Communication withextraterrestrial intelligence

Harold Wooster, moderator John C. LillyPaul L. Garvin William 0. DavisLamnbros D. Callimahos Francis J. Heyden

Let us examine the word "extraterrestrial." Terrestrialmeans "earth or land" and extra means "outside of."An ideal choice would be someone who has actually livedwith, worked with, and talked with an extraterrestrialspecies. Therefore we have with us Dr. John Lilly, whoworks with dolphins.

William 0. Davis is a physicist, a rather free-thinkingone, who was invited on the grounds that we should havesomebody on the panel whose comments are seldompredictable.

"Extraterrestrial" has other connotations. Since thereis an astronomical aspect to this whole question, a learnedastronomer would be an excellent person to have on thepanel. And so we have Father Heyden.

Panel members will each have an opportunity tostate their positions. They will then be allowed to-

Harold Wooster using a nice sociological word-interact.Air Force Offzice of ScientiJic Researchl

Harold Wooster is director of the Information Sciences Direc-torate of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which hasthe responsibility of managing the principal Air Force basic

As originally set up, this session was planned as a research program in the information sciences. He receiveddebate between those who say there is extraterrestrial the A.B. degree in chemistry from Syracuse University in 1939,life and those who say there isn't. It struck me that it and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees for research in clinical en-might be much more interesting to set up the assumption docrinology from the University of Wisconsin in 1941 and 1943that there is extraterrestrial life, and then attempt to respectively. During World War II he worked for the NationalDefense Research Committee, OSRD, at the Toxicity Labora-answer the question, "How do we go about recognizing tory, University of Chicago, in classified research on novelit and, hopefully, communicating with it ?" chemical warfare agents. In 1946 he worked under an Office of

It seems evident that no single professional discipline Naval Research Contract at the University of Pennsylvania'sis able to answer this question by itself, and so I thought Pepper Laboratory of Clinical Medicine. He joined the Mellonthat I would see what sorts of skills might be involved Varieties Fellowship. He co9m4b7i Snior Fellow on a Foodand then ask people representing these skills to appear nutrition and food biochemistry with writing and editing inon the panel. nutrition. In 1956 he joined the Air Force Office of Scientific

In a discussion of this nature, we quite obviously need a Research where, in addition to fulfilling his basic duties, helinguist-a very special kind of linguist who specializes in has edited four books.monolingual field work (which will be explained subse-quently). I believe that Paul L. Garvin fills the bill per- This articlc is a condensation of Session 1-5 of the 1965 IEEEfectly. Military Electroniics Conference (MIL-E-CON 9), Washington,

Obviously, too, a cryptologist was needed. I chose D.C., Sept. 22-24, 1965. It is derived from the actual transcript ofLambros D. Callimahos, a highly qualified expert from the session, except for Mr. Call imahos'statement, which is a formalLambrs D.allimhos, highy quaifiedexper from version of his presentation at the coniference. Dr. Stanley Winikler,the Department of Defense. Institute for Defense Analyses, was the organizer ofthe session.

IEEE spectrum MARCH 1966 153

The extreme case is monolingual field work, which iscommunication between a linguist who does not speakthe native language that he is interested in and a speakerwho speaks no language of communication.

I might add to this that linguists were not the first tobe faced with the problem of monolingual field work.The early explorers and missionaries had precisely thisproblem, because at the time of first contact there wasno language of communication, and contact had to bemade in some way with populations that spoke none ofthe languages that the explorers spoke.How this is done involves a rather lengthy technical

discussion, which I will spare you. The principles under-lying it are that communication is based on a correlationbetween speech forms and their meanings. If you cannotestablish this correlation in any other way, at least you cando it by gestures, by means of which you can represent

Paul L. Garvin meanings. Then, hopefully, you will get some forms inTle Bunker-Ranio Corporation return from the native speaker. Techniques exist for doing

this, and they are successful up to a certain point; theyconsist essentially in learning in a relatively quick way a

I should first like to say that I am professionally con- language that one does not know, without being able tocerned primarily with "terrestrial" communication- communicate in an additional language.that is, with natural language. The field of linguistics that What are the prerequisites for being able to achieveI represent on the panel is limited mainly to this aspect, this communication? Under what conditions could onealthough obviously we are forced to recognize that there confront a being from outer space-either here or there-are other forms of communication. We deal primarily and do this kind of monolingual field work? In order towith natural languages, so that in a certain sense I should answer these questions, first we would want to say some-be the last person to ask to discuss the question of extra- thing about the basic characteristics of natural languages,terrestrial communication. But there is a very vague paral- since monolingual field work is conducted in a naturallel between what linguists do and what might be expected language and leads to knowledge of a natural language.in the case of a visit to the earth by people from else- There are two things here we should keep in mind.where or a visit by people from here to somewhere else. One is what I like to call structural characteristics of

This vague parallel exists in the sense that linguists very natural languages-that is, the relations of the entitiesoften deal with languages of populations that are not that make up a natural language. The second, which Iknown--that is, such remote populations as South refer to as the substantive characteristics of naturalAmerican Indians or people in the Pacific or what have languages, encompasses things concerning the use ofyou-and there are ways of establishing communication voice in communication, since it is generally well knownwith people who speak totally unknown natural lan- that communication between people takes place pri-guages. The usual case is bilingual field work. Here, in marily by vocal signals.order to study a language that he knows very little about, As far as the structural characteristics of naturalthe investigator hopes to find a speaker who, in addition languages go, perhaps one simple and completely trivialto his native language, also uses a language of communi- statement can cover it: They are rather complex. Theycation by means of which one can converse and then, by consist of entities of many different kinds. To give you ajudicious questioning, arrive at some idea of what the crude example, letters in script are one kind of entity;unknown language is like. words with spaces on each side are another kind; sen-

tences are a third kind. All these have describable char-acteristics, which are rather complex and which, let us

