Visitors from Afar
Will We Understand Each Other?
Imagine this: One night, you look up at the sky and see something truly amazing. Not an aeroplane, not a drone, but a UFO – an Unidentified Flying Object!
It's shaped like nothing you've ever seen, and it's moving in a way that seems impossible.
Then, it slowly lands in a field nearby.
Suddenly, the air is full of excitement and a little bit of fear.
Aliens!
Beings from another planet, right here on Earth.
This is a moment we’ve dreamed about, or perhaps worried about, for centuries.
But after the initial shock, one very important question comes to mind: How will we talk to them?
The Language Barrier: A Universal Challenge?
Think about it. We have thousands of languages on Earth, and even within English, there are many different accents and dialects! So, if creatures from another planet visited us, what language would they speak?
One idea is that we would need to learn their language. This might be incredibly difficult! Their language could be completely different from ours. It might not even use sounds like human language.
Perhaps they communicate with lights, or telepathy, or even a strange kind of math!
Scientists, linguists, and experts would need to work around the clock to try and crack the code of their communication. It would be a huge task, like trying to put together a puzzle with missing pieces.
English as a Universal Language?
On the other hand, what if they were the language learners?
English is a widely spoken language around the world. Maybe, before visiting, these aliens have been observing us. Perhaps they've been listening to our radio signals, watching our TV shows, or even tuning in to our internet. Could they have learned English already? It's a fun thought to imagine an alien stepping out of their spaceship and saying, "Hello, Earthlings! Do you speak English?"
If they had been studying English, would they choose it as the main language to talk with us? It's certainly possible! It would make things a lot easier for initial contact, that's for sure. Imagine trying to explain complex ideas like peace, trade, or technology without a common language. It would be like trying to talk to a brick wall!
The movie ‘Arrival’ explored this linguistic challenge.
The Unknown Awaits
The truth is, nobody knows. The idea of alien communication opens a can of worms with many questions.
Will they be friendly?
Will they be able to understand our gestures and facial expressions?
Will their way of thinking be so different that even with a shared language, we might still misunderstand each other?
For now, these are just exciting questions that fire our imaginations. But it reminds us how important communication is, not just with potential aliens, but with each other here on Earth.
Learning new languages, like English, helps us connect with different cultures and understand new ideas. And who knows, maybe one day, the English you are learning now will be the very language that helps us bridge the gap between Earth and the stars!
Watch these…
What these videos discuss…
We often look at the stars and wonder if we are alone.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has billions of stars and planets. Many of these planets might have life because they are in the "habitable zone," where liquid water can exist. Things like water, energy, and nutrients seem to be common in the universe. But we haven't found any signs of other intelligent life. This big question is called the Fermi Paradox: "Where is everybody?" It's a puzzle because there has been a lot of time (13 billion years) and so many planets. It seems like a civilisation should have appeared before us and made its presence known across the sky.
Here are some possible reasons why we haven't seen them:
Self-Replicating Machines (Von Neumann Machines):
Imagine if an advanced civilisation built robots that could make copies of themselves. These robots could be like smart 3D printers that find their own materials.
Calculations suggest that if someone had built these machines even a few hundred million years ago, they would have spread everywhere in the galaxy, like a virus.
Since we haven't observed any, it could mean that no one ever built them. Or, perhaps they are so small or so advanced that we don't recognise them, even if they are in our own solar system.
Civilisations Don't Last Long (The Great Filter):
Research suggests that advanced civilisations might not last long enough to be easily seen. They might appear and then disappear quickly due to things like self-destruction or natural disasters.
If technological civilisations often "burn out," then it's very unlikely their existence would overlap with the time we are looking for them.
This idea is called The Great Filter. It proposes that there's a huge challenge that stops civilisations from becoming very powerful and travelling among the stars.
This filter could be in our past: For example, it was extremely difficult for simple, single-celled life to evolve into complex, multicelled life on Earth. If this is true, we have already passed this challenge, which would be good news for humanity.
Alternatively, the filter could be in our future: When civilisations become industrialised and advanced, they often face common problems. These can include harming their planet's climate, using up too many resources, or developing dangerous technologies like nuclear weapons that allow them to destroy themselves. Carl Sagan suggested that civilisations might not get past this stage.
The Great Filter is a "wake-up call". It reminds us that if we are truly alone in the Milky Way, our failure to overcome our own challenges could mean the end of all intelligent life in our galaxy.
