Terrestrial Representation in SETI between History and Language

The International Academy of Astronautics SETI Permanent Committee is the only long-term non-governmental body where scientists meet to discuss all problems related to the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligent life. Its formation in the early days of SETI has been achieved through strenuous efforts to cooperate between the two sides of the geopolitical divide. During the Cold War, Czechoslovakian aeronautics engineer Rudolf Pešek (1905–1989) drove terrestrial communication between scientists in the US and the USA. Pešek coined the term CETI (Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligences), lobbied the authorities in his country, initiated a wide chain of correspondence, and got the newly founded organisation International Academy of Astronautics on board. Later, the acronym SETI gradually replaced CETI. Pešek was also leading another project in the IAA, the International Space Dictionary. The talk explores this history by reflecting on its significance and legacy today. More broadly, the talk touches upon the question of terrestrial representation in SETI throughout time, as well as the meaning behind terms used when that has consequences on the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligent life. The need for an international space dictionary and language barriers during the early days of CETI/ SETI was at the heart of international (extra)terrestrial cooperation. Today, this can serve to better address and understand terrestrial representation in SETI and its significance.