What do you say to an alien?
February 12, 2012 | Source: New York Times
Earth speaks (credit: SETI Institute)
The news last week that a concerted scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence by the SETI Institute in California has resumed raises fundamental questions: If we made contact, what would we say? And what answers would we anticipate?
The SETI Institute has begun an online outreach program called Earth Speaks to solicit messages. Dimitra Atri, a physics professor at the University of Kansas, and several colleagues recently created another Web site, DearET.
See also: Search for aliens is on again, but next quest is finding money
Comments (8)
by NakedApe
In the popular culture, the aliens always want to kill us and wipe us off our planet. May I remind everyone the space is HUGE and the resources on our tiny planet simply not worth stealing after travelling for (maybe) hundreds of light-years across space. This is just anthropocentric nonsense. The aliens might be curious about us just as we would be curious about them but why would they want to wipe us out any more than we want to wipe out a colony of harmless ants? Relax people, the aliens who are so advanced that they can seek us out across the galaxy would almost certainly be far beyond our tiny and petty concerns and bronze age tribal mentalities.
by The SHM
We can’t possibly hope to understand the other species on our own little bio-hovel for at least the next decade, and probably no point before that. However, we excel at mimicking animal sounds (Although I’m certain that when I barked at my dog, the response he gave me suggest I said “YOU BE MILK PARTY BEANS BLUE!”) There’s nothing stopping a higher level race from mimicking our own language despite not having the same vocal chords (providing they still have vocal chords and not just ultra TTS or cyberpathic software). Whether or not they might understand us is another story…
Then again, humans can semi-easily learn to speak our own native languages. If alien races are predestined to be primate, and they’re at least within 1,000 years of our own development, then perhaps…
by David
hello, come here often?
by Bob Vasquez
Don’t eat us, as we are full of chemicals and junk and it will make you sick.
Also, we pretty much messed up our planet as it is getting more polluted with each of our days.
Don’t worry, we are not interested in inhabiting your planet, as we are attempting to fix ours (if that is still possible).
Lastly, would you like to try our junk food?
by Kudos an klang
just shout BOLLOCKS! Really loudly for a laugh.
by Emily
Y’all wanna have E.T. phone booth?
by king_619rey
U still dont understand..
by MMilan
I’ve found this to be the best advice for first contact (not that I’ve had the opportunity to use it):
http://www.laboiteverte.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/first-contact-alien.png