What makes dragon a dragon? It features: wings, body, it can fly and breathe smoke and fire. Airplane also does this, but it's not dragon. Lizards look like dragons but cannot fly, neither do they breathe smoke and fire.
How to modify a lizard or airplane to turn them into a real dragon. What are basic features sine qua non? Why a chair with two legs broken off is still a chair, but a cow with all four legs intact is still not a chair? OK. Cows give milk. Suppose we added an attachement to a chair (leather) that gives milk, it still will not convert our chair into a cow.
You'd say cow is a 4-legged animal that gives us milk and goes "mo-o-o". But now we do not know what "animal" stands for... If our cow besides these two things would be able to breathe smoke and fire would it be OK to name her a dragon that cannot fly?
That is, how to give a shortest class definition of an object that we are trying to describe to an alien (legal, illegal, that does not matter)
2007-02-03 19:30:46 · 3 answers · asked by vladimir l 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
ah, sweet question !! :)
First of all, I would say this has to do with categories. Categorization is key to survival... will this stuff move, will this stuff hurt, is this stuff edible ?
From this basic questions, you derive categories: animate, solid, food. In your question you address the issue: "we do not know what ANIMAL stands for". And you are right if you remain in what may be called intellectual or linguistic level. But survival is not about definitions, but about actions. So in fact, you may derive some categories from basic reactions, like why do children mistake dogs and horses?
So regarding aliens, I think it can't happen, if there is no way of corresponding/translating their categories with ours.
As for dragon: mythical creature that possesses elements from all 4 elements: FIRE mouth, Reptilian body (EARTH), wings (AIR), fish scales (WATER)
2007-02-04 04:19:43 · answer #1 · answered by chevalier rouge 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is this a science question, or a language question?
How would you like an alien to define a "lijovuoauy" to you? It is a very important thing for the alien.
2007-02-04 10:00:10 · answer #2 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nice one,
2007-02-05 06:38:38 · answer #3 · answered by DRAGON 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