Assistance requested: Alien survey

[Guest alienmba]

Hello,

 

I am part of a group of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) students running a focus group on 'The best 10 questions to ask a visiting alien'. The focus group will include various backgrounds, eg science, medicine, technology, etc. This project is starting from the perspective that a sentient alien lifeform has just made contact with the Earth and the focus group will be developing a list of the most pertinent questions to ask it.

 

To test the validity of our focus response, we would like people from this forum to suggest questions that they would like to ask an alien. While this is a fun and interesting topic, we will be following a serious research methodology. We will be marked on the process that we follow, so require responses from the scientific community. We would encourage anyone with 5 minutes to spare to assist us. All responses will be anonymous.

 

If you are interested in helping, could you please PM suggestions to us. We are requesting responses via PM because we would prefer previous answers not to lead subsequent responses.

 

It would be helpful to also include the following details so that we can segment our data:

 

Age: a) <18 b) 18-25 c) 26-35 d) 46-55 e) 56-65 f) 66+

Gender

Educational/scientific background

Are you a believer in sentient alien lifeforms?

 

 

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to raise them on this thread and I will be happy to answer them.

 

Thankyou in advance to anyone who assists us.

[Guest alienmba]

Sorry, it has been kindly pointed out that we missed an age category. Ages should be as below:

 

Age: a) <18 b) 18-25 c) 26-35 d) 36-45 e) 46-55 f) 56-65 g) 66+

 

We have only received 5 responses over 4 different web sites so far, if you are reading this and have 5 minutes spare, please contact us with some suggestions

 

thanks

[Newtonian]

i would ask........."uhhh were did you come from"

But seeing how we are never going to meet an alien EVER.Because there are none it seems a useless excercise.

[YT2095]

Hmmm.. we don`t actualy KNOW THAT though, do we!?

[j_p]

You are really not having much luck with this question, are you?

[j_p]

The problem is that any question will have inherent assumptions the validity of which we can not judge, as we have not yet met the aliens.

 

But I'll give it a try.

 

In what base to you commonly do math?

 

is your written language based on ideographs, symbols for sounds [i can not remember the word for that], or something else?

 

Are there other intelligent species on your home planet?

 

What do you use for energy?

 

What are the basic principles of your economic system?

 

How does your society handle the inherent conflict between personal liberty and public responsibility?

[Guest alienmba]

The problem is that any question will have inherent assumptions the validity of which we can not judge' date=' as we have not yet met the aliens.

[/quote']

 

On a positive note, that allows respondents to be as imaginative as they like

 

Thanks for your contribution and thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. We now have 16 responses over 4 web sites, but we still need lots more, so if you're reading this and haven't sent in a response, please do so

[Guest alienmba]

Sorry, meant to add also that we'll post the candidate questions here (anonymously) when we've finished. So if you are interested in the questions we received, please check back soon.

[j_p]

So, if I come up with the best question, do I get to meet the aliens and ask them in person?

[Guest mexicomarti]

My questions:

 

1. Do you see in color., assuming you know what I mean by color

2. How is your society arranged?

3. Explain your family structure, mother? father? etc. In fact, explain reproduction for your species. How many genders?

4. Does your society have 'government'? Explain your system

5. How long is your lifespan?

6. Do you have night and day on your planet?

7. Do you have emotions? Rules of social interaction?

8. Are there many languages on your planet?

9. What did you expect to find in your space travels?

10. What is your theory of how the universe began? It's limits? It's lifespan?

11. What do you do for entertainment when you are home?

 

Marti in Mexico

[paleolithic]

Do you have a database of all the species known to you on your planet and can we look at a translated version?

 

Same question but with a Periodic table of elements.

[ydoaPs]

this question seems quite pointless in that the probability for them to speak any of the languages spoken on earth is very VERY low.

[some nerd]

I am assuming since they contacted us, they are more technologically advanced. So my questions will be

What do they do to get the energy

Do they feel emotions

What is the composition of their atmosphere

How big is their universe?

