Communication with Extraterrestrial Life

[drag]

Originally posted by Adrian Baker
This is the original form of the argument; we exist, space is enormous, so Aliens must exist.

I read a lot of old Astronomy books from the 1800's and the debate about Aliens hasn't changed, just our belief system, and our comprehension of technology.

I guess we're just bored...

 

[TillEulenspiegel]

I found an interesting take on a different topic tha may be appliciable to the topic at hand.
The applicability rests on the fact that we are discussing beings of a higher mental order. ( ourselves and hopefully our ETs)

Out the mouths of babes.....
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/031226.html

 

[Adrian Baker]

An interesting article...

A serious question: Does this mean that your ability to think deeply depends upon the depth and breadth of the language you learned from your parents? Can a culture with a small, or specialised vocabulary ever develop as well as one that speaks English, for example?
Would learning an Alien language as a first tongue, increase your intellectual capacity"? This is more anthropological than astronomical perhaps, but we have seen very advanced cultures on Earth meet very 'backward' ones - we could perhaps learn from those experiences.

Has there been any research on this I wonder, as it would be very relevant to this thread?