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March 1999, Week 2

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From:
Donald Larsson <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Sun, 7 Mar 1999 18:16:06 -0600
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Scott comments:


> I belive it was because the aliens communicated with music, and these
> gestures are standard elementary school music material.  Why the aliens
> would understand them (and they seem to when Truffaut uses them) I have no
> idea.

As I recall, the notes are supposed to correspond to a mathematical
series that allows entities to communicate without language as such--a
pretty old idea in SF literature, with mathematics as a literally
universal "language."

Don Larsson
----------------------
Donald Larsson
Minnesota State U, Mankato
[log in to unmask]

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