home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Path: sparky!uunet!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
- From: gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman)
- Newsgroups: sci.space
- Subject: Re: Whales (SETI)
- Message-ID: <1992Jul26.074242.15799@ke4zv.uucp>
- Date: 26 Jul 92 07:42:42 GMT
- References: <9207220144.AA27146@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov> <rwallace.711925839@unix1.tcd.ie> <1992Jul23.224402.75@news.uwyo.edu>
- Reply-To: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
- Organization: Gannett Technologies Group
- Lines: 25
-
- In article <1992Jul23.224402.75@news.uwyo.edu> rtravsky@news.uwyo.edu (Rich Travsky) writes:
- >
- >On the other hand, what would a whale do with knowing the prime numbers?
- >Why would a whale(s) need numbers? I have read (back when I took some
- >anthro) that some less technologically advanced _human_ cultures did
- >not have a numbering system that went much beyond "one, two, and many".
- >By the above metric, then, the people in these cultures are not
- >intelligent.
-
- Counting systems developed among humans because of the needs of herdsmen
- to keep track of their flocks. Plane geometry developed as agriculturalists
- needed to measure their fields. Number theory and higher forms of geometry
- developed as an *intellectual* exercise among natural philosphers of the
- ancient world. One, two, many was sufficient for subsistence gatherers and
- nomad hunters too busy surviving to develop natural philosphy.
-
- While whales don't usually herd their prey, they also don't have natural
- enemies (except man) and should have sufficient leisure time to develop
- a natural philosphy. I'd expect that their three dimensional environment
- would lead to geometric insights, and their podding behavior would lead
- to counting. From there, the leap to analytic geometry and prime ratios
- should be the logical next step. Any creature that doesn't grasp mathematics
- can't be said to be intelligent.
-
- Gary
-