Paul L. Garvin is manager, language analysis and translation, say, make natural language into a system of a muchat the Bunker-Ramo Corporation's Defense Systems Division, greater degree of complexity than other communicationwhere he conducts and directs research in linguistics, in data-processing systems, and in electronic devices and applications systems, such as gestures or traffic signals.lor the processing of natural-language data. As an adjunct pro- The substantive characteristics of natural language thatfessor, he also teaches courses and directs research in lin- have some bearing on the communication situation areguistics at the University of Southern California. Dr. Garvin embodied in what we know about phonetics; in otherreceived the Licence es Lettres from the Ecole Libre des HautesEtudes, New York City, in 1945, and the Ph.D. degree from words, the most common "substance" for transmittingIndiana University in 1947, both in linguistics. During World natural language is sound, and sound of a particular kind.War 11 he served in the U.S. Army, where he specialized in There is a certain frequency range, a certain pace, atresearch in lexicography and linguistics. He has worked in which the sounds are produced. The sounds have cer-linguistics and anthropology at Indiana, Columbia, and tain well-known characteristics-such as vowel proper-Georgetown Universities and at the University of Oklahoma.He joined the Computer Division of Thompson Ramo Wool- ties, consonant properties, etc.-and certain other muchdridge Inc. in 1960, where he worked in the Synthetic In- less well-known characteristics.telligence Department until 1964, at which time the TRW In addition, in a situation of monolingual field workComputer Division became a part of Bunker-Ramo. He also we take advantage of a particular kind of behavior whichconducted a research seminar in language data processing at wIndiana University in 1964 and has taught courses in this I like to call naming behavior-that is, the observationfield at U.C.L.A. that in all human societies people have the habit of point-

154 IEEE spCCtruIll MARCH 1966

ing at things and having consistent names for them. ments, for instance, in trying to teach certain of the higherNaming behavior is one essential prerequisite for this primates to speak, and one of the difficulties was thattype of monolingual communication. they haven't the necessary physiological and anatomicalAnother question that arises is: What kinds of extra- attributes. Whether such attributes are present is, in fact,

terrestrial beings could we communicate with in this the basic question that alinguist would ask.form-that is, in a form analogous to the one used when In order for extraterrestrial communication to work,we talk to other humans? One problem is that we pre- what kind of extraterrestrials can we deal with? Thesuppose a structurally complex system; this assumption, answer is that they should be, preferably, beings with erectin turn, requires that the entity using a language similar gait, vocal organs, a frequency range not too far differentto ours be of a high order of complexity as far as intelli- from our own, some pointing organs, and a pace of theirgence and, therefore, brain and nervous system are physiologic processes that is in some way commensurateconcerned. So when we talk about communication, these with our own.beings would need to have a high order of intelligence If these beings are substantially different from this,if we hope to succeed in the use of linguistic methods then linguistics does not readily have anything to con-in establishing communication. Furthermore, they tribute. I will not say that we couldn't possibly advancewould presumably have to have a type of intelligence the field and contribute even in very strange cases, butsomewhat similar to the human intelligence, at least in it would be considerably more difficult.the sense that the complexities which we use in signalingby natural languages might be shared by these beings.Can we conceive of an equally flexible communication

system that would not have some of the properties ofnatural language? Is it conceivable, for instance, to havea very flexible communication system that does notdifferentiate between things that are like letters and thingsthat are like words?The next question involves the substantive charac-

teristics of human language. Again, in establishing mono-lingual communication we take a great many things forgranted. We take for granted that there will be vocalsignals. Just try to imagine how you could establish com-munication by pointing without being able to use yourvoice to name the things that you point at. This isvery hard for us to visualize, so the first prerequisite is thatthere should be vocal signals.The second prerequisite is that not only should there

be vocal signals but that these be within a certain fre-quency range, because obviously if the other beings usefrequencies that we are unable to hear or to manipulate, Lambros D. Callimahoswe will find it very difficult to learn their system of com- National Security Agencymunication.Another characteristic of the substantive aspect of

natural languages is that there is a phonological system- We are not alone in the universe. A few years ago, thisand by that I mean the details of the functioning of vowels notion seemed farfetched; today, the existence of extra-and consonants-which is correlated to a certain struc- terrestrial intelligence is taken for granted by mostture of the human vocal tract. We have a tongue, we have scientists. Sir Bernard Lovell, one of the world's leadingvocal cords, we have teeth, we have different cavities in radio astronomers, has calculated that, even allowing forour respiratory tract from vocal cords on up. a margin of error of 5000 percent, there must be in our

All of these things are taken for granted when you ap- own galaxy about 100 million stars that have planets ofproach another human being for the purposes of es- the right chemistry, dimensions, and temperature to sup-tablishing communication, and by taking them for port organic evolution. If we consider that our owngranted you unconsciously are able to manipulate them. galaxy, the Milky Way, represents only one of moreWith another human being you anticipate being able atleast in part to imitate what he says. If you successfullyestablish communication and you can correlate your Lambros D. Callimahos was born of Greek parentage ingestures with some noises that you hear, there is a chance Cairo, Egypt, in 1910, and first came to the United States atthat you will be able to repeat the "conversation." the age of four. His early training was in the field of music.However, the prerequisite for this procedure is a human After studying the flute at the Juilliard School of Music, Newvocal tract, which implies the presence of vocal cords and York City, as well as in Paris, he appeared both in recitals anda mobile tongue, as well as musculature that allows the as a soloist with mao stysmpAt the age of 26 he was thesizes of cavities and the entrances and exits of the cavities youngest professor at the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg,to be manipulated Austria. A professional cryptologist for the past 25 years, he is

This means, at least in terms of evolution on earth, that the author of articles on codes and cryptology in Tlhe Worldyou ave o haeeect ait,whic alows ou t devlop Book Enicyclopediat and Collier's Encyclopedia and of severalyou have to have erect gait, which allows you to develop books for the U.S. Government. He was in the U.S. Army

the kind of skull and jaw structure that in turn permits Signal Intelligence Service from 1941 to 1948, and now holdsthe development of a vocal tract. There have been experi- the rank ofLieutenant Colonel, Retired Reserve.

Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence 155

000000000000000000000000000000000000000S anything that sounds nonrandom to the probe. But theyeo0000100010000000000000000000000oo°°°0000000 have probably called us several thousand years ago, andOl01000000 100000000000000 0000Oo oo OOOOOOOlOOOOOOOOOOl are waiting for an answer; or worse yet, they have given0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 up; or, more probably theyhave reached such impressivet000000000000000000090001000001000000100 XX00010000110001000000 00 000000000000 technological advances that they have destroyed them-2101101101001100001100101100101100100100 selves.1 001 001 00'1 01 0 1 00 1 00 1 00 00 1 1 00 0 01 1 00001 1 00o0110000110000000001000000000001o11110100 lEpsilon Eridani and TauCetiwerethetargets onwhich00000000000000000001000000000001000001000000000001011011100100000000000001111101 Dr. Drake focused his attention in the spring of 1960 in0000000000000000000000000000100000000000oooooo0ooo0ooi 00oooooooooooo1o0ooooooooo Project Ozma, an attempt to detect possible intelligente000000101001000010000000000100100000000oo l oolooooooo signals from outer space. The frequency selected for0000000001001000001000000000001111100000booooooooiillooooooiiioioiooooooioioiooo listening was 1 420.405752 Mc/s, or a wavelength of 21e o00o00o00o10o10o00o1lo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o00o00o00o10o00o10o0 cm. This particular frequency, postulated independently0000000100110110011101101101000001000100010101010001000100000000000000000010001 by two professors on the faculty of Cornell University,0001001001000100010000001000000000000111Ooooolllllooooolllooooooolllllolooooolol Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison, happens to be01000001010000010001000000100000000001000001000011100001000001000001000000000olo the radiation frequency of atomic or free hydrogen, which0 0 0 10000.1 000 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 000 1 0 000 0 1 1 00 0 1 1 0 000 10000010001000100010000010000011000000001 permeates space in great clouds; moreover, it is within

the range of radio frequencies able to pass through theFig. 1. Message of 1271 binary digits. earth's atmosphere. Presumably, this frequency's signifi-

cance would be known to other intelligent beings in theuniverse who understand radio theory. We're still talking

Fig. 2. Printout of message of Fig. 1, arranged in 31 lines of about radio waves as the communication medium; other41 bits each. Here the binary l's have been replaced by posb media mighte cmaeslas,orm theadots and the binary O's left as blank spaces. possible media might be masers, lasers, or the as yet un-

discovered and unnamed "rasers." A technology superior* *, * * *, to ours might even have learned how to modulate a beam

t t* * * ~~~~~~~~~ofneutrinos (weightless, uncharged particles that physi-*.00 *X ** * cists on earth find difficult even to detect); if so, "they"

*00 * *** .0 ** .. :

* may have to wait a century or two before we learn how to*0 **00 0 build aneutrino receiver.

:0 0 0. 0 *0 * 00:: .00 If another civilization were trying to establish com-: * * ****0000 munication with us, it would first embark on attention-0000 :*0: *0: getting signals of such a nature that we could distinguish

:0 00 0 o them from random cosmic noise; once we receive a rec-

W* * 0 :*:°* 0 ognizable signal, we have a good chance of understanding

:0** o01. i the message. For example, they could start with trains of00 0 I z S-** SS**signals corresponding to the natural numbers 1, 2,* *00000 3. .., followed perhaps by prime numbers. They might

* ....*1:r .0 S. continue with equal-length extended signals consisting.1 101 1...* *...* 0* l * of start and stop impulses, with occasional pulses in be-

I a 0 d. . .

tween; when these signals are aligned flush over one

another, they would show a circle, the Pythagoreantheorem, or similar geometric design. These attention-getting signals would be followed by early "language

than a billion galaxies similar to ours in the observable lessons," interspersed with items of technical informationuniverse, the number of stars that could support some to help bring us up to "their" level.form of life, is to reach for a word, astronomical. It may be assumed that the sense of sight, or an equiva-The nearest neighbor to our solar system is Alpha lent, is possessed by all higher forms of life; the problems

Centauri, only 4.3 light-years away; but, according to of communication could thus be greatly simplifiedDr. Su-Shu Huang of the National Aeronautics and through the medium of a "raster" representation such asSpace Administration, its planetary system is probably that of a television screen. After a 1961 conference attoo young for the emergence of life. Two other heavenly Green Bank, W. Va., to discuss the possibility of communi-friends, Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti, about 11 light- cation with other planets, one of the participants, Bernardyears away, are stronger contenders for harboring life. M. Oliver, made up a hypothetical message on the rasterNevertheless, if superior civilizations are abundant, the principle. The message, consisting of 1271 binary digits ornearest would probably be at least 100 light-years away; "bits," is shown in Fig. 1. Since 1271 has but two primetherefore it would take 200 years for a reply to be forth- factors, 31 and 41, we would naturally be led to write outcoming. This should, however, make little difference to us, the message in raster form, in 41 lines of 31 bits each, orin view of the enormous potential gain from our contact in 31 lines of 41 bits each; the latter case reveals a greaterwith a superior civilization. Unless we're terribly con- nonrandomness in the patterns disclosed, indicating thatceited (a very unscientific demeanor), we must assumethat the "others" are far more advanced than we are.Even a 50-year gap would be tremendous; a 500-yeargap staggers the imagination; and as for a 5000-yeargap. .. (By the way, if they are as much as 50 yearsbehind us, forget it.) It is quite possible that "'others" Fig. 3. A series of 30 transmissions, devised ass ~~~~~~~~~~~~messagesthat conceivably could have been re-have satellite probes in' space, retransmitting to "'them" ceivedi as communications from outer space.

156 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IEEEspectrum MARCH 1966

(1) A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. 0 P. Q. R. S. T. U. V. W. X. Y. Z.*. &. $. 0. #. @. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. 0. P. Q. R.S. T. U. V. W. X. Y. Z. *. &. $. +. #. @.

(2) A A, B; A AA, C; AAAA, D; AAAAA, E; AAAAAA, F; AAAAAAA, G;A A A A A A A A, H; A A A A A A A A A, I; A A A A A A A A A A, J.

(3) AKALB; AKAKALC; AKAKAKALD. AKALB; BKALC; CKALD.B K C L E; E L B K C; F K D L J; J L D K F. E L K E; K E L E.

(4) C MA L B; DMA L C; G M E LB; E M G L M B.

(5) DK N L D; G K N L G; F M F L N;.E M E L N.

(6) J L AN; J K A L AA; J K B L AB; AAK A L AB. J K J L BN; J K J K J LCI;IN K C L IC.

(7) B O C L F; DO B L H; EO B LAN; DO AN L DN.

(8) F P C L B; H P B L D; J P B L E; J P E L B.

(9) A P J L Q J; A P ANN L Q ANN; Q J, P J L QANN.

