Questions tagged [communication]
For questions relating to the exchange of ideas and information between beings.
9
votes
5answers
922 views
What would make radio transmission unfeasible on a planet?
I am looking for a good reason to make radio communications on a planetary scale unfeasible or impossible. Short-range use is acceptable, but no transmissions should make it to orbit or over the ...
6
votes
1answer
97 views
Digital communication in pre-transistor era
Recently I have read about radioteletype devices capable of sending text messages via radio waves already in the first half of 20th century. Unfortunately, these teletypes used Baudot code, which is ...
5
votes
7answers
776 views
How to use a certain technology to communicate with colonies but keep the how-to a secret?
I'm building a world for a role-playing game campaign using the Stars Without Number system.
Some background information first:
Stars Without Number Original Setting: In the original story ...
8
votes
2answers
350 views
Could an alien evolve to speak through its anus?
Humans can speak making precise movements of our tongues, teeth and vocal chords.
I want a sentient creature whose carnivorous mouth-parts are completely unsuitable for speech to be able to ...
4
votes
4answers
146 views
Can any kind of public-key encryption hold up against a logically omniscient oracle?
"Logical omniscience" can be defined for these purposes as a form of hypercomputation in which all Turing-computable functions can be computed in constant time. Practically speaking, this means that ...
22
votes
21answers
10k views
How long can my small American city be without Internet access? [closed]
Let us say that I want a somewhat isolated farming city to lose Internet access for an extended period of time. The requirement is that all Internet access into the town have been cut off by some ...
7
votes
6answers
777 views
Time Travellers And The Roman Empire, Part 1: Transport and Control
I am a time traveller from the not so distant future. I have gone into the past to the Roman Empire (specifically the Nerva-Antonine period) and via -handwaving magical mumbo-technobabble- have become ...
7
votes
2answers
956 views
Natural gas based communication
In the faraway land of Backeye, people have developed a secretive language called Pasgas. Rather than enunciating words, or forming them with gestures, Pasgas speakers communicate by passing wind. ...
-1
votes
2answers
118 views
Space colony in isolation due to Kessler Syndrome [closed]
Earth sent some colonist to a earth-like planet, interstellar distance away, a long time ago. This colony is very sustainable and growing. No need to worry about that. The problem is: Due to Kessler ...
1
vote
3answers
187 views
How would an alien telepathic race attempt to communicate with Earth on first contact? [closed]
I have been asked to clarify "effective".
"I have an alien contact concept running where they are telepathic. Right now I have imagery being sent mind to mind, but the only thing I can think of is ...
6
votes
2answers
161 views
Is this radio communicating creature viable? (Volutus sapiens)
I have already reviewed a few questions about the feasibility of a radio communicating creature. Like these:
How would organic EM transmitters/recievers be different than our mechanical ones
...
67
votes
29answers
12k views
How to monetize magical mirrors in today's world?
This is kinda a followup question to my earlier question about magical mirrors: Magical internet - unique addressing system
Two months ago, I discovered an ancient house in the middle of woods. As I ...
24
votes
10answers
7k views
How could you create a 95% effective global emergency broadcasting system?
THIS IS A TEST of the Galactic Emergency Alert system
No action is required.
Type: Milkyway Empire
The World
In the near future:
we discover FTL
we run into some friendly aliens that are ...
0
votes
0answers
68 views
How fast to become “most wanted” in medieval world? [duplicate]
This is the question every RPG player or D&D player had in mind: "What happens if I kill them all?" So, lets ask the question:
Imagine typical medieval fantasy kingdom. There is some magic and ...
7
votes
6answers
869 views
Getting Past Phonetic Limitations [closed]
For the sake of making things much, much simpler, most worlds I'm familiar with have a defining feature of language: there is a common language. This allows for universal communication and overcomes ...
8
votes
8answers
3k views
Would room phones work in a hotel during a blackout? [closed]
I'm writing a story about people being stuck in a large hotel. One character wants to call a loved one, but I'm trying to think of a reason that they can't. My initial thought was that the front desk ...
23
votes
10answers
5k views
How to improve TCP/IP for an interplanetary WAN?
