Communication w/ other beings?

Question

If one day we did find a planet with other intellegent life and landed on that planet. How would we communicate? We would have different language. A simple hand wave by us might mean something bad to them.How would we communicate?

Answer 1

Good question--especially since another intelligent species might not HAVE hands!

The people who are involved with projects like SEI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) have done a lot of thinking abut this--and they think they know how to make communication work (granted they haven't had a chance to test this).

The problem is more complicated than it was for early explorers (say the Pilgrims meeting the native Americans) because there's a lot of common ground, no matter how different people are.

But suppose a species didn't use sound but some other medium to communicate? And like you said, waving a hand might mean anything.

The idea is to focus on things we know are universal (like phyics and chemistry) first, using mathematics as a language, to get communication started. The reason is that we know that "if a = b and b = c then a= c" (Presumably, if our future explorers find themselves in a place where that's NOT true, they will have more problems than talking to strangers--because they won't even be in our universe anymore).

Skipping the details, the point is that however strange to us aliens are, they'll have to have some equivalent of our mathematics and science, because those principles seem to be valid everywhere in the universe. And math can be a steppingstone to other concepts. For example, once we established an understantding that a certain symbol means "equal to" we'd be most of the way to being able to being able to say that a set of symbols--say the letters that spell "rock" was equal to that hard thing on the ground we are pointing to. Get that far, and your off and running on a language lesson!

Of course, if we get really luck, somebody will invent a "universal translator" gadget like on Star Trek! Certainly would make things easier! :)

Answer 2

Language translation begins with finding common elements. If you point to an object and name it, then the alien names it, you've added a word to your vocabulary, subject to refinement by later experience. If you find an alien text with illustrations, you may be able to match words to objects. If you see a familiar mathematical pattern in a group of alien symbols, you may be able to determine the meaning of each of those symbols. Once a meaning is determined, you may be able to deduce meanings in related materials.

When you don't even have that, patterns are the best place to start. Some scientists suggest that a radio signal consisting of a string of sequential prime numbers is both artificial enough and recognizable enough to get someone's attention. It would have to be a series of ticks or beeps (like Morse code without the dashes) since no common characters have been established. So 1 tick, 2 ticks, 3 ticks, 5 ticks, 7 ticks, 11 ticks, etc., with pauses in between them, would be the start. Then you'd have to think of something else, like maybe repeating the sequence but using a style that shortens the signal, like using a long pulse (dash) to represent a power of ten. After refining the character set, you'll start sending other symbols, perhaps a number representing the atomic weight or spectrum signature of Hydrogen, then Helium, Lithium, etc., or a number representing Planck's constant or the speed of light. Each new term would have to be based on the terms already established (and you have to assume they already understand the concepts you are identifying). It would be a slow, frustrating process, but eventually successful.

The more remote or one-way the communication, the harder it will be. Face-to-face is obviously best

Answer 3

There are several suggestions about this. Obviously, mathematics is a universal language to get us started. There is a sory about space travelers who arrive on a distant planet and find a lost civilization. THey can't understand the language, but one of them finds the ruins of a school and on the wall is a Periodic Table of the Elements. Bingo, that gives them the clues they can use to decipher the language. Of course, a periodic table would have to be the same for any culture anywhere in the universe.

Answer 4

Remember the 1st rule of communication: Never what you say; what do others hear?
That rule applies to others, as well. When these beings communicate, THEY should understand that we would not now anything of what they're about and accommodate our unfamiliarity with their language, culture, their very existence.
That said, consider that these beings have already done that. If you get a "communication" from another being, consider the possibility that it is lying. (Why do we always assume that any alien visiting or ghost manifesting is telling the truth?) Once you consider the possibility that what you're hearing could be wrong, you'll be better able to handle "communicating" with them, that is, whether you'll even want to.

Answer 5

It depends, if they landed in my backyard we could only communicate if they had tanslation technology which listens to me talk for a few minutes them uses algorhythms to figure out how I use congugation and whatenot and perhaps theres some mathematical constant in all languages by which it can guage what I am saying. If it were to formally meet with a government it would definately start with math or maybe even pictures like sentences written in hyrogliphics.

Answer 6

this is interesting... we dont know what kind of planet and what kind of life it would be... if it is lower than us, then will definitely need a sign language or gestures... but if it is more intelligent life, maybe they will know to communicate through thoughts or ideas or feelings or maybe some other mode of communication that we have not even considered... maybe they will be able to read our thought process, or by then, even we will learn to read thoughts... anything is possible... btw, do we know for sure that these other planet people will have eyes and ears like we do?? and they will be able to see and hear??? there can be totally different kind/form of life out there... who knows.... but it will surely be interesting... isnt it..
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Answer 7

nicely, searching at it from an evolutionary attitude telepathy received't be an benefit. it will be that our potential to maintain our concepts and reviews secret from one yet another actual aids the survival of the human species. i'd hate to stay in a international the position my female friend might want to telepathically ask if she looks fat and he or she would telepathically recognize the reply. And to operate what PullMyFinger reported, if this were to also be a theoretical threat, it would more desirable in all probability be a very much more advantageous version of non-verbal seen verbal substitute truly than genuine telepathy.

Answer 8

offer them a mickey D then shoot first ask questions later..

Answer 9

All of them understand English. Duh. Have you never watched Star Trek?

Sarcasm intended.