(10) QJ L R A; QJ O B L R B; AR E MAL R E L E O QJ. QANN L R NA;Q ANN 0 B L R NB.

(11) H L H; G S C, C S G. D K A L C K B; D K C S E K A; E K A S D K C.

(12) D T A; D T B; D T C; D L D; D U E; D U F; D U G. J T I; J UAA.

(13) FIRII V GN; ANNN K C V ANNN; AN P C V CRC.

(14) W E K A X L.,E K A; B W E K A X L W B O E X K W B O A X L B O F.

(15) C Y B L I; EY B L BE; B Y E L CB; W DKA X Y B L BE.

(16) BE Z B L E; FD Z B L H; BGZ C L C; ABEZ C L E. W AIK F X Z B L E.BE Z B L M E; M ABE Z C L M E. BE Z B L KM E.

(17) D * L D 0 C0 B0 A L BD; E * L EO DO CO BO A LABN; H * L DNCBN.

(18) & P DL-A M QC K Q E M Q GK Q I M. & V CRADAEI.

(19) $ L A K Q W A * X K Q W B*X K Q W C * X K Q w D * X K.$ V BRAB.

(20) E K A # L W E K A X; B E K A# L B W E K A X;B 0 E K W D K C X # L B W E K G X. ¢ B # D # L W B X W D X L B 0 D,

(21) $ Y 0 & 0 W M A X Z B # K A L N.

(22) B K C L @ NNA B K C L E. C0 D L @ NNA C o D LAB.D Y B L @ NNfA #; D Y B L AF.

(23) B K C L E; e NNB #. B K D L E; @ NNC #. E Y B L BE; MNB #. F Y B L C E;# @NNC #. I-T E; @ NNB #. R U C; ¢@ NNC #. & V BRGAH; 0 @ NC#N

(24) B L ¢ @ NND #. C L eNND#.E G, AA, AC, AG, @ NND #. AA @ NND#.

(25) @# L BN &4EA#;A @NNF #L& ¢ A # Y B. ¢@ A # L NNG#.0 E # L B & ¢@ NG #; s @ # L & 0 @ NNG # Y B.

(26) NNH#L DOQ C 0 & NNG # Y C

(27) Q B K Q DK Q H K QAFK Q CB V A;Q B K Q D K Q R K Q AF K Q CB K 0 @ ZNI # L A.

(28) C K #@A#LG; ¢ @A#LD. I K @A#LAB; @A#L CFD Z # @ A # L H; SS @ A # L B.# @ A # L A, R GG, M R GG J P C, &, K, M, # @ Nh #.¢ 0 B # L A, H GG,} M R GG, J P C, &, K, M, EI0 NNI #.# 0 C # L A, R GG,J M R GG, J P C, &, K, M, # 0 NI #.

(29) @ NNE#LB&#@IB #; # NNF #L&#0B # YB.# 0@ NAN # L B # 0 C # K B # 0g D #; 56 0 NM # L # 0I C # 0) $0 D #,

(30) 5$O?NNE # L$61NAB #, NAC #; $OeNNF # L @NAD #,$ONAC #.# NAN # L $50 NAB #, $ 0 NAEB #; $ 0 N # I. FD N. #, S$ 0 NAB #.

Conmmunication With eXtraterreStrial intelligenCe 157

Symbols

A 1 I 9 Q reciprocal Y powerB 2 J 10 R decimal point Z rootC 3 K + S * * factorialD 4 L= T > & tE 5 M U < $ eF 6 N V

G 7 0 X w( #H 8 *P + X ) @ code

-Code values

001 question 007 radius 013 circle002 tt'ue 008 volume or sphere 014 area003 false 009 ... (ellipsis) 015 rectangle004 prime 010 perimeter of rect.005 circum. of circle 011 area of rectangle006 area of circle 012 perimeter 999

Code values 1, 2, 3,... 99 x, y, z,... (abstractions, unknowns, variables)

Fermat's Last Theorem:

¢ A # Y 0 e D # K 0 @ B # Y e @ D # L ¢e C # Y @ D #. ¢ @ D # L B; @ NNB #.

# e D # L C, D, Es, ¢ @ NNI #; ¢ @ NNC NNA #.

Goldbach 's Conjecture:

B 0 @ A #. B ¢ @ A # L ¢ e B #; ¢ @ B # T B. ¢ eB # L 0 e C # K 0 e5 D #;

# @ C # L ¢ e NND #, ¢ @ D # L S e NND #. ¢ @ NNB NA #.

Fig. 4. Solution to the "space communication" presented in Fig. 3.

these are the correct dimensions. In Fig. 2 is the writeout feet tall, which should be all right for average Martians.of the message, in which the binary l's have been replaced In 1952 the British scientist Lancelot Hogben deliveredby dots and the 0's left as blank spaces. Now for its an address before the British Interplanetary Societyinterpretation. entitled "Astraglossa, or First Steps in Celestial Syntax."

There are dots at the four corners of the pictogram as Hogben pointed out that number is the most universalreference points, marking the outlines of the rectangle. concept for establishing communication between intelli-At the upper left is a representation of the sun; directly gent beings; therefore, mathematics forms the basis forunderneath in a column are dots representing eight the first steps in extraterrestrial communication. He thenplanets, identified by the appropriate binary coding to illustrated how he could transmit pulses representingtheir left, preceded by a binary point as a marker. The integers, and distinctive signals or "radioglyphs" repre-erect, two-legged beings illustrated are obviously male senting +,-, =, and so on. Morrison later carried outand female mammals. One hand of the male figure points the basic idea a little further, using different pulse shapesto the fourth planet, where they apparently reside. At the to represent elementary mathematical symbols. An en-top of the pictogram may be seen representations of tirely different approach was developed by Hans Freu-hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms, indicating that the denthal, professor of mathematics at the University ofchemical structure of life on their planet is similar to ours. Utrecht, who in 1960 published a book entitled Lincos:From the third planet there emerges a wavy line, showing Design of a Language for Cosmic Intercourse. Lincos,that it is covered with water; the fish shows that they must which is an acronym of "lingua cosmica," tries to es-have visited us and therefore have space travel. One hand tablish a communication of ideas through symbolic logic,of the female figure points to a six (preceded by the usual but the general consensus of those who have taken thebinary point), perhaps implying that there are six fingers trouble to study his book is that his plan is too dificult.On each hand; we could therefore assume that their After all, the object ofthe exercise is getting ideas acrossnumber system is probably to the base 12. At the right of to another party, whose thinking processes may bethe female figure may be seen a bracket, in the middle of entirely different from our own. In other words, what wewhich is eleven in binary form (preceded by a binary need to develop is an ";inverse cryptography," or com-point); this implies that the beings are 11 units high. A munication symbolism specially designed, not to hidereasonable interpretation is that the unit is 21 cm, the meaning but to be as easy as possible to comprehend.wavelength of the transmission, making them about 7'/2 Cleverness on the part of the sender is the important fac-