What are the rules they follow to control the society

How are they reproduced

How old their species are

Can they see into future

Who is their creator or do they know how they were formed

what can they do for us

[iglak]

b) 18

male

enterring college

yes

 

my biggest 3 questions would be:

can you help us?

can we trade?

can we see your recorded history?

 

 

this question seems quite pointless in that the probability for them to speak any of the languages spoken on earth is very VERY low.

if they have intersteller travel capabilities, they can communicate with us without needing the ability to speak our language.

[AzurePhoenix]

What technology permitted you to get here?

 

Is there anything we can do for you?

 

What do you know regarding biology, evolution, and the emergence of life?

 

What do you know regarding the frequency of life in this galaxy?

 

Are you here to eat my liver? Or in any way harvest our tissues, life energies, or eternal servitude?

[paleolithic]

this question seems quite pointless in that the probability for them to speak any of the languages spoken on earth is very VERY low.

 

That's why I asked for a translated version.

[why?]

my main question wud b why have u come to earth. i mean if they want to invade us , we r in big trouble.

then i wud ask them abut their technology

i am under 18

[Ophiolite]

I'm troubled by the fact that the questions to date, and the basic notion we could ask the aliens questions at all, have a strong geocentric-anthropocentric leaning.

We are assuming the aliens have language.

We are assuming the aliens are conscious.

We are assuming the aliens can interact with another species in a meaningful way.

We are assuming they want to interact with another species.

We are assuming they would choose to intereact with us.

We are assuming their responses would be truthful.

We are assuming their repsonses would be meaningful. (I am not talking simply in terms of translation.)

We are assuming so much.

 

My questions would be formulated in an effort to elucidate the validity of these presumptions. That would be a huge task to get right, so the following are simplistic paraphrases of what would actually be asked.

 

Are you conscious or self aware?

Do you have a higher level of consciousness that extends beyond the individual?

Is language your primary means of communication?

Do you use language for internal reflection?

Do you use other mediums of thought for internal reflection?

To what extent do you consider yourself separate from other members of your species?

To what extent do you consider yourself separate from other species?

Will Hartlepool United ever win the cup?

Do you view the Universe as an analog continuum, where digital categories (such as species, or atom, or me and you) have no place, or the reverese, or some amalgam of the two?

Why is the Universe?

[j_p]

This project is starting from the perspective that a sentient alien lifeform has just made contact with the Earth...

 

Assumptions 2, 4, and 5 are valid; assumption 6 is questionable in even human to human interactions.

 

Isn't assumption 7 a more specific version of assumption 3?

[Ophiolite]

You might think it a trifle pedantic, but the contact is made with Earth - not necessarily with humanity - lets here it for the dolphins, or, if you are a Douglas Adam's fan, the mice. So, I think the that means 4 and 5 are still assumptions whose validity is unproven.

On what basis do you claim validity for assumption 2, that they are a conscious species?

[crazybean]

"where did you go on holiday last year?"

"i heard your grandma recently went into hospital, is she alright?"

"did you watch the football match last night?"

"are you going to glastonbury festival this year?"

 

just being conversational and polite...

[j_p]

"... has made contact ..."

 

I am assuming the species has achieved interstellar travel, rathering than having it thrust upon them; also that human would not question virus or bacteria. And if the aliens were here to check out the dolphins, their first act would be to anihilate the species that is wantonly contaminating the dolphins' habitat, so we would have not opportunity to ask questions.

 

But I am really interested in cutting the MBAs a little slack, as the poster really did not seem to grasp even asking question has important assumptions, including, as you pointed out, that the aliens have language.

 

I find it very interesting that very few hard science questions are coming up on the science boards; are we assuming that the aliens would come with the information?

[Ophiolite]

I am assuming the species has achieved interstellar travel, rathering than having it thrust upon them;

I think this is in response my questioning of whether or not the species was conscious? We still do not know exactly what consciousness is. It may be related to intelligence, but it could be something entirely different. I believe it is a significant and unwarranted assumption that an intelligent species, with interstellar capability is necessarily conscious.

 

But I am really interested in cutting the MBAs a little slack

Rule 87 in Ophiolite's Lexicon of Life: never cut an MBA any slack (especially if they are from Harvard)

[iglak]

1) We are assuming the aliens have language.

