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“Try to teach an alien on a telephone about left and right” actually sounds like a fun game to try with a class full of kids. I would solve this particular cir
by Modified3019 2y ago
“Try to teach an alien on a telephone about left and right” actually sounds like a fun game to try with a class full of kids.
I would solve this particular circumstance by using the andromeda galaxy (“the closest galaxy”) as a reference, but it definitely stumped me for a bit.
- samanator 2y agoYou can't use cancellation or heavenly bodies: "He is far away, or in some strange location, and he cannot see anything we can see. For instance, we cannot say, “Look at Ursa major; now see how those stars are arranged. What we mean by ‘right’ is …” We are only allowed to telephone him."
- Modified3019 2y agoAh good catch, I somehow still assumed same galaxy. Thinking about it, ironically I think the direct mention of Ursa Major might have played a part in that.
- noworld 2y ago"imagine that we were talking to a Martian"
- indoordin0saur 2y agoI think by Martian he just meant "alien". Obviously if you're on Mars you could use all sorts of celestial bodies to demonstrate chirality.
- verzali 2y ago" he cannot see anything we can see. For instance, we cannot say, “Look at Ursa major; now see how those stars are arranged"
- lern_too_spel 2y agoThe rest of the story about developing a way to communicate with the alien is a significant part of Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary, which is also a good book for kids.
- Gunax 2y agoI would love to try it, but I think the problem is hard enough to explain to an adult. I think it's difficult to describe the constraints. I've tried to explain this problem to adults and they just didn't really get it and the problem sounds like either a riddle or a bunch of nonsense rather than a physics problem with deep implications for the laws of nature.