This is why we can't communicate with aliens

Good day, or as us Alpha centurions say 'zzzhrt wvoum hrrst heeluvm.'

My greetings should be a hint to what this thread is about. Now most of us viewing this speak English, many need to translate that sentence. However looking at my greeting in Icelandic it could be 'jykenfyorden duye grubbily doo' and I wouldn't know if he was attempting to con me or asking me for my non existent daughter's hand in marriage.

There is the problem-we will not understand. Never.

I have a cat, I make animalistic noises to let it know it's supper time, firstly because cats are idiots, and secondly because cats can't talk.

The Voyager satellite-for all its worth and a remarkable achievents, will never be translated. Despite our best attepts of spreading peace, instead of hearing 'greetings from the children of planet Earth' they could be hearing 'your mother is a whore.'

It's probably for the best, Carl Sagan said that the first television broadcast they could pick up would be a speech by Hitler. That is debatable, but German is not a pleasant language to hear. Imagine the British colonization of Australia, when they asked the locals what animal they saw they said 'Kangaroo' meant in the local tongue 'i don't understand.'

Okay vocal communication is nigh impossible, but what about physical gestures, even we can't get that right. Most people wouldn't know the origins of the 'thumbs up. How are we supposed to interpret a 'wort wort wort' followed by a three fingured salute? Tom DeLonge might be able to solve the problem (if he not too busy with his dismantled faux Punk band or this bogus UFO project he's working on.)

This is the truth. We cannot communicate with aliens, it would be like texting an ex girlfriend on a planet orbiting proxima hoping to get back together after a text you sent ten years ago-and thats the nearest Star.

We need to face the reality-sure we are not alone in the universe, but trying to contact aliens is like me getting into a TARDIS and rewinding my miserable life.

Remember-the U in UFO stands for unidentified, and I'd like to keep it that way. No if you'll excuse me I spotted a sickly Dog that may be a chupacabra.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

You're right.

Hell, we can't communicate with each other.

Unless they could communicate telepathically where we could understand perhaps.

Maybe we could communicate using shadow puppets.

Or interpretive dance?

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Despite our best attepts of spreading peace, instead of hearing 'greetings from the children of planet Earth' they could be hearing 'your mother is a whore.'

Hahahaha Priceless! First impressions are everything.

That's a lie. I've seen em, Klingons live far, far away yet they speak English. And not only that everywhere that those Jedi go they speak English. Well nearly everywhere.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

How do you know they do not speak English ?

They could be humans from a far far future that invented time travel.
And by that time we would have human cities on many planets, so that would make them aliens to us

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

a reply to: Thecakeisalie


Illustrated below is how the Human Race should make initial communication with any ET species discovered.

What a minute what about the Babel Fish, A scientifically proven invention



or we can just fly in the Tardis with a Universal Translator

Using a telepathic field, the TARDIS automatically translates most comprehensible languages (written and spoken) into a language understood by its pilot and each of the crew members

I dont think the OP has been down enough rabbit holes yet as the human species has long since resolved this issue

When someone does not understand you, speak more slowly and raise your voice until they do its worked for centuries across the globe when on holiday

originally posted by: Night Star
Unless they could communicate telepathically where we could understand perhaps.

Yes that is a possibility, but aliens have warned abductees of war for decades, why would an advanced civilization warn us of a nuclear war-a war that never happened.

Atmospheric nuclear testing concluded just before the
Venusians visited George Adamski (who's UFO sightings were just a lamp) all it takes is a little gullibility.

Telepathy seems plausible, but why us? We have many of humanitarian crises, but why no action?

Aliens must follow the U.N doctrine 'you are killing each other but we'll just wait for a passing motorist on a lonely Nevada road to issue our dire warning, although we will do nothing.'

Aliens must suck at telepathy, where were they when they told the kids at Jones town not to drink the kool-aid?

originally posted by: watchitburn
Maybe we could communicate using shadow puppets.

Or interpretive dance?

Hmmmm; Dancing Shades; now that is interesting. Star for provoking them to communicate by their true forms.

OP - you are so wrong.
Get a vision from GOD (Yahushua), post it on the Internet. If it is valid, the fallen angels will contact you. Oh hell; they will contact you in a unique manner !.

So we can communicate and get information from them if we are destined; under God; to be given such truths like why Operation Iraqi Freedom had absolutely NOTHING to do with the current Iraq. The Operation was linked with the OLD Babylon Iraq.

I would imagine the language of maths, physics and geometry to be something in common with an alien race, maybe even the knowledge of DNA could be used. I don't know, as I am not versed enough in advanced sciences...it's just my guess. If advanced much more than the human race, perhaps learning the syntax of the most widely spoken language would be quite simple for them. Assuming they have a voice box, that is.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
Good day, or as us Alpha centurions say 'zzzhrt wvoum hrrst heeluvm.'

