I guess these aliens want a snack and a drink

Update: Yeah, I still sound like someone jammed two long tubes up my nose, so the livestream is canceled, we will be having a bonus episode tomorrow instead. Note: Just as a general heads up, the surgery yesterday went fine, thanks everyone for all the kind thoughts and words. At the moment I sound about like what you would expect from someone who had a surgeon playing around in the mouth and noise for an hour, but I am already able to speak reasonably normally again and basically sound the same other than that my R's already sound a bit clearer. :) I won't know for sure if I'm doing the planned livestream this Sunday till probably Sunday Morning though I'm optimistic.

There is actually a tribe in New Guinea, called Fore, who would traditionally eat their dead at the funeral party. But at some point a prion similar to that which causes mad cow disease appeared, and many members of the tribe succumbed to it by eating those who carried it. It was called the Kuru disease. Subsequently they quit the habit.

We don’t want aliens with good taste, we want aliens that taste good.

Niven's Kzinti as a pre FTL civilization is a great example.

The war of the world’s 2005 makes a lot more sense if you think of it as a depiction of a universe where phosphorus scarcity is the answer to the fermi paradox. While they aren’t 'eating' humans per say like they do in the original novel, they are harvesting phosphorus from the surface biomass to turn it into fertilizer for their 'red weed'. It also seems to be a universe where point to point teleportation exists but FTL capable ships don’t. Which I like.

Every time I see the clip with the 3 aliens with beer, I laugh when the one in the back ragdolls. Every Time.

Still waiting on my sexy aliens episode.

That's just us. If we can't eat it, keep it as a pet, or screw it, we aren't trying hard enough.

I'm sure the ambassador brought up so much food for thought in his introduction speech.

One thing I like about this channel as you don't b*******you're straightforward you know exactly what you're going to say and you put out plenty of content you don't really have to wait too long and I don't know that I've watched a video yet that I didn't learn something from or at least find entertaining

Imagine being an alien whose biochemistry makes table salt some powerful drug. They're gonna be raiding the Mediterranean and setting up cartels in the Dead Sea.

The best example of this trope I've seen are The Hunters from the The Deathworlders webseries/collaborative works, as they have the excuse of gaving once been bioweapons long abandoned by their creatators, and the author did a great job actually giving them a culture to go with their desire/compulsion to consume sapient flesh.

That opener leads me to referance "It's a cook book!"

To dip into fantasy novels and settings, in the D&D game, there was a race of power psychics called Illithids, or Mindflayers. These creatures sustained themselves in whole or part on the brains and possibly spinal fluid of other sentient beings. Seems like a kind of limited diet, but it made for great, creepy bad guys for the players to fight against. Oh, and some of them traveled between worlds in semi-organic, magic driven ships. The fantasy space Spelljammer setting was great and didn't get nearly enough love.

Ah, the twilight zone. To serve man.

First of all, feel better. Second, I was surprised IA didn't mention the bit in the backstory of Ringworld where the first human crew to encounter a particular new alien species was told that the aliens wanted to clone parts of the explorers' bodies as food. This was standard practice any time this species met a new species. The humans were told that they could either sign contracts giving the aliens the right to make and sell their body parts as food, and get royalties in return, or that they could refuse, in which case bootlegged illegal copies of their body parts would be available on the black market shortly. The one relating the story signed, and copies of his liver continue to sell quite nicely.

The livestock are inefficient argument is a misconception. They are actually more efficient because they A turn inedible calories in the form of things like grass into more nutritious versions, B they allow food production on land where you can't grow crops by making use of the natural plant growth. It's like saying its inefficient to make steel because you could make aluminum, similar but different use cases

There was a silly anime that I watched that had a pretty fun take on aliens and earth. Specifically handling why they weren't invading, where they were and why we didn't see them via our telescopes with their massive energy plumes from interstellar travel and megastructures. It was a grand conspiracy, with most of the main cast being part of it. Because merch. Official shows, music and various other cultural exports (unintended) were hot commodities, and they (alien governments) *had* to protect the source. Not because the interstellar economy would collapse, but because interstellar nerds were just stupidly intense in their fanboying and *had* to make sure they got the pure, uncut, untainted stuff. The cast that was in on the conspiracy were basically customs and border agents, who were also seriously into merch. The alien governments just gave the earth governments money to hush them up and get their compliance. Also counterfeit merch was a big deal. The main female lead opposite the main male lead had bribed her way into the sweet position to be stationed outside Akihabara. Because that was her source for her fix. She wanted the real stuff and was willing to bribe her department heads to get it. The idea that we're protected because of Voltron and henti doujins by alien border patrol nerds sometimes seems more plausible than a lot of sci fi I've seen. (And yes, they did have to protect the entire human race from extinction from "hungry aliens" solely motivated by their nerdiness).

