M.J. Rose

“Even an interstellar message that can’t be deciphered still tells us what a doorbell tells us: that someone is there…”

Communicating Across the Cosmos 4: The Quest for a Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta stone, now displayed at the British Museum in London, was used by Jean-Francois Champollion to decipher Egyptian heiroglyphics. The same message is given in three different scripts. Hieroglyphics (top) and Demotic (middle) were both ways of writing the ancient Egyptian language. The third script is Greek (bottom), which Champollion knew. It is a useful example of what we may need to engage in interstellar communication, Credit: Hans Hillewaert, British Museum

 

 

 

“On television and in the movies, it’s so easy. Aliens almost always speak English (at least in America they do). If it’s explained at all, we are typically told that they learned it by intercepting communications with our astronauts, or tapping into our television broadcasts. A universal translator device instantly abolishes communication difficulties. Hollywood aliens are, of course, human beings in costumes (these days augmented by computer graphics). They are equipped, as are we all, with a human brain, a human larynx, and human vocal cords; all singular products of the distinctive evolutionary history of our species.

 

Real extraterrestrials, if they exist, will be the product of a different evolutionary history, played out on another world.

 

They will know no human language, and be unfamiliar with the typical activities of human beings. Here on Earth no archeologist has ever deciphered an ancient script without knowing the language it corresponds to, even though such scripts deal with recognizable human activities. How could we ever devise a message that aliens could understand? Could we ever understand a message they sent to us? Communicating with alien minds may be one of the most daunting challenges the human intellect has ever faced.

 

In mid-November, the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California sponsored an academic conference on the problem interstellar communication ‘Communicating across the Cosmos’…”

 

For the rest, click here.

From the ever-eclectic Atlas Obscura, comes a preview of a museum much like our own: A museum of mysteries. This attraction in Prague is suited for those of us (you too right?) particularly fascinated by the occult history of old Prague…

The Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague

The history of occult science is turned into a creepshow at this sensational Prague attraction

Contributor: EricGrundhauser, Atlas Obscura)

“Prague is a city steeped in history both known and otherwise, and the darker side of the Czech capitol’s past is brought to light in evocative displays at The Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague, which looks at some of the famous dabblers in the dark arts that have called the city home.

As king of much of eastern Europe and eventually Holy Roman Emperor during the 16th century, Rudolf II was not known as an especially effective ruler, but he is widely remembered for his interest and patronage of the occult arts. It was during his reign that he turned Prague into the unofficial capitol of the dark arts. Funding a number of alchemists and other so-called sorcerers, most notably the likes of Edward Kelley and John Dee, Rudolf created possibly the most active period of occult practice in history.

Whether or not his patrons were simply charlatans wrapped in mystery (which they probably were), or bold proto-scientists, the legacy of these magicians and madmen is remembered with a carnival flair at The Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague…”

For the rest of the story, and beautiful interior photos of the museum, click here.

Do you ever feel like you would be better off dancing the night away in a secret underwater ballroom? There is a place for you…

A Secret Ballroom Built In The 1800s Lies Under A Lake, Guarded By Neptune

“A giant statue of Neptune sits atop an underwater dome enclosing a secret room under the lake of the Witley Park in England…

The entire estate was drenched in opulence and extravagance. It was built in the late 1800s by Whitaker Wright, a shady businessman who was convicted of fraud after many years of floating bad loans and swindling investors. In 1904, he took his own life via cyanide pill on the day of his sentencing…”

Read more and see the stunning photos here.