Re: <nettime> Speculative Intergalactic Network

As a thought experiment, consider why we can't communicate with the ants or vice versa. Their social organization is stronger than ours and their collective intelligence is demonstrable. It may be that one side is more primitive than the other. But which?

Kant held that reason is still largely individual in the human case and its potential will only be realized at the species level. He didn't mean that we all become one big brain, but rather that we have to learn to pool our intelligence and knowledge more effectively than at present. He probably had in mind libraries to which we could add mass media (which are usually one-way) and now the internet where everyone in principle can be a producer and consumer, but it would seem that the organization of collective reason is far away.

Kant also asked if our mathematics were universal and might therefore be a means of communicating with aliens; and rejected the idea. His Copernican revolution in metaphysics led him to make this observation: "Hitherto our knowledge has conformed to objects; but what if objects have to conform to our knowledge?" Our mathematics, music etc are therefore culturally specific and would not allow us to communicate with aliens. But hang in there, maybe, if we don't destroy the planet first, we might get there as a species one day. Think again, Steven Spielberg.

The digital revolution is the most important in human history since the invention of agriculture, but we are the digging stick operators in that revolution and they couldn't have a clue that it all ends up as Chinese civilization.

Alternatively we and the other inhabitants of this planet may already be the objects of a computer game played by much more intelligent aliens. It is absurd to imagine that our pathetic technologies and even more pathetic societies could expand our current means of communication to reach extraterrestrials, any more than the ants already have the means to reach us or the other way round. The Victorian thought they were the last stage of evolution. We need to be more modest.

Keith

On Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 5:00 PM, christineT <christine.T@no-log.org> wrote:

I very much like the idea of a communication network expanded to aliens
(us included)

> Let’s assume (so called intelligent) aliens would exist. What do you think: How would communication work with those aliens? How would it change the Internet if we expanded it to different planets? I’ve been wondering if hierarchical structures between the new lifeforms and us humans would occur – like a new form of imperialism.
>

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