Background
It is the near future. After a major world war and limited nuclear exchange, the nations of Earth have consolidated into a few blocs. The threat of further war and the cumulative damage to ...
5
votes
6answers
349 views
How Could A Very Complex Language Arise?
Many efforts have been made to construct simpler languages that are easier to learn (e.g. Esperanto), and relatively simple language arise naturally in the form of pidgins and creoles, when people ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
What would happen if all (higher) life magically became sentient and reached human-level intelligence? [closed]
Overnight, all higher life, multicellular life forms from trees and grass to dogs and elephants reached a level of intelligence similar to that of humans. For example, they can communicate effectively,...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
Self-sustainment [duplicate]
In world I am talking about everyone vanished but two people. Everyone just dissapeared, like no body has been left. I have them contact via internet but then I realize; there is noone to tend servers....
165
votes
23answers
36k views
If everyone in the world disappeared except 35 random people, how long would it take for one of them to realize they're not alone?
Everyone suddenly disappears from earth except 35 people randomly scattered wherever they were before everyone disappeared. How long would it take on average for 2 or more people to meet? What other ...
0
votes
6answers
281 views
How does tulpa communicate with his owner?
A Tulpa is a concept in mysticism and the paranormal of a being or object which is created through spiritual or mental powers.
The Limbo is like internet, a vast information network made of dreams ...
3
votes
2answers
103 views
What phonemes are most recognizable underwater?
In my fantasy world, there has been a longstanding presence of underwater civilizations, both alongside and independent of surface-based kingdoms. In the style of Tolkien's Beleriand, various ...
9
votes
8answers
389 views
Pre-electrical fast long-distance communication using Acoustic Mirrors
It takes a lot of work, but it can be done. The Mongol Yam, a horse-based mail system, is probably the best example that has been done before. But after visiting the local science museum recently, I ...
1
vote
5answers
250 views
With light years between us, why talk?
Let's say in the year 2000 we launch a ship to some distant part of the galaxy. If the ship travels with a constant 1 g acceleration for like 28 years (accelerating halfway then decelerating), then we ...
25
votes
20answers
7k views
Self-destructing messages
I need a way to send messages that can only be viewed once, and then become permanently unreadable (physical media destroyed, encrypted, any method as long as the message cannot be feasibly recovered ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
Is a network of spoon-launching trebuchets realistic?
On a comment to My carrier pigeons have been replaced by spoons: how can I send messages? I joke about creating a network of trebuchets to launch spoons.
Is it realistic?
My concerns:
How far ...
116
votes
21answers
19k views
My carrier pigeons have been replaced by spoons: how can I send messages? [closed]
Yup. All my pigeons are now spoons. I knew my court alchemist was a sore loser, but I still think it's inappropriate to do that for a chess game. He vanished and I no longer have any means to ...
14
votes
7answers
3k views
Quick solutions to a modern warning placed on the surface of a planet for future generations
In response to Write once perpetual storage, is such a thing possible? Separatrix pointed me at How could an ancient race warn the future in a universally understandable way? and How might modern ...
42
votes
11answers
10k views
How to avoid the language barrier when there is no time to learn the other language?
In my medieval world, population A and population B have not had any contacts for thousands of years. But pressing events will make them look for each other.
However when they meet... how are they ...
10
votes
9answers
3k views
How to justify that people forgot the past and that they have neighbours?
Let's say that there are 2 countries with very different inhabitants. Country A has no idea that country B exists. Country B may or may not know about Country A. Country A is surrounded by large ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
How to disable all long range communications planet wide?
I'm wondering about ways to effectively disable all long range communications planet wide. I've looked into nuclear/emp for disabling sats, but what about other forms of long range comms? Doesn't have ...
3
votes
5answers
291 views
How could the Girl Scouts prove that Twinkies will trigger the zombie apocalypse?
Dear Journal,
I spent the morning planning on telling you about how Teresa MacPherson tried to steal Larry away from me and then how much fun last night's camp with the troop was... but I just ...
8
votes
8answers
518 views
How to alert Houston of the coming barbarian invaders in time, without instant communication?