The Zoo Hypothesis:
This idea suggests that advanced extraterrestrial civilisations do exist, but they intentionally choose not to interact with us. It's like zookeepers watching animals in a zoo without getting involved.
However, for this to be true, they would need to be very good at avoiding detection, especially as our ability to observe the universe improves.
The Rarity of Detectable Civilisations:
Recent ideas suggest that the Milky Way might have very few civilisations that we could find, perhaps even just one (humanity). This is because civilisations may not last long enough to develop the capabilities necessary for space travel.
We don't know for sure how many worlds support life or how many civilisations exist. Therefore, we should act as if we are the only civilisation currently in the Milky Way, taking great care of our civilisation and our planet.
What Would Our First Alien Encounter Be Like?
If humanity were to meet aliens, it's most unlikely that they would be biological beings like us.
Instead, a first encounter might be with super-advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This is because if another planet's evolution were similar to Earth's, they might either not have developed intelligence yet, or their machines might have taken over. It's very unlikely their development would be so perfectly timed with ours that we'd meet them during the short period when organic, intelligent life is the main form.
Such advanced AIs could understand concepts that are far beyond the human mind, similar to how quantum theory is beyond what a monkey can grasp.
Ultimately, the Fermi Paradox is not a fixed belief that there are no aliens. It's an exercise in exploring the possible reasons why we haven't observed any evidence of other civilisations yet. Carl Sagan also suggested that for a civilisation to become able to travel to other planets and stars, they would likely have already solved problems like violence and aggression, implying that truly advanced civilisations might not be aggressive.
If you want to know more, listen to this…
It’s the first of a 4-part series. Check ‘The Rest is Classified’ podcast for Episodes 3,4, and 5)
Vocabulary Check:
UFO: Unidentified Flying Object. Something in the sky that people cannot identify.
Aliens: Beings from another planet.
Work around the clock: To work very hard all day and night.
Crack the code: To find the meaning of something difficult or secret.
Put together a puzzle with missing pieces: To try to understand or solve something very difficult and incomplete.
Tune in: To listen to or watch a broadcast (like radio or TV).
Make things a lot easier: To simplify a situation.
Talk to a brick wall: To try to communicate with someone who does not listen or respond.
Opens a can of worms: To create a new problem or a set of new problems.
Fire our imaginations: To make us think of many new and interesting ideas.
Misunderstand each other: To fail to understand what the other person means.
Bridge the gap: To connect two things or groups that are separated.
Fermi Paradox: This is a big question that asks, "Where is everyone?" It's a puzzle because the universe is very old and has many planets, so it seems like we should have found other intelligent life by now, but we haven't.
Milky Way: This is the name of our own galaxy, which is a giant group of billions of stars and planets.
Habitable Zones: These are areas around stars where the temperature is just right for planets to have liquid water, which is important for life.
Liquid Water, Energy, and Nutrients: These are the basic things that life needs to exist and grow. They seem to be common in the universe.
Self-Replicating Machines (Von Neumann Machines): Imagine robots that can build copies of themselves, using materials they find. If an advanced civilisation built these, they could spread very quickly across the galaxy, like a virus.
Transient Civilisations: This idea suggests that advanced societies might not last for a very long time. They could appear and then disappear quickly due to problems like destroying themselves or big natural disasters.
The Great Filter: This is a theory that says there's a huge challenge or "filter" that stops civilisations from becoming very powerful and travelling among the stars.
It could be something very hard that happened in the past (like life becoming complex on Earth).
Or, it could be a challenge in our future, like dealing with pollution, running out of resources, or dangerous weapons such as nuclear weapons. This idea is a "wake-up call" to be careful about our own future.
Zoo Hypothesis: This idea suggests that alien civilisations do exist, but they choose to not interact with us, much like people observing animals in a zoo without interfering.
Drake Equation: This is a tool scientists use to try to guess how many civilisations might exist that we could find. Some recent estimates using this suggest there might be very few detectable civilisations in our galaxy, maybe even just us.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Robotic Super Species / Machines: If we meet aliens, it's thought they would most likely not be biological beings like us. Instead, they could be very advanced machines or AIs that might have taken over from their creators.
Organic Intelligence: This refers to intelligence that comes from living things, like humans, as opposed to machines or AIs.
Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Evidence: This is a scientific rule that means if someone makes a very unusual claim (like aliens visiting Earth), they need to provide very strong proof to support it.