The Alien Communication Handbook: So We Received a Signal--Now What?

ISBN-13: 9783030748449 / Angielski / Miękka / 2021 / 298 str.

Brian S. McConnell

Recenzje

"The author does a very thorough job of introducing the reader to the relevant concepts of communication theory, signal modulation techniques, data representation, computing, and the processing effort required to comprehend fully the data received. ... The book is very comprehensive on these topics ... . This is an interesting book with many important insights." (Michael A. Garrett, The Observatory, Vol. 143 (1292), February, 2023)

Spis treści

About This Book

C-Day

What Happens If SETI Succeeds?

The Limits of Communication

Prerequisites For Interstellar Communication

Incentives For Interstellar Communication

Intelligence

Observables

Symbolic Communication

Interaction

Message Analysis and Comprehension

Modulation

Radio Signals

Amplitude Modulation

Pulse Width Modulation

Pulse Interval Modulation

Frequency Modulation

Phase Modulation

Optical Signals

Pulse length modulation

Pulse Interval Modulation

Wavelength modulation or multiplexing

Other Modulation Schemes

How Much Information Can ET Send?

Radio / Microwave Communication

Optical and Infrared Communication (Pulsed Beacons)

Annual Transmission Capacity

Inscribed Matter & Artifacts

Bracewell Probes

Conclusions

Lessons From Computing and Communications

Segmenting Data

Forward Error Correction

How Much Error Correction Is Enough?

Building A Tree

Hinting At Message Structure

Entropy: Looking For Order Among Randomness

Images

Bitmaps

Assisting The Receiver In The Decoding Process

Color Images

Image Compression

Three Dimensional Images and Models

Stereoscopic Imagery

Point Clouds

Meshes

Programmatically Generated Objects

Four Dimensions (Video and Simulations)

Motion Pictures

Compression

Implicit Compression

Algorithmic Compression

Simulations

Sound

Data Requirements

Recognizing Audio

Pulsars -- A “Standard Bell”

Audio Compression

Sets, Symbolic Networks, & Constructed Languages

Genomic Information And ET

Algorithmic Communication

BASIC for ET

Boolean Arithmetic

Math Operations

Data Operations

Memory (Variables)

Input / Output Interfaces

Inter-Program Communication

Input/Output Interfaces

Comparison Operations and Branching

Modularity and Reuse

Applying These Concepts To An ET Programming Language

Logic Gate Networks

The Limits Of Computation, AI and Sentient Messages

Level 0 : Static (Non-Interactive) Information

Level 1 : Pre-Authored Algorithmic Messages

Level 2 : Narrow AI

Level 3 : General AI (Sentient Messages)

Lessons From Animal Communication Research [work in progress]

Information Theory and Language Structure

Animal Communication Research

Limitations of Animal Communication as a SETI Analog

Mesh Networks (The Galactic Internet)

Analytic Tools & Utilities

The Interstellar Communication Relay

Tier 0 : Raw Data Access

Tier 1 : Derived Signal Data

Tier 2 : Demodulated Data Streams

Tier 3 : Structured Data Extraction

Initial Analysis and Visualization

Low Level Decoding and File/Object Extraction

Media Extraction and Conversion

N-Dimensional Models

Algorithmic Communication Systems

Parsing Metadata, Semantic Networks, Etc

Genomic Information

Other Data Types (Unknown Unknowns)

Summary

Flow Diagram and Decision Tree

Recommended Reading

O autorze

Brian S. McConnell is an expert in communication systems and translation technology, having worked for over ten years in developing translation and localization platforms for startups and growth-stage companies. McConnell is the author of Beyond Contact–A Guide To SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations (2001), O'Reilly & Associates, as well as numerous papers about interstellar communication and anti-cryptographic message design. In 2016 he co-authored the SpringerBrief A Design For A Water Based Spacecraft Known as the Spacecoach which detailed a spacecraft architecture based on electric propulsion using water and crew consumables as working mass, a design pattern which could radically decrease the mass budgets and costs of crewed interplanetary missions.

Blurb

Scientists have been searching for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations since Frank Drake’s first radio survey in 1960. But what would actually happen if SETI’s search succeeds? Is there any way we could even make sense of the signal we receive?

Written by an expert in communication systems and translation technology, this book explores the science of interstellar communication. It explains how this process may unfold, how an ET communication link would work, the types of information it could convey and how professionals, amateurs and ordinary people like you would participate in the effort to understand what another civilization has to say.

Along the way, the book introduces readers to many aspects of modern-day communication systems and computing. Featured as well are dozens of illustrations, photos and real-world examples, rounding out this compelling foray into the mechanics of interstellar communication.

“Scientists, policy makers, and all interested in the likely future discovery of alien life will want to read this book.”

-          Steven J. Dick, Former NASA Chief Historian