Common SF storylines that are unlikely

[Onyx]

There's a good reason why evolution hasn't used scent for any kind of complex communications on a largeish scale.

There's actually so few examples of "complex communication" to really say what the reasons are. Plenty of animals capable of hearing communicate more by other channels, like wolves.

With the right evolutionary pressures, who knows what kind of packeted information could be encoded in pheromones. Maybe entire memories or very complex concepts. You're taking the POV that all communication is derived from predator/prey behavior. But what if the pressure on the alien population is more environmental and solved through greater degrees of cooperation without need to monitor other animals as threats? Without that immediacy, other channels might be much more useful.

 

[-K2-]

You keep talking about Deers and Lynx etc. but they are not using scent for communication they're using it for detection of prey and predator. We are discussing it here for the purposes of complex communication. Imagine trying to discuss quantum mechanics using scent!

Though not wanting to argue the point or pull you all from your track (my apologies if I already have), I would challenge that in the regard that visual communication requires 'line of sight' and that the receiver's attention is focused upon the sender. Further, sound has a very limited range of which obstructions, clutter density and so on will not only obscure direction yet clarity.

That said, scent is routinely used to communicate, mark paths, post alarms, warn, entice, etc., often over vast distances (many miles). It is also not simply wind dependent. Going back to deer, they will stop cold at a path I took days before, sniff the ground and turn back (I have personally witnessed this).

Past that I'll leave you all to it. Sorry if I confused a focused conversation or sidetracked it. It was not my intent.

K2

 

[psikeyhackr]

Aliens boarding enemy spaceships and fighting with the crew using hand or tentacle weapons.

Considering how small and cheap cameras and sensors are now wouldn't a relatively dumb ship AI be able to defend itself with weapons built into the ceiling and walls?

 

[Onyx]

Aliens boarding enemy spaceships and fighting with the crew using hand or tentacle weapons.

Considering how small and cheap cameras and sensors are now wouldn't a relatively dumb ship AI be able to defend itself with weapons built into the ceiling and walls?

That rather depends if we are talking about warships that were budgeted the cost and weight of defenses like that, or a ship that's primary job is to move people, so the people take on the defensive role.

It may also be understood that the loss of either ship to be so devastating that fighting only with weapons that hurt people would be deemed acceptable.

 

[Montero]

On the subject of communications - thinking about scent, speech, body language and cats and people and writing aliens.
With cats you have swivelling ears, expressive tail and fur that all convey mood - and some degree of meaning. Some people learn to interpret all of that and cats do learn to read people's moods and also basic verbal communications - mainly "food", "ow" and "get off that you little beggar" - they may choose to ignore you, but doesn't mean they don't understand. edited to add - a fourth important communication between people and cats - hello there, nice to see you. That's a biggie

So I think you could write a form of pidgen between two species alien to each other. How easily it would come across to the reader, as opposed to on film, that is another matter. Probably be a book for the dedicated sf reader - regular references to tentacles turning blue might not fly with the more casual sf reader.

 

[Guttersnipe]

"Shaggy God" stories, in which Adam and Eve, Yahweh, or the serpent are aliens. Basically using science to explain religion. Much less likely than the theory of evolution.