SW10/WWW: Powernaut 1962 #7: Here Come the Reds!

[Andrew Perron]

On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:09:29 +0000 (UTC), Scott Eiler wrote:

> On 3/20/2013 4:12 PM, Andrew Perron wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:38:49 +0000 (UTC), Scott Eiler wrote:
>>
>>> Ah, now I see.  Well, every First Contact story that happens *on Earth*
>>> has that sort of problem.  The aliens are moving freely through the
>>> Galaxy, taking any planet they want, so:  (1) Why do the aliens care
>>> about humans or Earth?  (2) What makes the humans able to prevail or
>>> even survive?
>>
>> I'm thinking less about first contact and more about stuff like Star Trek,
>> where we're a member of a big community.
> 
> Well then, it's the old argument about generalists vs. specialists. 
> Species in a big community have had generations to develop their special 
> traits.  In Star Trek, every Vulcan practically has superpowers, albeit 
> specialized ones.  It's mostly humans who have to generalize as a species.

But why is that so consistently true for everyone who's not humans? Even
species who have been in the galactic community for much shorter periods of
time - ones where *we* are the ones initiating first contact?

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, it's an annoying, annoying thing.