User blog:Swordzmanp236/Scribble-scratch I: Loose definitions-Alien

OK, so you're probably thinking: what bone is he picking this time?

Actually, I'm just penciling in some thoughts regarding the "alien" trivia. I honestly gave some serious thought to writing some bits down as I work on what to edit next. One thing came up recently, as I'm learning more about Britain's most famous Doctor in the midst of a holiday marathon that began on Christmas Eve: the definition of "alien" itself.

Let's be honest here. Alien is one of those words in English that means one thing, but that through common usage has acquired a different meaning entirely. Yet, both are correct. What's tripping a few people up is this: what makes an alien an alien?

The primary definition of the word is a simple one. Used as a noun, an alien is "someone or something foreign to a given group; a stranger or unknown entity". As an adjective, it means "foreign, strange, out-of-place with respect to given environs." Did I read a Webster's? Nope. It's just how I've seen and heard this word used over time. Just as a for instance, I'm an American. By that first definition, most everyone who isn't an American—the Spaniard, the Canadian, the Frenchman, and countless more—would be alien to me.

The definition of alien in scientific context, be it fact or ficton, is "a thing with its origins somewhere other than Terra/Earth, given that Terra is the only body known to sustain life." Unfortunately, there's also the implication that said "things" aren't even human because they don't come from Terra. Hence, characters that are clearly human in their storylines get trapped here. However, I see one key thing that breaks, say, Darth Vader from this trap: Anakin Skywalker was once human, with all the traits of a human, who just happened to be a mystic. Granted, he was born on a planet far from Terra, and that alone would make him alien to us. But he's not the typical sci-fi-alien in the sense that such aliens have an appearance and language distinct from humans, plus some inborn abilities that no human could possibly possess or acquire. Vader has none of those traits.

Does it all make sense? Because the only sci-fi aliens to have appeared are Spock, the Doc, a DalekSuperman, and Goku. Technically, Vader became a cyborg, and is the only such thing to have rapped in ERB. Ever.

So, what do you think? Is there anything else you see through the wiki that would be as debatable or just driving you nuts? Or in other words, what's your foremost "trip hazard"?

–Swordzman