Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication
139, 159–160, 164, 181; objective
existence of or invention of human
mind, 127
May, Julian, 143–44
Maya civilization: collapse of classic era,
72; culture of, 72; descendants from,
72–73; history of, 72; number and
calendar systems, xviii, xix, 68, 74, 77;
technology development by, 108
Mayan language, decoding ancient
hieroglyphics from, xviii–xix, 58,
67–68, 72–75, 77, 110–11, 124
Mayr, Ernst, xxvi–xxvii, 32–33, 192, 194,
195–96, 199–200
McConnell, Brian, 102, 107–8n37
McNeill, William H., 52–53, 108
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, 121–22
Media and press, communicating
discoveries through, 254n5
Mediocrity, Principle of, 211, 221, 228
Megachannel Extraterrestrial Assay
(META), 15, 27
Memoirs of a Spacewoman (Mitchison),
xxvii
Mendel, Gregor, 193
“Message from Earth, A,” 183
Messages: anticryptographic properties
of, 82, 82n4, 103; art, messages as
works of, xxiv n8; concerns about
sending, 185–89; control over messages
sent, 187–88; cryptology and secret
messages, 83, 88–89, 88n11; culturally-
specic messages, understanding of,
xviii, 138–141; dead civilizations,
messages from, xviii; deciphering
extraterrestrial messages, xvii, xx,
62, 67–69, 71–72, 76–78, 95–96,
100–103, 110–11, 154, 235; decoding
ancient hieroglyphics and assumptions
about extraterrestrial messages, xviii–
xix, 58, 68–69, 71–72, 76–78, 124;
design and construction of, 53, 61, 62,
81–82, 87–94, 101–2, 104–6, 124–25,
132, 140, 172–74, 176–185, 246–47,
247n15, 248, 249–250; diculty
of decipherment, 110–11; fractal
messages, 235; honesty of messages,
xxiii n6; human interests and values
and subject of, xxvi, 172–74, 180–85,
189–190; information theory and
understanding communications, xx–
xxi, 83n6, 105–6; intent of messages,
general sense of, xxii, 94; interpretation
and meaning of, xiv, xxv, 79–82,
172–74; interpretation of, challenges
of, xxviii, 79–81, 139, 251–52; length
of time to reach Earth, xiv, xvii, 67,
141, 154, 176; length of time to reach
planets, 186–87; listening for messages
from extraterrestrials, xxv, 34, 67, 101,
179–180; multiple messages sent over
a period of time, xxiv n7, 94, 178,
235; obstacles to interpretation of
meaning of, xxi–xxii, 109–11; one-way
transmission of information, xvii, 67;
physics, biophysics, sensory biophysics,
and, 239–240; recognizing signals as,
xx, xxi–xxii, 81–82, 83, 87–88, 106,
153–54; redundant information and
understanding messages, xxi, 105–6;
resources for deciphering meaning
of, 235, 249–250; sending messages,
opinions and perceptions about,
67, 101; showing and telling and
interpretation of, 88–89; subject of
messages sent by humans, xxiii, xxiii n6,
xxiv n7–8, 68–69, 74, 104–6, 107–9,
125–27, 132, 140, 172–74, 175–78,
180–85; successful decipherment,
109–11; successful reception of, 93–94;
transmission of, 67, 178–184; updates
to, 179. See also Communication;
290