tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post116066324667698994..comments2024-03-28T18:54:13.800-04:00Comments on alien romances: ShapeshiftersRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-1160819250517286102006-10-14T05:47:00.000-04:002006-10-14T05:47:00.000-04:00Troodons...Margaret, did you see the documentary a...Troodons...<BR/><BR/>Margaret, did you see the documentary about how humanoid (and intelligent) Troodons might have become if the dinosaurs had not been wiped out?<BR/><BR/>I think I've seen it at least twice, but I can't recall whether it was on Discovery or The Science Channel.<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>RowenaRowena Cherryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-1160768140221803602006-10-13T15:35:00.000-04:002006-10-13T15:35:00.000-04:00Good point about "open season on a lesser intellig...Good point about "open season on a lesser intelligence." SF often seems to work with an unexamined assumption that superior intelligence confers rights over the "inferior" species. That assumption was abandoned in dealings among different Earthly ethnic groups several generations ago. Why should it be considered valid between species?Margaret Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08293021955480708191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-1160678866306183952006-10-12T14:47:00.000-04:002006-10-12T14:47:00.000-04:00Then again, I may have opened up a can of worms he...Then again, I may have opened up a can of worms here, inadvertantly implying intellectual superiority as a moral justification for declaring open season on a lesser intelligence. Oops. *grins non-threateningly at the dragons*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-1160676560228999102006-10-12T14:09:00.000-04:002006-10-12T14:09:00.000-04:00I found your comment regarding the superior intell...I found your comment regarding the superior intelligence of dragons to be quite thought-provoking. I've historically been more in tune with SF than Fantasy, and so never gave such perceptions much thought. But. In working out the back story of an fictional alien civilization of mine, I determined that they were 'civilized' long ago (relative to the story timeframe), and quite brutally at that, by the dragon-like visitors who emmigrated to their world. I was having trouble with the mindset that would allow dragons to have bent humanoids to their will, for their mutual long-term benefit, without making them seem like uncaring hostile invaders. Just that little mention of superior draconic intelligence has helped me see a couple of things more clearly. One, invasion is inherently hostile, regardless of the final outcome. Two, that the people who read SF/F, particularly Fantasy, may have no problem at all with the idea of humans or humanoids being further down the intellectual food-chain than they are in our daily world. Thanks for the insight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com