Thankfully evil aliens in scifi are interested in humans only as incubators(solvable by technology), food(solvable by technology) or manual labour(solvable by technology) and don't have a weird culture wide pet(or other) fetish😅

Julie Czerneda's Brymn species introduced in her novel Survival is one of the best examples of what might drive a Hungry Species IMHO. An absolute must read if you like your aliens to be alien, and to have realistic motivations.

Best of luck with the procedure! Many of us don't think you need it because we Love your voice! But best wishes in all your goals! Looking forward to the next show professor IA!

Title made me hungry, so for the first time I actually had my drink and snack already taken care of!

Calling the Mechanicus really, really touchy about IP rights has me rollin 😂

In the upcoming episode "Higher Dimensional Aliens," I have always been fascinated by the idea that more dimensions doesn't have to means more spacial dimensions. A reality with multiple time dimensions is something I have not seen done, but I would love if someone could speculate on that concept.

As I always say......"it's never aliens"

Hope you are doing well, and I've never actually thought of that, we humans do love to eat 'exotic' food, so it wouldn't be far fetched if aliens wants to try a human liver or a steak mignon.

Canibalism may be common on earth where most creatures have more or less similar chemical make up, but where the two individuals evolved on different worlds under different conditions would be all too likely to poison each other.

I point out the Krogan in Mass Effect have a running joke that they'll eat anything, including salarians and turians (two species who inflicted them with the genophage) if the whim struck. But I suspect this is mostly for intimidation. If you reduce the Krogan to their most basic values, they seem not to value war or aggression, but to value how much they can endure. Everything else that came later brutality speaking came from them expecting everyone else to be just as tough as they were. This same way of looking at the matter, everyone expecting everyone else to behave like they do, is at the root of the Krogan rebellions in that trilogy's history. As a series mass effect seems to reward species that diversify and work together. This combined with a long life is why the Asari in that series are Overpowered to the Nth degree, they just don't have a taste for large scale warfare. I love that you show the didact, but the forerunners aren't a good example because they had FTL, and the majority of your work assumes not having FTL. When I think of hungry aliens though, I think the most rapacious I've seen are the Necromorphs from Deadspace. They're brought into existance via a zero point generator from hell called a Marker. If you die in the vicinity of the Marker, you turn either into an infector or a slasher, and begin infecting more people. Because they aren't focused on individual self preservation, they have no limiters on how much strain they can put on their bodies. And when they're unable to continue fighting, they dissolve into a massive cancer like biomass called "The Corruption." The Corruption is an ecosystem destroyer, turning less intelligent and cessile things like plants, invertibrates, fungi, soil bacteria, ect into more of itself. Its also capable of forming explosive compounds, resulting in things like biological landmines and anti air installations. Eventually when enough of the biomass of a planet has been consumed (100% is not necessary for their purposes), the Necromorphs converge on the first marker a civilization has made, and attempt to form convergence. For some odd reason, they have a need to kill or consume and assimilate the person who made that marker, though that may not be for any practical purpose, just a ceremonial flourish the writers put in to explain why they're chasing Isaac Clarke (yes that is the protagonist's name) through three different outbreaks over vast distances in the human colonized zones of space. When they initiate the Convergence process they begin to make something known as a Bretheren Moon, a networked series of eldritch horrors that view sapient species as little more than pigs on a farm to them. Or worse, because the convergence process and the markers are how they reproduce. Individual necromorphs are not intelligent, rather they're directed by the Bretheren Moons through the Markers. The Markers are kept around because they give out free electricity, so there are multiple fermi paradox boxes ticked by the Deadspace franchise. Including serious psychological horror in the first two games and you have a very terrifying and compelling franchise. And I've yet to see the Bretherenmoons beaten for brutality, not even by Halo's Flood or Mass Effect's Reapers. I also don't really like the characterization of the Reapers as being "hungry'. Rather the reapers are a combination of the zoo and simulation hypothesis. The visual context clues are present in ME2 and 3 (along with codex entries and terminal logs) to suggest that the Reapers are preserving people digitally in servers within them and possibly taking them back to dark space to be preserved for the end of the universe (see heat death). Why did they kill their creators? The reapers were given the task of preserving all sentient organic life, but their creators failed to see that they themselves were part of the problem, being excessively arrogant and having a superiority complex that could come back to bite the galaxy further down the road now that Shepard has made them bolder. I don't think the dark energy plot is entirely gone, rather that its taken a background role. And near as I can tell the Reapers were using biotic species as a throttle to accelerate or decelerate the expansion of the universe to skew it towards heat death rather than a big rip or crunch. My takeaway as far as lessons from this series go is its attempt to reward diversification and cooperation, and its message that if you try to control everything and everyone around you, you will fail, and badly, and possibly destroy the very things you held dear in the attempt. You are rewarded for exploring and being social at every turn, while the secondary villains, Cerberus, try to control everything and only fail. Cerberus is a political commentary by the way, if you're interested. They're a commentary on a political school of thought called "American Exceptionalism" the idea that we're divinely blessed, and can do anything we want. Best case scenario, this comes off as being a white savior complex, worst case, just about any kind of slaughter can be justified with enough mental gymnastics and this world view.