My greetings should be a hint to what this thread is about. Now most of us viewing this speak English, many need to translate that sentence. However looking at my greeting in Icelandic it could be 'jykenfyorden duye grubbily doo' and I wouldn't know if he was attempting to con me or asking me for my non existent daughter's hand in marriage.

There is the problem-we will not understand. Never.

I have a cat, I make animalistic noises to let it know it's supper time, firstly because cats are idiots, and secondly because cats can't talk.

The Voyager satellite-for all its worth and a remarkable achievents, will never be translated. Despite our best attepts of spreading peace, instead of hearing 'greetings from the children of planet Earth' they could be hearing 'your mother is a whore.'

It's probably for the best, Carl Sagan said that the first television broadcast they could pick up would be a speech by Hitler. That is debatable, but German is not a pleasant language to hear. Imagine the British colonization of Australia, when they asked the locals what animal they saw they said 'Kangaroo' meant in the local tongue 'i don't understand.'

Okay vocal communication is nigh impossible, but what about physical gestures, even we can't get that right. Most people wouldn't know the origins of the 'thumbs up. How are we supposed to interpret a 'wort wort wort' followed by a three fingured salute? Tom DeLonge might be able to solve the problem (if he not too busy with his dismantled faux Punk band or this bogus UFO project he's working on.)

This is the truth. We cannot communicate with aliens, it would be like texting an ex girlfriend on a planet orbiting proxima hoping to get back together after a text you sent ten years ago-and thats the nearest Star.

We need to face the reality-sure we are not alone in the universe, but trying to contact aliens is like me getting into a TARDIS and rewinding my miserable life.

Remember-the U in UFO stands for unidentified, and I'd like to keep it that way. No if you'll excuse me I spotted a sickly Dog that may be a chupacabra.

Finally! This conundrum does not get enough attention, IMO. We are slowly evolving back to hieroglyphics...through eomticons...

Ultimately I think we will arrive at memes, as the highest form of communication, since we can only think in metaphors anyway.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
I have a cat, I make animalistic noises to let it know it's supper time, firstly because cats are idiots, and secondly because cats can't talk.

And YET...




I have a Siamese who's smarter than me. In fact, she owns ME and tells ME when it's dinner.

Given most, if not all, of mankind does not know anything about ETs then it cannot be said we couldn't communicate.

They may not care to communicate with us which might seal the deal for your point of view.

edit:

Then if none exist we are back to not communicating.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
There is the problem-we will not understand. Never.

That depends on if we want to understand each other or not.

I'm Portuguese and I understand what you wrote in a language I didn't learn at school, so why shouldn't humans be able to understand what an alien species would say to us?

I have a cat, I make animalistic noises to let it know it's supper time, firstly because cats are idiots, and secondly because cats can't talk.

Cats are not idiots, I had two cats and they understood many of the things we said to them. They also understood differences in voice tone and facial expressions.

The fact that you fail at communicating with your cat doesn't mean cats are idiots or that communication with them is impossible.

The Voyager satellite-for all its worth and a remarkable achievents, will never be translated. Despite our best attepts of spreading peace, instead of hearing 'greetings from the children of planet Earth' they could be hearing 'your mother is a whore.'

Only if any aliens trying to translate it are useless at translating things.

Imagine the British colonization of Australia, when they asked the locals what animal they saw they said 'Kangaroo' meant in the local tongue 'i don't understand.'

It's interesting that the Portuguese and the Spanish colonised almost the whole world and never had that problem. The people on that voyage sound a little like yourself, not really interested in communicating and assuming whatever they were expecting was what the other side was saying.

Lack of empathy is the biggest hurdle in translating something.

This is the truth.

No, it's only your opinion, and from what I have seen of this world, you are most likely wrong.

PS: part of my work is translating documents to and from Portuguese.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Kinda agree - where would we even begin to understand their mindset

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie

Alien civilizations could be trying to communicate with the equivalent of a spectrum full of radio waves, and we have our ears to the ground listening for hoof beats!

Imagine the British colonization of Australia, when they asked the locals what animal they saw they said 'Kangaroo' meant in the local tongue 'i don't understand.'

A Far Side cartoon had the then long-retired Lone Ranger discover that Ke-mo sah-bee meant the rear end of a horse.

German is not a pleasant language to hear.

I dunno...

a reply to: strongfp

Have a cat sitting between my legs and when I started playing this, his head picked up and his ears started tuning into the sounds. Half way through it and he is still listening to it.