Talk:Sophont

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Notes (2017)

  1. External Link: [ Quick, How Might the Alien Spacecraft Work?]
- Maksim-Smelchak (talk) 20:07, 16 November 2017 (EST)

Notes (2016)

MWM makes a clear distinction among the following terms (at least in T5):

  • A Sentient (= "Sensing") is a life form that is self aware (e.g. an animal).
  • A Sapient (= "wise cognizance") is an intelligent life form.
  • A Sophont (= sophonce or higher intelligence) is an intelligent life form that has an interstellar presence.

In other words, all Sapients/Sophonts are also Sentient by definition. But while all Sophonts are also Sapients, not all Sapients are Sophonts.

So a TL-0 or TL-1 society of NILs on a world would be considered a Sapient species, but not Sophonts. If that same species eventually developed Jump Drive or a small STL/NAFAL ship polity (or had become members of a starfaring society and had spread out among the stars by that agency), then they would be considered Sophonts.


Life Development Stages

STAGES: Non-Life → Proto-LifeCreatureProto-SophontSophontAscendantTranscendentSingularity

  1. Non-Life (A-life)
  2. Proto-Life (transitory stage) TL-Neg
  3. Creature TL-Neg (pre-technological lifeforms)
  4. Proto-Sophont (transitory stage) TL-0
  5. Sophont TL 1-27
  6. Ascendant (transitory stage) TL 28-30
  7. Transcendent TL-31-33 (post-technological beings)
  8. Singularity