2) We are assuming the aliens are conscious.

3) We are assuming the aliens can interact with another species in a meaningful way.

4) We are assuming they want to interact with another species.

5) We are assuming they would choose to intereact with us.

6) We are assuming their responses would be truthful.

7) We are assuming their repsonses would be meaningful. (I am not talking simply in terms of translation.)

 

1) that's true' date=' and a good point. however, this is a valid assumption on 1 account: the aliens have made contact with us. whether it's via assault or communication, they made contact with us. this means that 1) they have the ability to make contact with us, which requires some form of communication with eachother, or at least understanding what others of their species want; and 2) that something made them [i']want[/i] to contact us, which means they can react to stimuli in an orderly fashion.

the only case that this may not be a valid assumption is if the "alien" is singular, who either never dies or reproduces a-sexually to create offspring that never recognizes another of the species.

 

2) a valid assumption, because, again, they made contact with us. the only exception would be the same as above, or if the "contact" was made without technology of any form (just floating through space endlessly...).

wait, do you mean "conscious" as in "awake", or as in "capable of consciously recognizing their own existance"? if you mean "awake", then it's an even more valid assumption, because any interraction we might define as "contact" requires consciousness, or it will be defined as a "discovery" instead.

 

3) define "meaningful".

they did make contact with us... is that meaningful?

 

4) valid, again, they made contact with us

 

5) valid, again, they made contact with us

 

6) good point. but that's moot, because our scientists won't blindly believe whatever they say. if they did, they wouldn't be able to do anything with the information, because in order for humans to make use of and learn new information, they need to experiment with the new information to make sure it's correct, and to determine how it can be used. if we are sent on a wild goose chase for 200 years, then at least we know what not to look for.

 

7) again, define "meaningful".

if you mean "have validity as a response to the questions", then i guess that's a good point. no point in asking questions that won't ever be answered.

 

 

then, in addition to "they made contact with us" and "meaningful", all assumptions are valid for another reason.

half of the purpose of all of these questions, whether the writers realize it or not, is to determine how the aliens react to the questions. whether they react "meaningfully" or "consciously" can be determined by asking these questions. if we experiment by asking a wide variety of questions, then we can get an even better idea of the aliens' "minds".

 

 

also my particular question of "can we trade?" can be asked through hand signals, examples, and drawings to represent the action, and can be expanded upon indefinitely, until the aliens understand.

 

 

 

 

*edit*

hmm...

a sentient alien lifeform has just made contact with the Earth

i wish to know what "contact", "sentient" (possibly synonymous with "conscious"?), and "Earth" mean.

some of my responses indicating valid assumptions may be wrong if indeed the alien lifeform made contact with another species of Earth, or Earth as a whole, instead of us humans. however, my final, general response is still correct, and nulls such assumptions.

 

*edit2*

we would like people from this forum to suggest questions that they would like to ask an alien.

this assumes that we are capable of asking the aliens questions in the first place. so, all assumptions relating to possibly not being able to ask the alines questions are null.

[Guest alienmba]

Guys,

 

Thanks for the comments, we have made a lot of assumptions, but in terms of our objectives, we are required to document the process of the research - our mark is based on the quality of the questions developed, but we are required to be content neutral, that is, we cannot make suggestions for the list. So our mark is based on the number of sources used, and the cross referencing of the different sources. We have already run a focus group, and conducted a survey based on the results. We are in the process of conducting a survey to support the forum responses as well. In addition, interviews and research will also be used to verify the validity of the top 10 questions.

 

We picked the topic because we thought it would generate interest and would be fun. So our objective is to follow a well defined process and use appropriate research methods. So the topic itself was more of a "what if this happended, what would people want to know?". While some of the assumptions may be tenuous or invalid, we think the interest shown in the topic from the focus group, the interview candidates and the forums demonstrates the strength of public interest from many different perspectives/backgrounds/occupations/etc.

 

Thanks to everyone for a great discussion. We are hoping to finalise the results late next week. We'll post at least the final 10 here, but if sufficient interest exists we might post a link to all submitted questions.