I’ve been watching 3 Body Problem sporadically, while pet-sitting for friends. Episode four perplexed me. The unseen aliens, who up till this point seem to have a sophisticated understanding of humanity, turn out to have trouble grasping the concept of a lie, or distinguishing between a lie and a fictional story or fable. The tale of Little Red Riding Hood, relayed to them via intercom by a leader of the human cult that’s formed to prepare for—and embrace—alien domination, shocks the extraterrestrials, possibly transforming their intention of what to do with our species when they eventually arrive on Earth. This was oddly reminiscent of the 1999 comedy Galaxy Quest, where aliens think a TV show is real.
I already thought METI (Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence; as opposed to SETI, the Search for same) is a premature idea, at best, though I once expressed a libertarian view against banning or regulating it. The Fermi paradox—why aliens aren’t evident despite seemingly ample opportunity for them to exist—has many possible explanations besides the “dark forest” scenario where civilizations stay silent for fear of discovery by hostile forces. Still, at this early stage of listening, it’s sensible to forego any transmission designed for distant detection. Our ordinary transmissions, such as TV broadcasts, leak into the cosmos anyway, but may or may not be detectable, depending on the sensitivity of their receivers.
It's possible that SETI scientists’ lack of hits is because they’ve sought the wrong kind of communication, sifting through the radio spectrum rather than drawing on more-exotic physics, such as gravity waves or quantum entanglement. In a recent paper, physicist Latham Boyle suggests quantum interstellar communication would enable complex messages with precise targeting and excellent encryption. This may require enormous equipment, however, such as telescopes hundreds of kilometers in diameter, in which case there’d be little motivation to transmit to an underdeveloped planet like Earth.
Assuming the technological kinks were worked out, would extraterrestrials and humans be able to communicate? Shared concepts in science and math might form a basis for conversation, though it’s possible the aliens’ mental constructs would depart radically from our own, reflecting their different physical forms and environs. Mathematician Edward Frenkel, whom I’ve written about previously, recently did an absorbing video interview on issues related to the Langlands program, a mathematical project that’s lately seen breakthroughs. Regarding aliens’ takes on math, Frenkel contemplates a Solaris-type entity, an isolated planet-wide intelligence described in a classic sci-fi novel and subsequent films. This entity might not do much counting, but still grasp numbers through geometry and topology, much as the Langlands program shows unexpected correspondences among diverse fields of math.
Writing in Scientific American in 2020, astrobiologist Caleb Scharf explained how, even if the Milky Way galaxy is teeming with civilizations, Earth could easily have gone unnoticed and unvisited. The motions of the stars as they rotate around the galactic center, combined with stop-and-go waves of interstellar exploration by civilizations that have finite lifespans, would leave significant voids of activity, planetary systems untouched by visiting aliens for extensive periods of time. In such a scenario, a galaxy could have “archipelagos” of civilizations, in which proximity and encounters may be the norm, surrounded by areas too distant or unpromising to attract exploration; such boondocks could include our solar system.
If so, humanity’s current relegation to obscurity might be for the best. Plausibly, we’ll be better equipped to deal with interstellar messages, let alone visits, some centuries or more down the road. In 3 Body Problem, I was put-off to find that not only had a human contacted aliens despite getting specific advice not to do so from an alien, but that this action had given rise to a secretive organization of humans awaiting the extraterrestrial conquest rapturously and working to abet it. Ronald Reagan once mused about “how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world,” but in the polarized 21st century, it’s easier to imagine a pro-alien faction.
—Follow Kenneth Silber on X: @kennethsilber