Best of luck on the recovery isaac! you've brought me years of great ideas and enriched my love of futurism and space exploration I've had since i was a boy EDIT: Mass effect reminded me. Whose to say aliens could even digest humans? Turians and Quarians cant eat human food, but can eat each others, as an example

The Phamysht of the newest Star Control game absolutely fit this trope. They have fearsome ships, but they actually prefer having you sacrifice crew members to them, so to have a polite conversation, and then gradually consume them. Of course, they have a breathy flamboyant voice that is both amusing and terrifying, as they appear as an enormous smiling predatory worm dangling from the ceiling.

This has got to be good , I've never thought of hungry aliens😂

Running from a threat real or imagined could adequately explain a locust like swarm.

Long time watcher, resent subscriber. You helped me remember my boyhood dream of being a science fiction writer, it means a lot thank you.

We evolved with our food. Aliens might be able to eat us, but probably get indigestion.

@IsaacArthur: Wishing you well for a speedy recovery!

These aliens ain't the only one who's hungry.

Joke: maybe hungry aliens are better than meeting “thirsty” aliens 🙈🙈🙈😝💩😂👻🤣

Nice to see you're still making quality content on regular basis.

We raised chickens when I was a kid. One evening, I went to shut them up and noticed that one wasn't looking too good. I decided that I'd deal with it in the morning. Next morning, there was one fewer chicken and one more pile of bones and feathers in the coop. That's when I learned the true depravity of these foul fowl.

That A.I teddybear acting as a teacher/nanny reminds me of Harry Harrison's 'I always do what Teddy says.' which has that concept as it's central conceit.

Great work as always to you and your team. Best of luck with the surgery Isaac!

MorningLightMountian is the scariest alien I've ever heard of. If that thing were hungry, I'd be terrified!

I imagine that the only readily understandable motivation for eating fellow sentients is the same as in many cases of human cannibal societies: it's a ritual consumption of an enemy's admirable attributes (strength, courage, etc), not just a source of calories.

The intro reminds me of the crazy aliens except the translator was fired during contact with the canabala system

Excellent video, informative and very entertaining, ty Isaac - I'm so glad I discovered you!💪👍♥️

As an Italian grown up with local Disney comics, when the topic about vampiric alien races solely driven by a vicious hunger for drawing everyone else of life the Evronians from "Paperinik New Adventures" (which feeds on emotions, reducing their victims into zombie-like empty husks and enslaving them... Shockingly dark for Disney!) instantly springed to mind...

All the best to you, Arthur, you’re a true treasure

The background music was perfect for me this time. Thank you for considering people with different auditory processing abilities.

In my age group and local niche in the US, fewer of us are having kids because it is not financially viable. At my age my parents owned a house and could afford to have one work and one care for the kids. Now i make 60k and for the first time im able to afford rent by myself.

I think the main problem with aliens eating (literally) humans, or other organism that did not evolve on their respective home planet, isn't about ethic's but about chemistry. Enzymes are highly specific in what they can brake down and what not. Thus, even if they're carbon/water based like we are, eating creature from an other world could be like eating bag of plastic. In the worst case (to them), our enzymes may even be toxic or cause allergic reactions.

keep your 40k kick up for as long as possible, loving the videos!

Great content as always. Good luck with your surgery!

10:27. “Free range human”. Dude you are awesome

19:38 There is easily thousands of examples within earth's own history of Lost technologies that we have minor scraps of but we still cannot replicate, Or reverse engineer in such a way that we can actually recreate it once again.

Thursday with Isaac Arthur! Looking forward to the video!

I sincerely enjoy your stuff, many thanks Arthur.

Hope all goes well with your surgery. BTW I love the way you sound

Have a great recovery, Isaac!

