Unanswerable Questions...

[pokeraz]

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provide a concise proof to Fermat's Last Theorem

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Give a complete solution to the Navier-Stokes equation.

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Would the answers to these really be "instantly recognizable?" There's a reason the prizes for the millennium problems aren't released immediately upon publication.

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Certainly not as far as I am concerned. The Fermat example was the one offered by Carl Sagan.

[Magic_Man]

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provide a concise proof to Fermat's Last Theorem

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Give a complete solution to the Navier-Stokes equation.

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Would the answers to these really be "instantly recognizable?" There's a reason the prizes for the millennium problems aren't released immediately upon publication.

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Well, Fermat allegedly had an elegant proof, so it might be easily understood. I'm not a fluids guy, so I don't know much about the N-S equations, but since they are a differential equation, it would be a simple matter to simply substitute in their answer and make sure it checks out correctly. It would be much harder (I think) to check whether it was the general solution, but if they gave us something more complex than the current special case solutions, that would probably be sufficient. It wouldn't be "instant," but depending on the answers you may be able to check them fairly quickly.

I like the planet question anyway. Ask for a planet that is in range of only our most powerful telescope, to be sure that the aliens aren't really just clever humans that found the planet on their own. Then we just point the telescope where thay say and see if something is there.

[Magic_Man]

How about, "What should you trust more, your head or your heart?" [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[RayBornert]

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Earthling: What is the best question?

Martian: "What is the best question?"

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skid,

wise response.

if this occurred then we could infer that the beings are wise enough to understand that moving information from point a to point b alters both a and b.

they would also understand that the act of moving information from a to b is not universally valuable (i.e. i refer to any moment where a parent intentionally witholds information from a child for the benefit of the child).

i would then say that the next step in the how-to-make contact-with-aliens for dummies book would be this question from us to them:

"do you want to question us?"

btw - the guys posing the "fermat" type questions as a first question should not be the guys greeting the aliens. i can invent several scenarios where such an initial posture would be viewed as hostile.

ray

[Skidoo]

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btw - the guys posing the "fermat" type questions as a first question should not be the guys greeting the aliens. i can invent several scenarios where such an initial posture would be viewed as hostile.

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It could start the relationship between Earth and Mars on the wrong diplomatic foot by embarrassing them with a question they can't answer.

[RayBornert]

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btw - the guys posing the "fermat" type questions as a first question should not be the guys greeting the aliens. i can invent several scenarios where such an initial posture would be viewed as hostile.

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It could start the relationship between Earth and Mars on the wrong diplomatic foot by embarrassing them with a question they can't answer.

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or by making it appear that earthlings are spoiled children wanting sugar candy for the brain.

the first thing that would need to happen would be for both sides to understand the common ethics of knowledge exchange.

think of information/knowledge as money or power and then re-measure the strategy of opening with a request for something about which a correct answer might provide some huge leap in power.

ray

[Skidoo]

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btw - the guys posing the "fermat" type questions as a first question should not be the guys greeting the aliens. i can invent several scenarios where such an initial posture would be viewed as hostile.

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It could start the relationship between Earth and Mars on the wrong diplomatic foot by embarrassing them with a question they can't answer.

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or by making it appear that earthlings are spoiled children wanting sugar candy for the brain.

the first thing that would need to happen would be for both sides to understand the common ethics of knowledge exchange.

think of information/knowledge as money or power and then re-measure the strategy of opening with a request for something about which a correct answer might provide some huge leap in power.

ray

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We could leave them wondering, "Why aren't these clowns asking us how to solve world hunger?"

[Skidoo]

Ray,

My last post was basically in agreement with you, with my own emphasis. Rereading it, I realized it's obviously not obvious how I was responding. I'm generally against sugar candy at the wrong time of day.

[MaxWeiss]

Wasn't the answer to that in the last book of the series, and wasn't it "What is 9 times 6?"

I thought that was hilarious.