158 lEEE spectrum MARCH 1966

tor, not reliance on ingenuity of the recipient. The "in- be difficult for "them" to demonstrate their intellectualverse cryptographer" must make his meaning clear to and technological superiority (first of all, don't forget itthe recipient, even if the latter does not possess a cosmic was theywwho were able to call us). If "they" but know theequivalent of the Rosetta Stone.* seventh digit of the "fine structure constant," they areAs an illustration of how much information could be ages ahead of us (we know only the first five for sure,

conveyed with a minimum of material, and as an example suspect the sixth). This number, 137.039 . . ., is the ratio,of facile inverse cryptography, let us consider a message among others, of the speed of light to the speed of theI have devised to be typical of what we might expect of an hydrogen electron; it may take a century to calculate thisinitial communication from outer space. In Fig. 3 is shown constant to nine digits. And after we resolve our pressinga series of transmissions that could have come from scientific questions, it might be appropriate to make dis-another inhabited planet, many light-years away. The 32 creet inquiries as to how we could live in harmony andarbitrary symbols are representations of the 32 difTerent peace with our fellow man-that is, if we aren't eaten orsignals (combinations of beeps, or distinctive pulse otherwise ingested by the superior civilization that hadshapes) heard on a frequency of 1420.4 Mc/s. The punc- the good fortune to contact us. But as far as the cryp-tuation marks are not part of the message, but here repre- tologistisconcer-ned, he(and generations of his descendantssent different time lapses: adjacent symbols are sent with who might experience the thrill of their lives when wea short pause (1 unit) between them; a space between hear from "them") must keep a level head and be pre-symbols means a longer pause (2 units); commas, semi- pared to cope with problems such as he has never seen-colons, and periods indicate pauses of 4, 8, and 16 units, problems that are out of this world, so to speak.respectively. Between transmissions (numbered here forreference purposes) there is a time lapse of 32 units.The first transmission, (1), is obviously an enumeration

of the 32 different symbols that will be used in the com-munications; in transmission (2) is the clear implicationthat A represents the integer 1, B the integer 2, . . ., J theinteger 10. In the first 20 transmissions there are intro-duced symbols for the introductory expository treatmentin teaching us their mathematics. Among the itemstreated are: addition, subtraction, multiplication, anddivision; decimal notation and the concept of zero; in-equalities and approximation; powers and roots; anddefinitions of 7r and e. Transmission (21) adds nothingnew to the 31 symbols recovered thus far, but it doesquote one of the most beautiful concepts in pure mathe-matics: T'hey are telling us that if they can teach us such acomplex notion at this early stage, we will be staggered bywhat they will teach us by the 200th or the 2000th trans-mission. Beginning with transmission (22), words andword-cluster concepts are introduced, so that by thetime we come to transmission (30), we now are under-standing, in a manner of speaking, pure Venerean. John C. LillyWe can now see how we could recover the code they are Commuinication Resear-ch Ihisitituteusing on us, and which will obviously consist of thousandsof code groups with different meanings; this is easilyappreciated by anyone who takes the trouble to fathom The title that I might choose for my discussion is "Thethe meaning of all the 30 foregoing transmissions. Need for an Adequate Model of the Human End of the(The solution may be found in Fig. 4.) Interspecies Communication Program," a plea for self-Even right after this first message, if we are in direct conscious, open-ended, general-purpose, nonspecies-

communication with that planet, we shall have questions specific cognition research into models of theory forto put to "them": the proof of Fermat's last theorem, communication with nonhuman minds. I believe that thisGoldbach's conjecture,t and many other unsolved prob- is the first time the word "mind" has been mentioned inlems in mathematics and the natural sciences. It will not this respect.

*The Rosetta Stone is a piece of basalt found in 1799 near the John C. Lilly, M.D., is director of the Communiication Re-Rosetta mouth of the Nile, bearing a biliniguat inscription (ini search Institute, an independent organization with laboratoriesEgyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic, anid Greek) with which in Florida and the Virgin Islands, which he founded in 1959 forJean FranVois Champollion was able to solve the mystery of the studies on methods of communication between man and otherEgyptian hieroglyphs. species and on the structure and functions of the brain andfWith what he has learned from this example of space communi- psychology of man and of animals of the sea. He received thecation, let the reader formulate these two questions directly for B.S. degree from the California Institute of Technology andtransmission to "them," in a clear and compact form; the solutions the M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Heappear in Fig. 4. For the reader who is a little rutsty on classic un- was on the faculty of the E. R. Johnson Foundation forsolved problems in mathematics, Fermat's last theorem states that Medical Physics for 12 years and later becamie chief of theno integral values of x, y, and z can be found to satisfy the equa- Section on Cortical integration, Laboratory of Neurophys-tion x" + y" = z", if n is an integer greater than 2; Goldbach's"niotorious" conjecture ("notorious" only because other mathe- iology of the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda,maticians failed to make the conjecture themselves) states that every Md. He is the author of Mani anid Dolphzin and coauthor,even number greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two with Dr. Ashley Montagu, of Thte Dolphiin in History. He hasprimes, also written some 90 published papers on his scientific research.

Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence 159

For approximately the last nine years, I have struggled In the complete physical absence of other externalwith the problem of devising working models of the inter- computers within the critical interlock distance, the self-species communication problem at a relatively highly directed and other-directed programs can be clearlystructured cognitive level. Despite overglamorization detected, analyzed, recomputed, and reprogrammed, andand excessive public exposure, the embryo has remained new metaprograms initiated by the solitudinous com-viable and hard working. puter itself. In this physical reality (which is an as com-The major portion of the total problem has been found pletely attenuated as possible environment with solitude),

to be my own species rather than the delphinic ones. maximum intensity, maximum complexity, and maximumThere is apparently no currently available adequate speed of reprogramming are achievable by the self.theory of the human portion of the communication net- In the field of scientific research, such a computerwork. The lack of such a theory has made it difficult for can function in many different ways-from the pure,most scientists to see the reality of the problems posed in austere thought processes of theory and mathematics tothe interspecies program. As long as the conscious-un- the almost random data absorption of the naturalisticconscious basic belief exists of the pre-eminence of the approach with newly found systems, or to the coordinatedhuman brain and mind over all other earthside brains interlock with other human computers of an engineeringand minds, little credence can be obtained for the propo- effort.sition that a problem of interspecies communication At least two extreme major techniques of data-collec-exists at all. tion analysis exist for individual scientists: (1) artificially

Despite arguments based on the complexity and size created, controlled-element, invented, devised-systemof certain nonhuman brains, little if any belief in the methods; and (2) methods involving the participant-ob-project has been instilled in the scientific community at server, who interacts intimately and experientially withlarge. Support has been obtained for further examination naturally given elements, with nonhuman or human com-and demonstration of the large-sized, detailed excellence puters as parts of the system.of structure and description of the large dolphin brain. The former is the current basis of individual physical-There is no lack of interest in this area. The falling out chemical research; the latter is one basis for individual,comes in obtaining the operating interest of competent explorative, first-discovery research of organisms havingworking scientists in the evaluation of the performance of brains larger than those of humans.these large brains. Interest and commitment of time and Sets of human motivational procedural postulates forself are needed for progress. the interlock research method on nonhuman beings,The basic assumptions on which we operate are as with computers as large as and larger than the human

follows. Each mammalian brain functions as a computer, computers, are sought. Some of these methods involvewith properties, programs, and metaprograms partly to the establishment of long periods-perhaps months orbe defined and partly to be determined by observation. years-of human to other organism computer interlock.The human computer contains at least 13 billion active It is hoped that this interlock will be of a quality andelements and hence is functionally and structurally larger value sufficiently high to permit interspecies communica-than any artificially built computer of the present era. tion efforts on both sides on an intense, highly structuredThis human computer has the properties of modern arti- level.ficial computers of large size, plus additional ones not In essence, then, this is the problem of communicatingyet achieved in the nonbiological machines. This human with any nonhuman species or being or mind or computer.computer has stored program properties, and stored We do not have, however, the full support in basic be-metaprogram properties as well. Among other known liefs in the scientific community for these postulates.properties are self-programming and self-metapro- Obviously, we as a species do not believe, for example,gramming. Programming and metaprogramming lan- that a whale, with a brain six times the size of ours, hasguage is different for each human, depending upon the a computer worth dealing with. Instead, we kill whalesdevelopmental, experiential, genetic, educational, acci- and use them as fertilizer. We also eat them. To be fair todental, and self-chosen variables, elements, and values. the killer whale, I know of no instance in which a killerBasically, the verbal forms are those of the native lan- whale has eaten a human, but I know of many instancesguage of the individual, modulated by nonverbal language in which humans have eaten killer whales.elements acquired in the same epochs of his development. Therefore, on an historical basis, I do not feel that atEach such computer has scales of self-measuration present there is much chance that any species of greater

and self-evaluation. Constant and continuous computa- attainments than ours will want to communicate with us.tions are being done, giving aim and goal distance esti- The dolphins want to communicate only with those peoplemates of external reality performances and internal re- who are willing to live with them on the terms the dolphinsality achievements. set up and that certain kinds of human beings set up.Comparison scales are set up between human com- Other types the dolphins drive away. Every year we lose

puters for performance measures of each and of several people from the dolphin research program. Usually it isin concert. Each computer models other computers of because of fear of the power of these animals and fear ofimportance to itself, beginning immediately post partum, damage, even though in the history of the laboratory nowith greater or lesser degrees of error. one has yet been injured by the dolphins. Sometimes weThe phenomenon of computer interlock facilitates think that these people who are lost are projecting their

model construction and operation. One computer inter- own hostilities outward onto the animals in a very un-locks with one or more other computers above and below realistic fashion. The people who survive either realizethe level of awareness any time the communicational that this mechanism is operating and conquer it, ordistance is sufficiently small to bring the interlock func- else their nature is such that they do not have hostilitiestions above threshold level, to project.

160 IEEE spectrum MARCHi 1966

by the astronomers formed a network. He also notedthat networks have certain characteristics. They areconnected in certain ways. How many intersections didyou have between rays, for example? Did you normallyhave just two rays meeting, or three or four or five?What was the distribution in the multiplicity of theseconnections?He found that physical, nonliving systems tend to

have a certain distribution of connections-for example,cracked clay, or the cracks on a ceramic pot, or the riversystem on a continent all have certain typical kinds ofconnections. Somewhat living but not intelligent orga-nisms, such as spiders and bees, tend to produce a differ-ent kind of a pattern. On the other hand, cows findingtheir way to water and man building railroads followpretty much the same pattern. Based on this analysis, he

Willianm 0. Davis concluded that the canals of Mars must have been madeby something at least as intelligent as a cow.

H1u)ck Corporationi It turned out that he was right, because in fact we nowknow that the canal structure was a function of theobserver and not what was observed.

I shall begin by stating that I am not speaking now This, in essence, is the principle. I am not going to talkas a physicist. What I have to say will not be scientific. any more about life detection systems here, but if I wereIt certainly will have nothing to do with military elec- trying to design a life detection system to fly over Marstronics. If anything, I would call it an imaginative ex- and determine whether there was life there or on Venustrapolation of speculative concepts for recreational an deemn whte thr wa ietee,o nVnsor somewhere else, I think I would base it on this generalpurposes. principle. I would look for patterns of order.What is life? I don't mean to approach this at the level Now, let's assume we discover that there is life. This

of religion, but rather from a strictly functional point of life need not have the same chemical form as our life.view. Living systems have certain characteristics that are All that is required for it to be life is that there be a localquite different from those of nonliving systems. The most reversal of the second law of thermodynamics; and if weimportant one has to do with the way in which they be- see that there is, we suspect there is something livingcome more orderly with time instead of less orderly, present. If we find that nuclear reactions that we knowPhysical systems, nonliving systems, according to the take place in a certain way are going the other way on awell-known second law of thermodynamics, tend to be- certain planet, then I would look for life at the nuclearcome increasingly disordered with time. They run down, level.whereas life tends to become more organized with time, How do we communicate? Well, we have talked aboutthough not necessarily forever. The individual dies and the linguistic approach. We have talked about Dr. Lilly'sbecomes disorderly, but at least as a species and during approach with nonhuman forms. I think I would like tothe lifetime of the individual he becomes more orderly break the problem down a little more.with time. The essential characteristic of life is order. There are really three different cases we should worry

