If we send a message into space, will extraterrestrial beings receive and understand it? This intriguing question about our potential cosmic neighbors is explored through various attempts to communicate with them throughout history. Daniel Oberhaus delves into the complexities of extraterrestrial communication, posing challenging inquiries: What languages will we and they speak? Is there a universal grammar, as Noam Chomsky suggests, or perhaps a grammar of the universe itself? He recounts historical efforts, such as a late-nineteenth-century proposal to contact Martians using Morse code and mirrors, and the development of initiatives like SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), CETI (communication with extraterrestrial intelligence), and METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence). Oberhaus also discusses the one-way journey of Ella, an AI capable of playing cards and reciting poetry, and the unique concept of a theremin concert for aliens. The book examines the various media employed in these communication attempts, from microwave systems to spacecraft plaques and formal logic, as well as the creation of languages like Astraglossa and Lincos. Oberhaus highlights how the chosen medium reflects the technological sophistication of the sender, while the embedded information in the message reveals deeper insights influenced by philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, science, and art.
