War of the Worlds, anyone? …Actually, it’s a perfectly legitimate bit of speculation, and without any evidence to the contrary, it seems like a reasonable hypothesis. Of course, given that we in the West are starting to recognize the negative effects of our sedentary, overfed lifestyle, and that we’re making the first tentative steps toward thinking about the possibility of maybe coming up with a plan for discussing alternatives for considering ways in which we can adjust our diet and exercise habits, it’s also reasonable to think that a truly successful species wouldn’t be able to proceed far beyond where we are without directly addressing the question. In fact, with direct genetic control, a highly advanced species could engineer itself to be physically extremely powerful, with claws and muscles and 20s style death rays sticking out of their foreheads. But again, all of this is just speculation.
I think humans - in a fair, unarmed fight - could kill a multitude of animals as big or bigger than us. Perhaps it’d be a dangerous proposition the human wouldn’t be guaranteed to win, but I’m saying would have >50% chance of success against:
- Deer (fight, not a chase)
- Cow
- Ostrich (though you may bleed out after the fight)
And just about any large, grazing mammal, assuming it’s a one on one proposition. Considering that our brain is a tool we’re allowed to use in a fair, un-armed fight, we could sneak up while they’re sleeping. Cow-tipping, anyone?
But to get back to the OP, I think humans are exactly as dependant on technology as evolution (or Creation or whatever) intended us to be. How could it be otherwise?
As far as ET visiting, I think it is logical to assume that in order to travel a gajillion miles through the radiation bath of space, the species must be similarly evolved to rely on technology. At a minimum, they’ve got to have opposable thumbs and large brains. Radiation-resistant chromosomes wouldn’t hurt either.
Are we too dependent on technology?!
Yes! That’s why I crap in the yard and refuse to use soap! I ain’t gonna be held down by “The Man” by becoming a slave to his “Technology!”
Are you serious? I’m not a farmer but I cannot see how, with one’s bare hands (as it were) it would be possible to kill a cow (fully grown) and then even after killing one, what to do with the 1000 lbs body. People have relative trouble killing one another without a weapon.
The other animals mentioned cannot be killed because we cannot catch them without a ranged weapon.
I’m sorry but humans in my eyes are pack hunters only when equiped with weapons. Otherwise we’re gatherers.
Not to be quiblleous, but what about traps?
I would argue they are technology, but no-one else is taking that route.