shit flowers, and given the size of the universe there probably is, was, or will be at some point, but the second part of Sci-Fi is Fiction, and fiction works best when you write what you know and can relate too.BlindMessiah94 said:
Yes but if you read what I wrote the point I'm getting at is that just because that's what it takes for life here on Earth to happen, that doesn't mean some other planet without water couldn't have life - it just might abide by different rules than life here.Uberjoe19 said:
It's easier for writers and viewers to keep track of it. It's for the same reasons that most sci- fi planets have basically one government, one religion, one climate, and one city. When you have the whole of space to work with, it's more interesting to put everything different on other planets.
Babylon 5 -the centaris were born on a planet that had two species-they wiped the other out in a war-which gives you a clue as to why it doesn't happen too often...