Background
Centuries ago, nuclear inferno engulfed the world, and billions were killed. Most people were knocked back to Texas, one of the mightier states in the bygone era, was split up into many ...
-1
votes
1answer
93 views
Are satellite chat phones possible in the 80's?
Suppose you have a lots of funding and access to all the technology available in the free world. You also have political connection & persuasion, to get your hands on any of it, whether civilian ...
7
votes
7answers
2k views
How Would A Speedster Communicate?
Related to On a Speedster's perception of time and ability to function in civilian life
So I have a character that is always fast, a Speedster really, 1 second is 24 hours to her. As pointed out ...
2
votes
7answers
145 views
What reason would a sentient AI have to communicate to everyday people? [closed]
There is a sentient AI which humanity has no knowledge off. Initially it is on a single computer and spreads to more computers over time in order to utilize more computer power and become less reliant ...
3
votes
3answers
165 views
Communication via Magical Sound
I'm developing an animal that can do three things:
Memorization of sound
Mimicry
Long-distance sound "teleportation."
How could my animal's abilities work in reality?
Memorization of sound
The ...
5
votes
1answer
300 views
What useful information could a post-post apocalyptic world glean from a 4chan-like resource?
My post-post apocalyptic society (200+ years after the fall) is extremely technologically stratified, with the haves hoarding near-future technology and the have-nots making do with pre-industrial and ...
4
votes
2answers
143 views
Transmitting Digital Information Between Star Systems
I am familiar with the inverse-square law and how detrimental it will be to the power of radio signals as they advance outwards in space. Assume we have two (or why not more?) interstellar colonies, ...
5
votes
2answers
170 views
Deep Space Communication Infrastructure
What kind of technology would be required for a space travelling civilization to have an effective communication system or network that is similar in speed to the telegram? How would it work? This is ...
-2
votes
5answers
173 views
How to transform matter from an immaterial state to another more solid state
Does matter, physical things that can be observed and measured by our five senses, have wavelength (or phase) the way that radio waves do, and if so can that be manipulated somehow? Let me explain...
...
0
votes
1answer
112 views
How realistic are these levels of cryptographic advances within the setting described? [closed]
Recently, I've been musing about cryptographic applications of theoretical future technologies for (breaking) secure interstellar communications. The setting is a video game (Stellaris) featuring ...
1
vote
4answers
214 views
How to kill a clairvoyant [closed]
Vincent Ingram La Ine, the famous clairvoyant villain-for-hire, has decided after his most recent prison break (for plot reasons, clairvoyance isn't constant, and requires a crystal ball and lizard ...
3
votes
5answers
1k views
Post-apocalyptic telecommunications [closed]
Suppose in a post-apocalypse world, when modern industrial society has effectively collapsed. Travel is mainly by foot or horse and tools, carriages and so on are fairly primitive and trade mostly ...
1
vote
5answers
140 views
How do we make aliens interested in us? [closed]
We have finally found aliens!
From what we can observe, they are much more advanced than us (they probably have evolved millions of years before us!).
From our point of view, this experience is one ...
29
votes
7answers
6k views
How far away could two countries be to have a relationship in ancient times?
Nowadays distance between countries doesn't matter too much. One of the United State's worst enemies is on the other side of the world! There have been wars that are fought thousands of miles away ...
6
votes
7answers
1k views
Would any long-range communication exist if all buildings were destroyed?
In a hypothetical situation where ALL man-made structures on earth are destroyed (including servers, cell towers, radio antennas, etc.) but anything existing underground or in space (satellites) would ...
0
votes
2answers
104 views
Subtleties of the Atlantean language
The city of Atlantis is home to a race of people with multiple Cephalopod-like traits. For the purposes of this question only two are important, however. The first is that their hair, including any on ...
7
votes
4answers
383 views
How does a colony of sentient cockroaches communicate and establish diplomacy with humans?
In multiple regions of Earth, cockroaches developed sentience by means of a natural virus with mutagenic genes. A long time ago one such colony made its home inside a house of a scientist. The colony ...