If I were going to set up a detection means, a system about. First of all is an encounter with a lower order offor detecting life, I think I would probably choose an intelligence than our own. This would be the case if weanalog to the very famous method that Clyde Tombaugh, should land on a planet and find it occupied with life atthe astronomer, came up with to determine whether the the level of bees or cows and presumably nonintelligent,Martian canals were made by people or were natural or at least not yet at our level. In this particular case, Iphenomena. Clyde noted that these canals as sketched think that the best we could hope for would be the type of

communication we establish with dogs and horses, a

William 0. Davis is director of research at the Huyck Corpora- symbiosis or-and this is disputable-a telepathic rapporttion, Stamford, Conn. He received the A.B. degree from New with them. It would be unlikely that we could establishYork University in 1939, with study at Cambridge University, communication at the verbal level or at the level ofEngland, on a Carnegie scholarship from 1937 to 1938. He symbology.received the Ph.D. degree in physics from New York Uni- The second case is where we find people of preciselyversity in 1950. From 1940 to the close of World War If he e econd case isw erwinpeopleo pselyserved in the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1950 he joined the staff equal evolution. Now, this is very improbable, as wasof the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory as an Air Force pointed out earlier. Even 15 years in our history wouldofficer, where he worked on nuclear weapons development. make a tremendous difference, either backwards or for-From 1953 to 1955 he was chief of scientific research, Head- wards. If you look at the technological trend curves, forquarters, Air Research and Development Command, and from example, you find that by the year 2000 everything is1955 to 1957 was deputy commander of the Air Force Office

aof Scientific Research. His last Air Force assignment, from asymptotic, and it is extremely likely that technological1957 to 1958, was as assistant to the director of laboratories, revolution per se will have played itself out by that time.Wright Air Development Center. Subsequently he established Other trends indicate that from here on increasing em-Huyck Corporation's first research activity, which has grown phasis is going to be on understanding the mind and howinto the Huyck Research Center. Activities have includedR & D efforts in fiber metallurgy and investigations of the It operates. Some of the work that Dr. Puharich has doneapplication of underwater electric spark techniques to in- is a little controversial, too, such as studying extra-dustrial processes. sensory perception with people having extreme talents,

Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence 161

which indicates that there are relationships between theseESP talents and other natural phenomena, and indicatesthat as we go on we may be able to learn how to improveour ability to communicate, at least at the symboliclevel, by ESP means. Certainly even today we do a greatdeal, I suspect, of our communication at the emotionallevel by extrasensory means.

Ifwe were to encounter somebody of equal intelligence,I think we would have a problem. We would undoubtedlyfight them. This, to my way of thinking, is the leastprobable and the most dangerous ofthe three cases.

In many respects the most probable encounter iswith a higher form of life, or at least a more advancedform, because these beings would be more likely to reachus first than vice versa. If we assume that they under-stand more about the mind than we do-and let's saythey understand more about ESP or it turns out to be a Francis J. Heydenhuman-type phenomenon-they should be able to detect Georgelown Universityus. After all, we know all kinds of fields associated withthe physical world, the world of entropy. It is not illogicalto assume that life may have as yet undetected fields and In the question of communication from outer space,radiation associated with it. They wouldn't have to scour there are a few factors that an astronomer would natu-the whole universe for us. They would simply focus their rally want to consider. For example, he would like tolife-detecting device. (That, incidentally, is a very good know whether there are other solar systems in space.challenge for the military electronics engineer.) Let us first examine how our own solar system came intoThe nice thing about this hypothetical contact is that being. We know, for example, that geologists by means

communication would be their problem. We wouldn't of time scales based on radioactivity have found that thehave to worry too much about it. They would come to us. rocks in the surface of the earth are about 4 to 5 billionAs a matter of fact, I strongly suspect that the first years old. When we finish bringing up cores from thecommunication is very likely to be telepathic; perhaps it Mohole out in the Pacific, and once we get to digging it,will just involve a sense of being friendly. As Dr. Lilly we may be able to tell from the type of rock there whetherpointed out earlier, some dolphins want to communicate or not the earth is even older than that.and others don't, and they apparently can detect which In recent years astronomers who have thought otpeople wish to communicate with them and which don't, abandoning the radioactive time scale in favor of aI think that if this first form of communication were nuclear time scale of hydrogen cores burning in starsachieved, more detailed forms would probably follow. have found that certain clusters of stars indicate ages oiThe problem of language is that you require some kind 24 billion years.

of a cultural reference. In just learning to speak a It would appear, therefore, that we are rather new-European language, for example, you may know all the comers, if we can trust the age that we find in the rocks onwords and be able to translate them into English, but the surface of the earth, and that this great galaxy ofif you know nothing of the culture of the country, you which we are just one little member is much older thanwill not really understand the subtleties of what you are the earth.saying. This sort of problem will be incredibly more com- The next question is: How did the earth get here?plicated in communication with an alien race. In fact, I We have had many, many theories. Two of them we cansuspect that language communication will be almost the classify, one as catastrophic and the other as one inlast thing to take place. which the earth sort of grew, grain by grain, like an ant

