4 December 2023 - Some new decoders have joined, some have leftNew!!
As the decoding continues, it has become increasingly challenging summarising the various ideas created around the message by the Discord community over the past seven months. Some new decoders have joined, some have left, some are taking a pause, some are producing new ideas and visualisation efforts. Several Discord users have been especially active in the decoding effort: Impla007 has been generating many fascinating visuals experimenting with symmetrical shapes and various spatial orientations of the binary code. Humisevat Kunnaat has been creating various experimental sonification of the message; Luna started planning a Human Message to communicate with a potential extraterrestrial civilisation, combining both the collective and individual perspectives.
16 October - Studying the European standards for satellite transmissions
The Discord community has been studying the European standards for satellite transmissions and has applied this new knowledge to the decoding of the message. New theories around the structure of the message emerge.
Discord user Luna claims there is no single solution to the message as data can be interpreted in many different ways; Lokie imagines how a cat would interpret the message and writes a short science fiction story inspired by the decoding process; Impla007 projects the "Star Map" onto spherical coordinates system.
23 September - Some participants on Discord compare the pixels of the "Star Map" with whales clicks
Updates on the decoding process: some participants on Discord compare the pixels of the "Star Map" with whales clicks. Another participant overlaps the pixels with stars in M44. A collaborative approach starts prevailing over the individual pursuit.
17 September - A call for help from the inhabitants of Fomalhaut b
Could the message be a call for help from the inhabitants of Fomalhaut b, a planet that dissolved after an asteroid collision?
"I thought of a request for help from the inhabitants of a small planet that they would have liked to save but which unfortunately no longer exists." Thank you Rosanna D'Agostino for the fascinating theory around the "Star Map".
Graphic artwork: Rosanna D'Agostino.
22 August - Holograms and other physical representations
Members of the Discord community continue analising the header and footer of the message, creating holograms and other physical representations of what looks like a star map. A decoder is converting the star map into soundscapes. Although a community of 200-300 people is online at any given time of the day, posts in the interpretation-chat become fewer as people take a much needed break or a mental pause from the decoding process.
9 August - More 3 D forms are explored
Updates on the decoding process: More 3D forms are explored, could the message be something meant to be reconstructed in the real world? Various generations meet to find possible meanings. Is the message meant to be read on a sphere?
7 August - A variety of ideas are still being explored without a specific direction
Updates on the decoding process: a variety of ideas are still being explored without a specific direction. Some of the interesting experiments include more physical representations of the message through paper maquettes. The community questions if the message resembles a riddle. Humour glimpses into the chat.
1 August - Some decoders are taking the message into physical forms
The interpretation chat on Discord has been very active over the past few days. Some decoders are taking the message into physical forms, sketching the numbers down or creating origami. Folds and symmetries are tested to reveal the possible content of the message. Literary references from science and poetry dot the interpretation chat.
25 July - Creating a performance within the current performance
Members of the Discord community suggest creating a performance within the current performance, inspired by the decoding process. New treads emerge, exploring sonification possibilities of the message, analysing the header and footer and more. Another member of the community suggests creating a Wiki to structure all ideas and hypotheses presented so far. The interpretation-chat now exceeds 10,000 posts and it is becoming increasingly challenging to summarise all ideas and meanings created around the message. Many hours have been spent on the decoding process...
18 July - Chat GPT is used to interpret the message, producing some electronic poetry
Chat GPT is used to interpret the message, producing some electronic poetry: could the message say "do come here...enjoy the journey"? Other members of the Discord community continue exploring the theory of Cellular Automata; some interesting conversations take place; Sleepless Nights are spent finding an interpretation.
15 July - The theory of the message being a cellular automata is revived
The theory of the message being a cellular automata is revived. A new thread for this theory is started. Could the message be a quest for help from the character in Calvino's novel, in the language of cellular automata?
12 July - Discord community continues exploring 3D renderings of the message
The Discord community continues exploring 3D renderings of the message. Some theories directly link the message to Calvino's novel. One decoder suggests going back to the original data. Could the message be a reply to the Arecibo message? Some people keep decoding the message while on holiday.