Isaac , did you forget about The Restaurant at the End of the Universe where a sentient species was designed specifically not just TO be eaten but to WANT to be eaten? Don't order the salad... the veggies have a different viewpoint on being eaten O_o

Good lucky with your surgery and wishing you a speedy recovery.

Finally SFIA Thursday!!

Traveling to distant star systems for food... Any civilization that could do that would have the means (energy, technology, chemistry) to synthesize better-tasting stuff than me. (both as a cook and a meal)

Thought provoking as usual. Good luck with the op. 👍

Thoughts and prayers for your recovery.

Good luck with the procedure! Looking forward to your return.

Really glad someone found a use for the "pig peeking around the corner while holding brain" stock footage.

Just moments before you announced your surgical plans, I was thinking I hadn't heard what became of that plan. Good therapy to you! It's exciting to think how much improved your speech may become.

Thank you Isaac and wish you a speedy recovery. If you need more time off no worries. We'll be ready to continue the journey with you when you are ready to come back 👍🍻.

Just a comment about your voice, I friggin ' love it! It is always good to have someone wanting to improve themselves but to me I would take that voice on evey physics, calculus ,and chemistryI I have ever had! You are very special and doing the things you were born to do, yes a man with a speech impediment informs more people than anyone.

Wishing you all the best for the operation❤

I wish you the best and hope you heal soon

If ftl is possible, wouldnt you eventually be able to gather all of the matter in the universe?

Hungry Aliens: The Visitors from V. The Wraith from the Pegasus Galaxy.

Just after the first 30 seconds: IT'S A COOKBOOK! IT'S A COOKBOOK! At least, that's the vibe I was getting...

Imagine an alien society where cannibalism is used as capital punishment. Logic being, if there is a murderer, they are killed and served to the family of the victim so that in consuming the murderer the soul of the person they killed can be freed or allowed to reincarnate through a family member. kinda weird isn't? not really practical in any sort of way, but it's the ritual that counts to some.

"It's a COOKBOOK!" XD

Oh after one month I hired him and he went on to work in radio and recorded and album of songs. Your presentation is excellent, keep up that courage.

While I don’t think it’s impossible that some alien civilization could use us as a food source I think it would be highly improbable. Even if most intelligent life in the universe is Carbon based, the odds that our biochemistry would be compatible and not toxic to one another would be vanishingly small. Likely no flora or fauna that evolved on separate worlds be fit for consumption by the other. Additionally intelligent life is the one and only thing on this planet which might be considered a rare resource in the universe. I still think the most likely scenario is that we would be studied as a curiosity if an alien species took any interest in us at all.

Hey man, I hope your surgery is a cake walk, and you recover in no time, wishing all the best to you and yours, we love you SFIA🤘

This intro... it reminds of one of your Fermi Paradox intros. The one that starts with the miscommunication and the human ambassador thinking he was invited to a feast, when he was in fact the meal?

I hope you’re happy with the results of your operation!

My congratulations and admiration Isaac. While working in radio I retained a good number of announcers and deejays. A young high schooler called one day. He had a slight speech issues but a burning desire to " be on the radio", long story shorten, I used the story of Deaginese

This definitely has that Quantum Chimichanga energy

Happy Arthursday!

You sound awesome, congratulations! You know, Robert Sheckley wrote some funny and insightful short stories about aliens eating us, as well as hunting us for our pelts (it turns out they mount space suits), etc. He was a great talent, though quirky and quite the opposite of the 'serious' spinners of speculative fiction.

Hope for your quick recovery!

Wishing you a speedy and successful recovery! :)

What was that bizarre footage at 3:40 of a war lock creature running in the woods? So crazy!

How to "have your cake and eat it too": Eat cake. by the time you're halfway through the cake, your automated kitchen/cook-bot already finished the next cake.

It's only cannibalism if it's the in group.

WH40ks Tyranids are the best example of Aliens that are so hungry, they force evolve their entire species to cross the universe and to adapt to any situation, just to eat all that juicy biomass.

>.> Oh-noes, you'll be like that episode of Ducktales 2017 where Donald loses his voice issues, and suddenly is voiced by Don Cheadle. :>

Chickens can be real jerks of critters.

Take care, heal well!

Given the amount of allergy medication I take due to Spring. I am not sure how appetizing I would be. And that's not taking living like an American into account. So many preservatives. Another good video Isaac.

Great video

The one constant you can expect on a hypothetical alien species is they will be the apex predator on their world.

Darth Nihilus.. The Lord of Hunger. He didn't want to take over the galaxy, he was just hungry.

"It's a cook book!"