They're Made Out of Meat (1991)
An offbeat 1991 short story, “They’re Made Out of Meat,” prompts readers to rethink assumptions about intelligence and consciousness by imagining aliens who dismiss humans as implausible thinking beings because we are made of “meat.” Commenters debate how scientifically credible such aliens would be, relate the premise to ongoing arguments about whether machines or neural networks can be “truly” intelligent, and highlight the story’s satirical take on prejudice and anthropocentrism. Many also share favorite adaptations, related fiction (from Ted Chiang to Andy Weir and Asimov), and note the late author’s broader influence in speculative literature.
Adaptations and Performances
- Multiple readers praise film and audio adaptations, especially specific YouTube shorts, a BBC radio version, and a performance on a US radio show.
- Some note minor issues (e.g., “higher quality” upload not much better, one adaptation omitting the most poignant final lines) but overall sentiment toward adaptations is very positive.
- A musical version is mentioned as “truly hilarious.”
Reactions to the Premise (“Thinking Meat”)
- Some find the story shallow or logically inconsistent: advanced aliens should understand biological complexity, energy use, and meat as self-maintaining machinery.
- Others counter that:
- It’s a short comedic piece; “rule of funny” and satire, not hard SF.
- In-story aliens may be biased, limited, or have very different priors; that’s part of the point.
- Critiquing fictional worlds for not matching our physics misses the intended commentary.
Ethics, Speciesism, and Culture
- Several comments read the story as a mirror on human prejudice toward other animals and “lower” life-forms.
- Inconsistencies in human treatment of pets vs. farm animals are highlighted as analogous to aliens dismissing humans as “just meat.”
- Discussion of humanization/dehumanization (naming animals, hostage negotiations) as a root of cruelty.
- Some argue animal abuse laws primarily target sociopathic tendencies, not farming itself; others call this view self-contradictory.
Language, Translation, and ‘Meat’
- “Meat” is seen as:
- A deliberately jarring, imprecise translation for “organic matter,” serving as unreliable language.
- A pejorative, analogous to calling computers “rocks,” conveying contempt and revulsion.
- Debate over whether aliens’ familiarity with “meat” implies prior encounters with non-sentient organic life.
AI, Consciousness, and Intelligence Debates
- Many tie the story to current debates about whether neural nets/LLMs can be conscious or intelligent.
- One camp: dismissing machine intelligence because it’s “just math/minerals” is as flawed as dismissing humans because we’re “just meat.”
- Another camp: LLMs are tools, not agents; intelligence or sentience cannot be ascribed to them.
- Counter-arguments question whether any principled, non-circular definition of intelligence can include humans, animals, and aliens yet exclude LLMs; the debate is portrayed as unresolved.
- References to classic thought experiments (e.g., “brain in a vat,” Chinese Room) and formal optimal-agent models are invoked on both sides.
Related Works and Recommendations
- Extensive recommendations of other short stories and novels exploring first contact, consciousness, time perception, simulated realities, and apocalypse.
- Some argue other works (e.g., certain humorous robot tales) handle “dismissal of meat” themes even more cleverly.
Meta and Miscellaneous
- Noted that this story and another popular short (“The Egg”) are among the most frequently reposted on the site.
- Nostalgia and sadness over the original host page persisting after its owner’s death; comments from someone who knew the person.
- Numerous humorous riffs (“your whole family is made of meat,” “I have no meat, and I must scream”) show enduring affection for the piece.