We know that some day the inhabitants on Mars or some other
planet will want to talk to us. They have doubtless been
studying us and consider us still too barbarous and primitive to
be worth talking to.
But when we become semi-civilized, in the cosmic sense of the
word, the older and wiser planets will get ready to open
communication with us.
How will they go about it? They are perhaps absolutely different
from us, in shape, in manner of thought, in every conceivable
way, including language, customs, and so on.
BUT GEOMETRICAL, MATHEMATICAL FACTS ARE THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE
UNIVERSE.
Will not the wise Martian who wants to speak to us and decides to
flash some message down here on our clouds, or on the surface of
the water, utilize the universality of geometrical truths in
order to make us understand that thinking beings are trying to
talk to us?
The sum of the angles of any triangle is equal to two right
angles.
That is true of every triangle, no matter what its shape, no
matter whether it be drawn on this earth or on the most distant
sun.
Therefore, when the Martian gentleman gets ready to talk to us he
need only repeatedly place before us two right angles followed by
a triangle, or a triangle followed by two right angles.
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