If we ever meet aliens, would we understand?

[Magic Space Rock Lesbian]

I say "if", because there is a possibility we'll die out before meeting intelligent life beyond the stars, assuming that our governments haven't already met with them and just kept that as a secret or long dead civilizations didn't forge contact, would we even understand extraterrestrials?

Life beyond this blue rock would certainly be will...alien. Somewhere, in this huge universe there is a whole different evolutionary pathway on another planet, who knows, maybe they're walking rocks, or telepathic clouds.

The possibilities are endless.

Meeting these beings will certainly shake the very foundation of what we know, and will forever change human society. Since they will be surely different, can we even communicate with them? Do they even communicate?

They're freaking aliens man, the sight of them will probably put us in awe, or terror, perhaps both. We're aren't meant to explore the stars, Mother Nature never intended for that to happen, space, as it is, puts us in a cowardly wonderment.

I'm just saying, with differences so vast, can we even compered them while "talking"? (I use that term very, very loosely, whatever out there, it's downright stupid to assume they communicate through verbal means)

[barbco196]

I'd like to think certain ways of non-verbal communication is universal in the literal sense. A smile, a laugh, and fear would be understood without the use of words. That's IF they have eyeballs.

[bubblykiss]

I have meet several resident aliens over the years. And although difficult to initially understand I have discovered that Canadians speak a very intelligible language.

To your point I am not looking forward to contact with the methane expelling beings of Zunnn'illdrll or the Sand Peoples of Jjndrnt-IV who inject quantities of liquid nitrogen into one and another as a form of language, but I also dislike the Miggl-tynni-lanns-dolous of Brrathllldiff, who speak by pressing dozens of eye stalks directly onto and into your own eyes.....they make terrible company for coffee.

[Rlyeh]

If they are capable of abstract thought, they should be able to understand some kind of basic mathematics.

[Likely Guy]

Who's to say that they are intelligent or even if we'd recognize them as a life form?

[freetoroam]

A walking rock?

Mother nature created man with a curious mind, so it is natural for man to want to expore...be it on his home planet or out in space, it did not on the other hand intend for us to live out there, so we will not be meeting them on their home planet, but in time a robot might, but unless we know what to program the robot with in terms of communication variations, i can not see the robot and the walking rock drawing up any form of conversation.

[Habitat]

They'd bring their own version of Marcel Marceau with them.

[Forcey]

Aliens communicate through the language of Beatbox. Doug E. Fresh abducted Biz Markie and the rest is history.

[barbco196]

If they are capable of abstract thought, they should be able to understand some kind of basic mathematics.

Of all things, why math? We want out first contact to be friendly, don't show them math!

[Rlyeh]

Of all things, why math? We want out first contact to be friendly, don't show them math!

It's an abstract system that can be virtually applied to anything regardless of language.

[StarMountainKid]

We humans have learned each others languages from scratch, so it may not be too difficult to learn to communicate. There may be concepts that may be difficult to translate into each others language, though.

For instance the Japanese term "wabi-sabi":

Wabi-sabi (侘寂^?) represents Japanese aesthetics and a Japanese world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection... If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi... ask people on a Tokyo street to describe Wabi Sabi." Theroux showed that, just as Gold predicted, "they will likely give you a polite shrug and explain that Wabi Sabi is simply unexplainable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

[bubblykiss]

We humans have learned each others languages from scratch, so it may not be too difficult to learn to communicate. There may be concepts that may be difficult to translate into each others language, though.

For instance the Japanese term "wabi-sabi":

https://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Wabi-sabi

Yes, learning to speak and think like another human is difficult. Now remember the Phaistos disk is still not understood. And that is of human make.

Now imagine beings like hook worms who rapidly regenerate wounds and use dozens of mouths to rip, tear, impale, rend, inject or otherwise eat portions of their subject's speaking/listening organs the depth, length, size, intensity or even spinning wound patterns would equate to thought words we could barely even imagine much less emulate. Or another being that speaks through the intensity and patterns of particles expelled into a speech bag. Or a conversation among trees that takes decades to even mutter a complete sentence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undeciphered_writing_systems

[barbco196]

It's an abstract system that can be virtually applied to anything regardless of language.

My comment was me trying to be funny. Point taken.

[psyche101]

We have managed to communicate in a rudimentary fashion with all other humans on earth, culture seems to be a much larger hurdle.

Welcome to UM, and cool nick

Edited May 4, 2016 by psyche101

[Hugh]

We're aren't meant to explore the stars, Mother Nature never intended for that to happen, space, as it is, puts us in a cowardly wonderment.

I'd disagree. We ARE meant to explore the stars. We've just only begun though.

So far we've reached the moon ourselves, and have sent probes all around the solar system.

That's within only after a few decades of learning how to fly. Think of our learning curve since 1900, and extrapolate that forward a thousand years. It boggles the mind when you think about how much we will have learned a thousand years from now.

I'm just saying, with differences so vast, can we even compered them while "talking"? (I use that term very, very loosely, whatever out there, it's downright stupid to assume they communicate through verbal means)

If the alien life forms reach us first, they probably are intelligent because they have gained the ability to learn how to travel in space.

Intelligence usually involves some means of communication with other members of their own species, whether it be by sound, or chemical, or other types of energy wave transfer, somewhere within the electromagnetic spectrum, which we understand.

[LV-426]

Who's to say that they are intelligent or even if we'd recognize them as a life form?

I ask that question of kids these days, let alone extraterrestrials...

I'm so old and crumbly before my time

[Xalalah]

There are more questions than answers. Could we even communicate? I think that will be the hardest thing.

Can we learn from each other? In my fantasy it will sound like African klikking and Asian thrown together.

Or like a Whale sound. So indeed non verbal communication will help.

[Habitat]

The death ray will get you before you get a syllable out. Either that, or you will be struck dumb by the overwhelming strangeness of what confronts you. Make sure the doors are properly locked tonight !

[Magic Space Rock Lesbian]

I'd disagree. We ARE meant to explore the stars. We've just only begun though.

So far we've reached the moon ourselves, and have sent probes all around the solar system.

That's within only after a few decades of learning how to fly. Think of our learning curve since 1900, and extrapolate that forward a thousand years. It boggles the mind when you think about how much we will have learned a thousand years from now.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't, it's just that our bodies aren't meant for space, we'll just freeze to death without the help of space suits, and even then, we'll get weaker as space doesn't have gravity, and without gravity constantly pushing us down, we'll get weaker.

I do think one of the most important things for humanity to do is to colonize the stars, but it'll be hard, for sure.

[seeder]

AS humans, we can ONLY really communicate verbally thru having a domed cavity/mouth.... vocal chords, a tongue and teeth to help form words, along with the ability to use expelled air to make sounds.,..

If an alien had any less... perhaps they couldnt ever vocalise in a way we could understand...

Dogs bark, they have all the above, yet still we dont really understand anything they bark about... and Chimps, our cousins, have all they need for speech.... but still we dont chat with each other...

Of course if any alien landed, we could show him/her/it... images of the universe.....POINT to our planet, and hope they too can point to theirs... but to really understand them would be very tough I think... and vice-versa for them too