does the baldness of so many aliens not bode well for our chances of curing hair loss?

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[–]Hematomato 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

The reason aliens are drawn with no hair is:

  • We're more advanced than our primate ancestors
  • Our primate ancestors were hairier than us
  • Therefore, we associate hair loss with advancement.
  • Theoretically, spacefaring aliens would be far more advanced than us.
  • Therefore, they'd be bald.

It's kind of ridiculous logic but there you have it.

[–]IMissPorn 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I have to admit that makes sense. I was going to say it was probably just an easy way to make the humanoid yet at the same time distinctly different, much like they're often given green or gray skin. And I still think that's part of the reason too, but you're probably right that hairlessness is associated with being advanced.

[–]Alienhunter 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That's probably true, but another reason one could think of might be a practical one, dealing with hair during space travel seems like a pain. You have to cut it, wash it, etc, and washing your hair in zero gravity has to suck.

Seems like there's a good practical reason to be bald in space.

I'm not sure if the typical depiction of an alien is particularly realistic though. I tend to think that assuming similarity to earth based life but in some bizzare exaggerated way is a logical failing that we make. Either aliens are going to be totally alien and not resemble earth based life at all, or perhaps given similar conditions they'd evolve to be very similar to earth based life. I think the latter scenario might be close to reality seeing as of yet it seems like life isn't common in the universe, it may be because it's rare, or it may be because it can only come about in earth like conditions, and in that circumstance I'd expect it to be very similar to us.

If it's simply rare all bets are off I think. Maybe aliens evolved wheels instead of legs.

[–]NastyWetSmear 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Do you mean the imagined image of aliens, or is there something you'd like to tell us?

[–]iDontShift 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

yes, it is all our imagination

all of it

[–]NastyWetSmear 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Can you imagine some guy drawing little grey aliens and then he's just like: "... And now a perm."

[–]iamonlyoneman 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Hair loss is a solved issue. Almost everyone who goes bald can reverse it with daily standardized scalp massages. But nobody is spending 20 minutes every day all day rubbing his head.

[–]iamonlyoneman 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

well, not the correct head to cure baldness

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I don't think you can reverse it, just slow it down. Once the follicle is dead it is too late.

You can also use hot water to get the same result, which is to stimulate blood flow to the follicles. Hot enough the turn your scalp pink but not so hot that you scald yourself.

But hair ages and degrades like every other organ. It would be great to have lab grown hair that can be implanted. You could potentially have better hair than you were born with.

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

They're not mammals, so they probably won't have hair or anything like hair.

The idea that aliens from a distant planet with a completely different biochemistry and biology will be expert on our medical issues is ludicrous.

[–]Black_Community 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Aliens aren’t alive. They are basically robots.

[–]passionflounder 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Advanced civilizations in other worlds learned to value the function happening inside the head more than what's growing on top of it.

[–]Jiminy 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Like captain picard is bald, in the future we won't be ashamed of going bald. Not sure if it'll happen but it makes sense if a civilization is highly advanced they won't worry about vanity as much.

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

An advancement in technology alone would not change human nature. There would need to be a major evolution.