Posted on 12/20/2023 4:51:13 PM PST by nickcarraway
In the same way that scientists have studied Antarctica for what insights could prove valuable for a Mars mission, the Whale-SETI group said its studies with humpback whales can help them develop “intelligence filters” used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
A team that includes a UC Davis professor and a scientist with SETI, the organization that searches the cosmos for signs of alien intelligence, has cited a breakthrough here on Earth – a 20-minute “conversation” with a humpback whale in the wild.
The Templeton Whale-SETI group said its findings on what it calls “non-human intelligence communication” could help in the search for aliens who may not communicate in a way humans might have previously assumed.
In the same way that scientists have studied Antarctica for what insights could prove valuable for a Mars mission, the Whale-SETI group said its studies with humpback whales can help them develop “intelligence filters” used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
As an example of the whales’ intelligence, the scientists cited their tool-making ability – essentially nets they make out of bubbles to catch fish, with some whales taking on that role as part of large hunting teams.
As part of the scientists’ study to engage them, the team played a humpback “contact” call underwater in the ocean. A whale named Twain approached and circled the team’s boat while responding “in a conversational style” to the audio. The whale matched the interval variations between each signal during the 20-minute exchange.
“There was turn-taking involved, which is relatively rare and not only was the whale engaged vocally but also behavioral, circling the boat. So it was a pretty intentional, if you will, conversation,” UC Davis professor Brenda McCowan told KCRA 3. “It was a limited conversation, but it was turn-taking and matching between calls.”
The matching of rhythm could indicate cohesion and bonding, she said.
Laurance Doyle, a principal investigator with the SETI Institute, said the wild setting of the ocean made the whale’s engagement so fascinating and stand out as a “conversation with a non-human,” albeit a talk using a very limited vocabulary.
“It’s a wild critter. They’re not in the lab,” he said. “They’re not in the pool. They’re in the ocean, and a chit-chat across humpback whales can take place over miles.”
The team, which also included Dr. Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation, published their analysis of the encounter in the journal Peer J.
The next paper they have been working on involves a non-audio form of possible humpback communication, bubble rings.
“The whales do these amazing smoke ring-like bubble structures during friendly interactions with people, and we’re curious if there is a deeper meaning with that kind of signal,” Sharpe said. “Bubbles are a form of communication that terrestrial beings don’t really have.”
Doyle with SETI said that his experience with humpbacks has helped to show that a narrow-band radio signal might not be the only way to make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.
“Intelligence is expressing itself in a very unusual way that we have to be open to,” he said.
The project is “helping to lay the groundwork for new intelligence signals for SETI.”
So, what did Chris Christie have to say ??
Was she pregnant?
Sit,,,,,stay...
Is the whale dumber now?
What nonsense. Must be grant request writing season.
How much wasted taxpayer money has this cost?
Care for another magic mushroom, Prof?
my chihuahua would howl
it wasn't a “ conversation “
these academics are full of crap.
Did the whale tell her that those stinking windmills in the ocean are killing them?
So? I converse with turkeys before I blow their heads off with a 12 gauge shotgun.
They should get Kamala to talk to the whale, that would be a really big laugh.
And what did Stacey Abrams have to say? I’ll have 10,000 crabs au gratin?
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