locked into our thinking....
Posted: Wed May 17, 2023 7:21 pm
let us take this example... we have, in the west,
a base 10 system of math....and it, math is considered
to be universal.. but, even our own math is quite ''diverse"
and not so universal....
for example, the Sumerians had a base 60 math system
and we know of societies having base 12 math systems...
several African tribes use the base 12 system... and we know, in
fact use several different aspects of the base 12 system... for
example there are 12 zodiac figures, and clocks are based on
a base 12 system... 12 inches to a foot, 12 troy ounces in a
troy pound...
now what all this does is bring into question the idea
that math is the basis of the universe... because
what math is going to be our basis? and what of
any Aliens in outer space... there is no guarantee
that they have a math system even close to ours...
in fact, one can imagine a technical, advance civilization
that goes without any math... it is possible...not likely,
but possible....
which brings us to the point of where many of our assumptions
are based on our own human math, limitations, intellect,
even biases and prejudices and emotions..... we find much "truth"
within ART which is finding truth quite often without the use
of language...note that it has been said that 95% of all human
communication is done non-verbally.. by our physical presentation...
our eyes, our body language, our gestures, and other non-language
means...as a hearing impaired person, much of my understanding
of what people say is bound up in their voices, their face,
their body language... I can't hear them, but I can quite often
tell what they are saying by their body and faces...
but aliens may use another form of physical language..
for example, they may use smells as one sense of understanding..
or they may use metaphors as the basis for language... in
which historical events are the basis of language.....suicide
might be referred to as a Kronk... Kronk being someone
famous who committed suicide...if you don't know who Kronk is,
you can't get the reference...
alien: ''should I Kronk"
and until one gets what Kronk means that sentence
makes no sense...
the way we communicate is predicated on certain rules..
but those rules are different in different times and different places....
structurally, German is a different language than English.. the use
of articles... for example, English has two genders for their
article but German has three... die, das, der... and verbs placement
is different in them... for example, I want to bake a cake..
in German.. Ich will eninen Kuchen Backen... I will a cake bake...
so if math is not universal and language certainly is not
universal... so what else is not universal? Genders,
science, philosophy.. the philosophy of history, economics...
psychology is clearly not universal....
nor is biology.. what has worked on one planet may not,
and in fact probably won't work on another planet...
so in thinking about aliens... we can try to seek commonalties,
between us, but the fact is we may not have anything in common
between aliens and us... and how do we go about communicating with
a species in which we have nothing in common?
so to communicate with each other, little less aliens,
we have to seek out something in common, but once
again, even within the human species, there are such
differences, that finding commonalities is hard...
how does a liberal find commonality with a hard core,
''MAGA" person? for the most part, each party may
have an easier time talking to an alien from space,
then talking to each other...
Kropotkin
a base 10 system of math....and it, math is considered
to be universal.. but, even our own math is quite ''diverse"
and not so universal....
for example, the Sumerians had a base 60 math system
and we know of societies having base 12 math systems...
several African tribes use the base 12 system... and we know, in
fact use several different aspects of the base 12 system... for
example there are 12 zodiac figures, and clocks are based on
a base 12 system... 12 inches to a foot, 12 troy ounces in a
troy pound...
now what all this does is bring into question the idea
that math is the basis of the universe... because
what math is going to be our basis? and what of
any Aliens in outer space... there is no guarantee
that they have a math system even close to ours...
in fact, one can imagine a technical, advance civilization
that goes without any math... it is possible...not likely,
but possible....
which brings us to the point of where many of our assumptions
are based on our own human math, limitations, intellect,
even biases and prejudices and emotions..... we find much "truth"
within ART which is finding truth quite often without the use
of language...note that it has been said that 95% of all human
communication is done non-verbally.. by our physical presentation...
our eyes, our body language, our gestures, and other non-language
means...as a hearing impaired person, much of my understanding
of what people say is bound up in their voices, their face,
their body language... I can't hear them, but I can quite often
tell what they are saying by their body and faces...
but aliens may use another form of physical language..
for example, they may use smells as one sense of understanding..
or they may use metaphors as the basis for language... in
which historical events are the basis of language.....suicide
might be referred to as a Kronk... Kronk being someone
famous who committed suicide...if you don't know who Kronk is,
you can't get the reference...
alien: ''should I Kronk"
and until one gets what Kronk means that sentence
makes no sense...
the way we communicate is predicated on certain rules..
but those rules are different in different times and different places....
structurally, German is a different language than English.. the use
of articles... for example, English has two genders for their
article but German has three... die, das, der... and verbs placement
is different in them... for example, I want to bake a cake..
in German.. Ich will eninen Kuchen Backen... I will a cake bake...
so if math is not universal and language certainly is not
universal... so what else is not universal? Genders,
science, philosophy.. the philosophy of history, economics...
psychology is clearly not universal....
nor is biology.. what has worked on one planet may not,
and in fact probably won't work on another planet...
so in thinking about aliens... we can try to seek commonalties,
between us, but the fact is we may not have anything in common
between aliens and us... and how do we go about communicating with
a species in which we have nothing in common?
so to communicate with each other, little less aliens,
we have to seek out something in common, but once
again, even within the human species, there are such
differences, that finding commonalities is hard...
how does a liberal find commonality with a hard core,
''MAGA" person? for the most part, each party may
have an easier time talking to an alien from space,
then talking to each other...
Kropotkin