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Terran to replace the word human

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  • 08-08-2015 12:45am
    #1
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭


    This might sound dumb but will we eventually start calling ourselves Terrans instead of humans. I mean human is a kinda sexist and besides Terran is so universal it can apply to anyone regardless of gender, race, age,politics, disability,nationality, ethnicity or culture


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    #2
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    It might aid our discussion of this topic if you provided a source for the proposed relabeling of human to terran?

    My understanding of "terran" is that it has been used to define life in a broader sense, not just human life. For example, astrobiologists have used terran and extraterran in their definitions of life on Earth and anticipated life on other planets in accordance with different theories of life. See Steven A. Benner, "Defining Life," Astrobiology, 2010 December, 10(10), pp 1021–1030.


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    #3
    Amerika
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,176 ✭✭✭Amerika


    Wouldn’t it only make sense to use the term "Terran" only if life were proven to exist on other planets?

    Which leads into another topic... If we did discover a single cell organism from another planet we would surely call it life. But here on earth, a fetus is not considered to be life by many. Does this make sense?


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    #4
    Eugene Norman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,191 ✭✭✭Eugene Norman


    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    This might sound dumb but will we eventually start calling ourselves Terrans instead of humans. I mean human is a kinda sexist and besides Terran is so universal it can apply to anyone regardless of gender, race, age,politics, disability,nationality, ethnicity or culture

    Why is human sexist? Why can't human apply to those groups?


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    #5
    Second Toughest in_the Freshers
    Site Banned Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭Second Toughest in_the Freshers


    well... that escalated quickly!


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    #6
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    Eugene Norman wrote: »
    Why is human sexist? Why can't human apply to those groups?

    Well hu-man as opposed to hu- women but that is besides the point I am not going to debate about semantics. Simple put Terran is just a lot more appropriate as we search space and continue to explore under the sea, deep into the earth's floor and learning more and more about our atmosphere. We are all Terrans at heart.


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    #7
    Second Toughest in_the Freshers
    Site Banned Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭Second Toughest in_the Freshers


    tellurian


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    #8
    PolaroidPizza
    Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭PolaroidPizza


    but we would will constantly correcting aliens as to how to pronounce it...is it pronounce 'teh-ran' or 'tee-ran'

    it would also be very confusing from all those Iranians from somewhere that isn't Tehran....at least there isn't a place on earth out there called 'Human'


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    #9
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    Tellurian or terran?


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    #10
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    Black Swan wrote: »
    Tellurian or terran?

    Tellurian sound kinda nice or Tellople


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    #11
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    What about using the shortened species name sapiens?


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    #12
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    Black Swan wrote: »
    What about using the shortened species name sapiens?

    Problem with that is homo sapiens and homo sapiens sapiens are two different types of humans.


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    #13
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    Black Swan wrote: »
    It might aid our discussion of this topic if you provided a source for the proposed relabeling of human to terran?

    My understanding of "terran" is that it has been used to define life in a broader sense, not just human life. For example, astrobiologists have used terran and extraterran in their definitions of life on Earth and anticipated life on other planets in accordance with different theories of life. See Steven A. Benner, "Defining Life," Astrobiology, 2010 December, 10(10), pp 1021–1030.
    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    Problem with that is homo sapiens and homo sapiens sapiens are two different types of humans.

    Terran does not work either, as it represents life forms on Earth, which includes more than just humans.


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    #14
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,233 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    If we go with Terran, will the baddie still be the Mekon?

    Terran is just a nice way of saying 'Earthling'. As we as yet have no other -ling to distinguish ourselves from, the term 'Terran' is redundant.

    Also, Terran what. Terran human? Terran dog? Terran goldfish?

    Silly idea. Best left in the pages of Starlord.


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    #15
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    endacl wrote: »
    If we go with Terran, will the baddie still be the Mekon?

    Terran is just a nice way of saying 'Earthling'. As we as yet have no other -ling to distinguish ourselves from, the term 'Terran' is redundant.

    Also, Terran what. Terran human? Terran dog? Terran goldfish?

    Silly idea. Best left in the pages of Starlord.

    So you still up with calling us humans how about Earthlings, no other inhabitable life in this solar system.


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    #16
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,233 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    Your basing your proposition on the supposition that the word 'human' is sexist, simply because it ends with the letters m-a-n, in that order, and took it to denote some gender bias, as in bin-man, or police-man. It's not. Those words you're confusing human with denote occupation or activity. 'Human' denotes state. You started with an etymological misunderstanding, and kinda took it from there.

    In other words, given that X is true, we should do Y. If the premise regarding X is demonstrably not true, whether or not we do Y is moot.

    TL;DR: Go ahead and refer to humanity any way you like. You'll just sound a bit odd to people who are familiar with the term and daft to people who aren't. And only to the 9% of the *ahem* Terran population who speak English.


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    #17
    DivingDuck
    Registered Users Posts: 1,396 ✭✭✭DivingDuck


    endacl wrote: »
    Terran is just a nice way of saying 'Earthling'. As we as yet have no other -ling to distinguish ourselves from, the term 'Terran' is redundant.

    Also, Terran what. Terran human? Terran dog? Terran goldfish?

    I quite like the idea of us not calling ourselves after the planet we're from, as if we're the only species on it which matter.

    It also makes us seem ever so slightly less arrogant... And in the event of interaction with an alien species, we could probably use all the help we can get on that front.


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    #18
    StonyIron
    Closed Accounts Posts: 409 ✭✭StonyIron


    My cat is furious as he's also a Terran!

    This is like the United Staters calling themselves "Americans" to the exclusion of everyone on the rest of the continent. 935.7 million Americans of which only 318 million are in the United States of America.


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    #19
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    StonyIron wrote: »
    My cat is furious as he's also a Terran!

    This is like the United Staters calling themselves "Americans" to the exclusion of everyone on the rest of the continent. 935.7 million Americans of which only 318 million are in the United States of America.

    The United Staters are called Americans, for all types of reasons they live in America and are therefore called Americans.


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    #20
    StonyIron
    Closed Accounts Posts: 409 ✭✭StonyIron


    so do Candians, Mexicans, Purivians, Columbians etc etc


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    #21
    Second Toughest in_the Freshers
    Site Banned Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭Second Toughest in_the Freshers


    ...reminds me of possibly the funniest line ive read on this site ever

    'American. North American most likely' thought Trent.

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=80652174#post80652174


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    #22
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    Second Toughest in_the Freshers wrote: »
    ...reminds me of possibly the funniest line ive read on this site ever

    'American. North American most likely' thought Trent.

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=80652174&postcount=71

    What did I just read?:confused:


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    #23
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,233 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    What did I just read?:confused:

    Satire.


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