Finding them is probably a whole lot less likely than deciphering them, at least partially.
The argument of some sort of alien psychology can be made... and while a psychology could be quite alien, psychology, like biology, is driven by evolutionary law, and therefore has to be similar to our own in some respects, in a similar way to how a sapient organism that has evolved elsewhere would have a very different appearance to our own, but would still have certain key biological traits- such as legs or eyes.
Deciphering the Pioneer plaque isn't that difficult, even I can do it:
- Perhaps the most striking feature is a star-burst pattern of several lines eminating from a central point, most of the lines deliniated with a series of perpendicular dashes. The meaning of this is not immediately clear.
- Two figures are apparent, and are composed of a series of curving, intricately related lines, reminiscent of the features of a biological construct. Thus these figures could be taken to be a portrayal of a biological construct of some importance, perhaps a depiction of the builders of the spacecraft. The two figures with a general similarity yet some differences indicate some sort of dimorphism in these organisms, though it is not clear if the general shape of their outline is a rest state or some sort of pose, or if this positioning is intrinsic to the particular dimorphisms depicted.
- The figures are superimposed on another figure, which roughly resembles the spacecraft itself. This might be an indication of the general size of the organisms in relation to the spacecraft.
- At the lower portion of the plaque is a series of circles of varying sizes, associated with formations of dashes similar to those in the star-burst pattern above. A line connects a small figure of the spacecraft to one of the circles. The most common spherical objects in the universe are stars and planets, and the circle is the 2-dimensional projection of the outline of a sphere. One possible explanation is that these circles are representations of planets, and the spacecraft has a special association with one of these planets.
- At the top of the image is a set of two circles associated with several lines, dashes, and dots. The meaning of this is not immediately clear.
Ok, so that analysis did come from my human psychology. But it's exactly the same sort of analysis I'd do if I saw an alien version of the Pioneer plaque.
The thing is, you get to a point with the whole "alien psychology" argument where you just start to ask which alternate universe these hypothetical aliens are from... :shifty:
A lot of the images in the Voyager record are easier to understand- visually. The problem could be figuring out how to play the thing. But there are still cases of the identity of things and their relationships with other things that could be pretty confusing. You can't really explain it all (or just most of it) without a team of experts and years-long discussions. That said, the Voyager record would hypothetically be the subject of decades of research.
Trying to figure out stuff that you don't know about, isn't impossible. People do it all the time, in archeology for example. And generally, all paleontologists have to figure out the soft tissues, attributes and behaviours of extinct animals, are fossilised bones.
This is just a different version of that. And when you get into all the supposed difficulties of communication with aliens, it shows that we can think of such things, and thus potentially mitigate difficulties. And if we can, why can't a hypothetical sapient alien? Must we universally assume that aliens are morons?
I'd love to see the contents of an alien version of the Voyager record.
