With regard to what Yvan said earlier I want to revisit a topic mentioned
earlier - our TV signals leaking into space.
if our signals were picked up, and I realize that it is a big _IF_ (although
who is to say that the technological explosion seen on Earth relating to
computers wasn't happened with regard to radio astronomy on another world).
Most of our TV at present can certainly be classed as wasteland. Looking at
it objectively, what does it say about us?
(taking into account that fiction might not be seen as such - the concept
might be alien to aliens!)
1 - We are space travelers (Star Trek ...)
2 - We're xenophobic and have had many aggressive encounters with other ETs
(Alien)
3 - We're aggressive and violent towards one another (take your pick)
4 - We observe one another's lives, sometimes closely (sitcoms, chat shows)
5 - We are not all equal in what we have and there is a broad spread of
technological development (not only seen in news broadcasts but also in
programmes not set in the here and now)
5 - We worship unseen supreme beings (now imagine using that against us!)
6 - We're obsessed by one another's biological forms and functions (again,
take your pick)
OK, I've looked at a lot of the negative sides here but I'm drawn to the
conclusion that we're sending very strange messages into space.
I think that it's difficult to see what anyone picking it up would think -
possibly cartoons would give the idea of fiction, children's programmes
would help them to understand our language and nature programmes would show
the diversity of life on Earth (and all the porn we emit would make them
familiar with at least the early basics of procreation).
Hmmm, don't even know sometimes what to make of us ...
Gets me thinkin' anyway!
Cheers
Adrian
>*No message should offer anything on the behalf of the humankind as a whole
>or on behalf of any group.
>
>*No message should make any threat or indicate any hostility toward ETI.
>Similarly,
>no message should indicate either our subordination to ETI or their
>subordination to us.
>
>*The complete content of every message should be entered into an
>internationnal archive.
>Thsi archive should contain information about signal characteristics, time
of
>transmission, and target for each transmission, as well as highlighting any
>message
>content about requested reply message from ETI (eg preferred signal
>chracateristics
>and time of reply)
>
>*Each message should note that in an attempt to increase intelligibility, a
>coherent but
>necessarily selective message is been sent. Although this message should be
>broadly
>representative of a range of human perspectives, it should be explicitely
>noted that it
>does not envcompass the views of all individuals on earth.
>
Adrian W Kingsley-Hughes - Technical Director
Mobile: +44 (0)966 497032
Mobile fax: +44 (0)7970 099283
Kingsley-Hughes Development Ltd
PO Box 2 - BANGOR - Gwynedd - United Kingdom
http://www.khd.co.uk