Music is an ideal medium for communicating with aliens.
, is based on a mixture of logic, mathematics, and natural language syntax. More recently, the Dutch computer scientist Alexander Ollongren proposed a second generation of theThese systems lend themselves to straightforward analysis—the idea is that aliens could tease out the rules of the system without understanding what the symbols themselves mean. Music is sometimes perceived as the opposite, ineffable, something that is not so much understood as felt.
Beyond the practicalities of using music as a basis for an interstellar message, it’s also worth considering its role in the human experience. Aspects of music are found in nearly every culture on Earth. Unlike language, anyone—at least, any human who can hear and/or perceive rhythm—can “understand” music, even if those who cannot play an instrument or interpret the notes upon a staff.
But any selection process that only considers already existing music is bound to suffer from cultural biases. It is simply impossible to create a corpus of music that represents every cultural group on Earth or every genre of music. This suggests that intentionally designing music for interstellar transmission is the most promising path forward insofar as it would effectively be creating an entirely new genre of music.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why Quentin Tarantino and More Directors Are Banning Cellphones on SetNoah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig also choose to keep their sets free of mobile devices: 'If you're an actor and you're baring your soul, I don't want you to have to look over and see a PA on a cellphone.'
Read more »
Why I Sneak Around Cheating on My Radical Queer Politics With Queer Wedding Instagram“You know it’s not great for you, but there are so many good photos of butches in suits.”
Read more »
Why You Actually Should Jump on the Resolution BandwagonEven the most motivated runners can benefit from setting a New Year’s resolution.
Read more »
Newsletter: Here's why we stopped italicizing 'foreign' foodsCritic Patricia Escárcega discusses the decision to drop italics from Food stories.
Read more »
Why a key 'Dracula' character was gender-swapped in the Netflix version'Dracula' Episode 1 ends with the reveal that a key character from the Bram Stoker novel is played by a woman in this new version, and creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss explained why at the BBC series' premiere.
Read more »
Why the US and Iran have been adversaries for 4 decadesThe US and Iran&39;s decades as adversaries started with the Iranian revolution in 1979. But the seeds of those tensions were planted decades before.
Read more »