Hum Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 SANTA CLARA, Calif. ? If we ever make contact with aliens, they might be more interested in learning about Van Gogh and Bach than Einstein or Newton, scientists said Saturday. Art may attract aliens more than academics because any extraterrestrial civilization that we are able to get in touch with is likely to be much older than us and more technically advanced, researchers said here at the SETIcon conference on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Humans would probably have little to teach them about science and mathematics that they don't already know, the theory suggests. However, our art and music is singularly human, and could likely be fascinating to an alien species. "What would the other guys want to know about us? What in the world do we have to offer?" asked Douglas Vakoch, director of interstellar message composition at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute in Mountain View, Calif. "If they're so advanced, we probably can't teach them about science, but we can tell them what it's like to be at this precarious point where we don't know if we're going to continue as a species." Advanced alien civilizations will probably have overcome the issues that threaten adolescent species like our own, such as how to live sustainably without degrading the planet, and how not to destroy ourselves with biological or technical warfare, Vakoch said. Advanced extraterrestrials might even have forgotten what it's like to live as we do, with the future in question. And the best way to teach them about what it's like to be human may be through art and music, Vakoch added. However, aliens are likely to be so different from us that it will be difficult for them to understand our art. We may do best to present works based on the language and patterns of mathematics, which might be more universal, Vakoch said. Pierre Schwob, author and creator of the classical music repository ClassicalArchives.com, suggested that a piece like Bach's "Goldberg Variations," which is built on mathematical patterns, might be particularly accessible to extraterrestrials. "If anything I would think, yes, any civilization whatsoever would gather that this is extraordinarily beautiful," Schwob said. "But we really don't have any idea what would be appreciated by an alien civilization." [10 Alien Encounters Debunked] He said other works by Bach, Vivaldi, and other Baroque composers could be a good bet because they are fairly regular and harmonic. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted August 17, 2010 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 17, 2010 The aliens are probably so advanced that they don't need art: it's irrational and it's a waste of time (making it and appreciating it) :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3ntury Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 The aliens are probably so advanced that they don't need art: it's irrational and it's a waste of time (making it and appreciating it) :laugh: This is probably true, in terms of a Civilization's expansion it gets to the point whereas art becomes a waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ci7 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 The aliens are probably so advanced that they don't need art: it's irrational and it's a waste of time (making it and appreciating it) :laugh: beauty is a waste :/ i just wander about there religious believes(god existence debate ..etc) or just imgine we are there unwanted pet but instead of killing us , the throwed us at what we call earth and thought about them as gods :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 The aliens are probably so advanced that they don't need art: it's irrational and it's a waste of time (making it and appreciating it) :laugh: Maybe they are so advanced they have nothing else to do but create Art. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 All aliens want is out snoo snoo's for their wierd sex games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doli Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Art? Who cares they will come to enslave us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thommcg Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 If they're so advanced they're probably all postmodernists anyway :D Stick to the maths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redvamp128 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Didn't we already send out the sounds of Bach back in 1977? http://www.soundboar...Record_Sou.aspx Numbers 6 and 7 http://en.wikipedia....r_Golden_Record Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thommcg Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Didn't we already send out the sounds of Bach back in 1977? It's the message it sends out really - Hi, Earth again, it's been over 30 years since we last called, but, ehhh, we've not produced anything more worthwhile musically since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Neo Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 "...but we can tell them what it's like to be at this precarious point where we don't know if we're going to continue as a species." Excuse me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotdog666al Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 i just wander about there religious believes(god existence debate ..etc) That's a very human thing, they'd probably not have the need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redvamp128 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 It's the message it sends out really - Hi, Earth again, it's been over 30 years since we last called, but, ehhh, we've not produced anything more worthwhile musically since. Oh what kinds of messages to send out--(kind of meant sarcastically seriously) Hello it is Earth again- We have great art to share- but can you fix pollution? Global warming? Cancer? Nuclear waste buildup? If so now is the time to contact us. But on the serious side though maybe it is time to send out another probe this time in another direction. Oh and we have been visited by aliens already -- Angles anyone- They visited earth but were not born on earth. (so by definition alone they are aliens to us) But then again I am a Christian and the Bible does say "God created the Heavens and the Earth...." So by the Bible saying that it does not mean that we are his only creation with intelligence... so it does not rule out life on other worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thommcg Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 But then again I am a Christian and the Bible does say "God created the Heavens and the Earth...." So by the Bible saying that it does not mean that we are his only creation with intelligence... so it does not rule out life on other worlds. I never got that either. Most religions revolve around (Or at least, involve) non-terrestrial beings yet you'd ask said follower about the possibility of alien life and they'd immediately discount it. Anyway, yes, we eagerly await Morena Baccarin's fleet to solve our problems ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted August 18, 2010 Member Share Posted August 18, 2010 Art may attract aliens more than academics because any extraterrestrial civilization that we are able to get in touch with is likely to be much older than us and more technically advanced, researchers said here at the SETIcon conference on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.Humans would probably have little to teach them about science and mathematics that they don't already know, the theory suggests. However, our art and music is singularly human, and could likely be fascinating to an alien species. That makes sense. I'll remember that if I ever meet an alien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted August 18, 2010 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 18, 2010 beauty is a waste :/ Beauty is subjective :) That painting of a sexy naked woman I have hanging on the wall in my place would be meaningless to them. They won't be attracted to it. It's possible that the aliens reproduce asexually and even if they reproduce sexually, their instincts would be different. Mozart? Hip Hop? Tech House? - just loud noises to them :laugh: i just wander about there religious believes(god existence debate ..etc) Rest assured, they'd be way past that. Maybe they are so advanced they have nothing else to do but create Art. ;) From the first UFO game (loved it!) I learned that some species of aliens probably spend their leisure time under the influence of super drugs :) Really, if they are advanced, then they'll have ways of entertaining themselves beyond our imagination :) Sure, art could be one of it. Aliens would have conquered boredom by all means possible seeing how long it takes to travel in space :) I'm more interested in what kind of computer games they play. They'll probably have some kind of super realistic games when they plug their brains to the computer and immerse themselves in artificual reality. Or maybe they all have one implanted at birth. Art? Who cares they will come to enslave us all. True. They probably only care about the energy and the resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guru Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 beauty is a waste :/ i just wander about there religious believes(god existence debate ..etc) alien chicks FTW i dont care about their religion :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCordRm Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I'm of the mindset that any alien would view our art and music like a monkey sees our art and music. Or how I see the Chinese language... giberish. I may recognize some Rap as being an attempt at music, but I certainly don't appreciate it as such. Picaso was no artist to me since I liken his paintings to the work of 1st graders; that is to say, it's ugly as hell and has no meaning to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redvamp128 Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I'm of the mindset that any alien would view our art and music like a monkey sees our art and music. Or how I see the Chinese language... giberish. I may recognize some Rap as being an attempt at music, but I certainly don't appreciate it as such. Picaso was no artist to me since I liken his paintings to the work of 1st graders; that is to say, it's ugly as hell and has no meaning to me. As far as what you just said-- a few quotes come to mind..... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One man's trash is another man's treasure. I mean after all what we dig up as far as archeology is usually what people threw away and or discarded. But I would have to agree with you -- I did like some of Picaso's early work but he really got strange in his later years. Good Terrible The first one I would say is good-- the later one looks like someone on drugs looking at a cross between a pimp and a goat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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