In summary, I would say that the most probable case hill, as the forces of solar wind and outer space madeof communication with extraterrestrial beings is an en- them cluster together.counter with a race more advanced than we; therefore,the problem would be primarily psychological on ourpart. We would undoubtedly be deeply upset by this state Francis J. Heyden, S.J., attended St. Andrew-on-Hudson,of affairs. Thus these beings, if they are really advanced where he was a Jesuit Novice for four years, and Woodstockand subtle, would know this and would approach us in (Md.) College, from which he received the M.A. degree insuch a way as not to frighten us. If I were on their staff, I philosophy in 1931. He spent the next three years as chief of

the Astronomical Division of the Manila Observatory, andthink I would use my advanced knowledge to learn the then returned to Woodstock for theological studies, which helanguages of the human race through one means or completed in 1937. He later received the M.A. and Ph.D. de-another, imitate human structure and appearance, and grees in astronomy from Harvard University, where he tooksend representatives down to mingle with the earth's graduate courses and served as a Teaching Fellow in the De-

peope. Gadualy woud bein t unerstnd teearh's partment of Astronomy. After teaching mathematics for a yearpeople. Gradually I would begin to understand the earth's at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, Father Heyden joined theculture and develop means of communication to a point faculty of Georgetown University in 1945. He is now a pro-at which at a later time communication could be es- fessor and head of the Department of Astronomy at George-tablished in the proper verbal manner after the human town. Among his projects there have been five solar eclipserace had been thoroughly relaxed. Thus, it is entirely expeditions from 1947 to 1955; spectroscopic research in-volving the sun, planets, and metals of astrophysical interest;possible and maybe even probable that extraterrestrial and special studies on the colors and periods of pulsating andraces are already amongst us! double stars.

162 IEEE SpcCtruIli MARCH 1966

I like the catastrophic one, although that doesn't prove cluded that it must be an intelligent being pounding awayit was so, because it would seem that we sort of got mixed once every hundred days with a key.up in one great big whirlwind and some great collision But let's not forget that there is a great geometricthat took place between two stars. dilution factor coming in here. Those people connectedWe can study the number of stars there are per unit with the signals coming from Mariner 4 are familiar with

volume of space in the vicinity of the sun; if we want the 1IR2 dilution law of space, and the signal can getto do it the way a statistical astronomer would, we cal- pretty weak and thin by the time it reaches the earth,culate the number of stars of solar size per cubic centi- where we are just one little solitary grain of intelligencemeter, of which there are 10-57. to pick up this signal.

Calculating on the basis of an average speed of 15 The Russian radio astronomer also made the statementkm/s, there should be a meeting of two stars a distance that he thought there were three kinds of intelligence;apart from the sun to Saturn once every 2 X 1018 years, in fact, he went even further and said that there areand assuming that we have 2 X 1011 solar masses in three kinds of civilizations.our galaxy, this would indicate that we should have a If the signal were coming from a planet, probably somecollision of this sort once every 10 million years. So thousands of light-years away, the energy needed forthat in the age of this system (if we allow 20 billion years that transmission would be roughly equivalent to all ofas the age), and if it worked every time, then we have the energy that we can now generate on this earth at oneroughly 2000 solar systems in our Milky Way. time. Of course, it would take more than an InternationalBut have we ever seen any of them? Well, about 20 Geophysical Year to get wired up for it on earth.

years ago an astronomer at the Naval Observatory began If the same signal were coming from about 100 000studying a double star. And let me say that probably two light-years away the dilution would become much greater.thirds of the stars in the sky are double systems. This It would then be necessary to take all of the energyparticular star, known as 61 Cygni, which is 1 light-years generated by our sun. Any civilization that can masteraway from us, has a companion that goes around once that much and get it together and put it into an antennaevery 720 years, and it has been observed now for better for transmission is a civilization of Type 2.than a century. If the signal were coming from 100 million light-yearsOne peculiarity of this star system, where you can away, we would need all the energy of all the stars in

see the one going around the other and plot the path, is the whole Milky Way, or 2 X 1011 times the solar energy.that one star is not going around in a smooth path, but To achieve this would require a Type 3 civilization.is staggering. What could make it do that but an invisible I can't say as an astronomer that we have ever heardcompanion? You can't see the companion, even with the any such signal. However, if we did find something thatlargest telescopes we have. Of course, we may build could be interpreted, let's suppose that the thing said,bigger telescopes in orbit later, now that we are getting to "Hello, there."the point where gravity won't let us put them on the earth. We would answer by asking, "Where are you ?"We will put them in orbit and look for these invisible It might take about 400 years for a signal to come back,companions. This particular one would seem to be about saying, "Out here."eight times the size of Jupiter. So it is logical to say thatliving beings on this planet, even if they are intelligent, General discussionmust be a little bit different from us. Certainly if you were Dr. Wooster: At this point we have to do somethingthe inhabitant of a planet eight times the size of Jupiter cumbersome. I would normally prefer to let the panel allyou would not be walking around in the skeletal structure talk to each other at once, but we have to be more stylizedthat you have here on the earth, because it would be very than that. So I will ask the panel members for questionsdifficult to lift one foot off the ground. and comments directed to the other members.

In the course of time we have found probably four Dr. Garvin: I have only one brief comment to make;other stars of this sort, double stars that have staggering that is, if Dr. Davis' assumption is right about thecompanions and that indicate the existence of invisible people from elsewhere coming in here to contact us, thenplanets, or perhaps dark stars. They are Barnard's Star they would have to do monolingual field work on us.(a very famous star that travels rapidly through space), It might contribute greatly to the advancement of mythen one known as the Lund 21185, another named after profession, so I am hoping for it to happen.Frank Ross (Ross 614), and then BD + 200 2465. Dr. Lilly: I think I have one advantage over the othersAlthough the farthest one of these is 15 light-years on the panel, in that we have a body to work with that is

away, it does seem as if there are some things out there trying to communicate with us.that might be planets associated with stars, and while we Dr. Davis: Dr. Lilly, is there any indication that ESPhaven't seen them or haven't measured any temperatures or something other than verbal communication playson their surfaces and we don't know whether they have any role in the learning process of the dolphin?atmospheres or anything ofthat sort, at least there is some Dr. Lilly: I will answer Dr. Davis with a question:evidence that we are not alone. Has the existence theorem for ESP been established?

Let's assume that we do pick up a communica- Father Heyden: I can't predict whether we will evertion. Suppose this "Rosetta Stone of space" does have telepathic tennis players rackieting news back andsometimes occur. A Russian radio astronomer once forth from distant parts of space. I hope that whenfound certain definite repetitive frequencies that he we do unravel the mysteries of telepathy it will not be tiedcould not attribute to any physical phenomenon, such as down by the speed of light, which brings down a lightthe 21-cm action of the hydrogen atom in its rotation in curtain upon all of us when we try to talk about inter-space, or to collisional action or temperature variations of planetary or interstellar communication. Telepathy may,a sort. This effect he discovered is periodic, and he con- as Aristotle said, need no time to travel through space.

Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence 163