# Cowboys & Aliens - upside-down steamboat?!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboys-aliens-upside-down-steamboat/611209>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 30, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboys-aliens-upside-down-steamboat/611209 "2012-01-30T17:36:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboys-aliens-upside-down-steamboat/611209/21 "2012-01-30T22:48:19Z")

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> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Talk of gold completely ignores all the gold available for free in the asteroids. Smaller gravity wells to deal with, too. Of course, you’d have to find the gold first, but we’ve done that with our own probes, so presumably an interstellar capable species could do it, too. It wouldn’t necessarily be refined but there’s many times more available in a few asteroids than all the gold ever found on Earth..

Except that gold tends to concentrate when it washed around with water. Thus gold in asteroids may be too diffuse for easy access- not to mention mining on a asteroid could be very difficult and expensive.

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**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboys-aliens-upside-down-steamboat/611209/22 "2012-01-30T22:53:04Z")

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> [@Reno\_Nevada](#):
>
> I figured the biggest plot hole was that the aliens did not try to simply \*buy \*the gold with technology, though I can’t remember if they could communicate with humans at all. That should be the easiest way to get it.

There’s a line in the movie that says the aliens specifically think of humans as insects. If you saw a diamond sticking out of a termite mound, would you bother giving them something in return before taking it?

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**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboys-aliens-upside-down-steamboat/611209/23 "2012-01-31T15:42:53Z")

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> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Except that gold tends to concentrate when it washed around with water. Thus gold in asteroids may be too diffuse for easy access- not to mention mining on a asteroid could be very difficult and expensive.

I suppose it’s possible, but when you factor in the concept that a bunch of undeveloped yokels with primitive weapons pose a significant enough threat to your production (not to mention your lives), take the easier route and just mine the damned asteroids. Or come in sufficient force to quash the natives. That’s pretty much what the Spanish did in the New World.

I guess ET is smart enough to cross the stars but not as smart as a bunch of 16th century Europeans.

Maybe I’m wrong and this movie makes absolute sense (upside down steamboats and all), but I’m guessing we’re not supposed to think too hard about it and enjoy the special effects.

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