Re: How do you say 'Hello' to an alien?

>"JS Bangs" <jaspax@...> likis:
> But Nikhil asked a more interesting question--is it possible to
> communicate without language?  I think the answer is no. Even mathematics
> presupposes a sort of metalanguage that we use to learn it, so it's hard
> to see how any communication could be had with creatures from a different
> biology. There have been some attempts, though. Read Sagan's _Contact_ for
> a fairly plausible discussion of aliens contacting *us*, and how we
> decoded their message.
I have heard that mathematics could be used as an intergalactic language.
But, I don't think thisis possible. Even mathematics uses notations like
+, -, * and /, which aliens might not underrstand. They may, however,
understand numbers.

Nikhil

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