Earth is their reality TV show. lol

Think of it like this. You are them - what do you want ?

All your theories on society dynamics (and awareness etc) that you think is objective can be tested and refined by watching other cultures.... it sort of stops when you "get more involved"

The more you are actively involved in a culture the more you add yourself as a variable and are not watching another "thing" but are involved in a combination - by all regards valuable in its own right, but by seeing cultures develope untouched you would learn more, and be more amazed when simularities do occur
(You could conclude more when patterns do appear).

Besides "art" and "archaeology" would be more valuable when "less cultureless".

If you were a historian / sociologist of a certain era (or could test theories using that era) how long would you want to watch that era until you allowed an introduction of something that would blow it away for ever ? ... my thoughts would be "as long as possible".

Information on "our nature" or what path WE choose to develope could easily be debated as more valuable than our friendship or our involvement in something we can't really contribute to.

One last point.

Medicine (and science generally) has improved by adopting methods from other cultures with a VERY different understanding and approach of that area.

If only one (the most dominate) was revealed to everyone on earth before others could develope to any degree of sophistication - then discoveries down those different paths would be unknown (attempted less due to much larger returns going down the proven path) - so watching could be more useful than from a sociological / historical POV.

Observing (generally) may be the only way to gain what is probably the most valuable thing earth's uniqueness can provide.

- Knowledge of what we are and only get involved when we have "found our own path" ( enough for peace / whatever they value to be obvious - because watching instead of solving it for us could reveal a path previously unknown to them).

Or maybe they're more like us than not. Maybe the reason they're observing us is the same reason we observe our own primitive cultures and exhume the ancient dead... to understand where we came from culturally and where we might go.

Or maybe they're a bunch of drunk frat aliens on a hazing run.

%*&HJH :Go on, probe him!

N(*)&H :No way! Gross!

%*&HJH :Do it, or you're out of the fraternity Dood!

N(*)&H :But my male parental unit was in the frat! I'm a legacy!

%*&HJH :Dood! You suck. You're out.

I always like to rebuttal this with--why do we study bacteria, single celled organisms, and men? Just because an organism is inferior doesnt mean there arent good lessons to be learned from it. We are all from the same universe, and just like studying other planets completely unlike our own tells us more about our own, possibly study us for similarities OR differences tells them a lot about themselves and the world they come from.

I also love how everyone approaches this question like we're the scum of the universe with no redeeming values or qualities whatsoever. Just 'cause we dont see it doesnt mean it isnt there. Its a big universe, and while I dont think we're alone, I do think we're unique. That in and of itself is something special.

(BTW, men, that was a joke. ;-> )

That's easy: because Earth is the greatest show in the universe! A beautiful gardenlike planet inhabited by fossil-fuel-burning primtives; always making the wrong decisions; their motivations being greed and power; and their planet's life expectancy shorter with every orbit. We represent the funniest, most pathetic cosmic joke. Who *wouldn't* want to watch?

On a sidebar: Science Fiction writer George R.R. Martin once had a scene in one of his books in which a character boasts that he has just invented a faster-than-light transmitter, and that he can now send the entire works of Shakespeare to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Another character then says, "Pal, they're just send it back with a note saying, 'Thank you for the submission, but this does not suit our present needs.'"

Why are they "wasting" their time observing us?---
A thought I have had for awhile on this subject is because we have (1)harnessed nuclear energy, and unfortunately seem preoccupied on using it as weaponry...this can create harm if in the wrong hands(which much of it is already!), and (2)accomplished space travel(even though not too far yet)........this is/can be a deadly and contaminating combination for the rest of the universe, which they presumably share with us. So, why WOULDN'T they be concerned, and wanting to observe us?! This could also be a reason for them not to want to intervene...they might feel that our only plan of action in the case of contact/disclosure would be on the offense, and one of malice, greed and control.