The nature of binary representations of floating-point is that nice bit-patterns make for round numbers and vice-versa, so I’m not sure that we can conclude a lot from that. The fact that the floating-point interpretation of the data results in numbers that cluster around certain values is telling, but could still be a red-herring. Part of my reluctance to endorse that theory is narrative: we were told that this is a simulated alien message, and what are the odds that aliens have independently invented double-precision floating point?
In any case, I’m reading those threads attentively, but in the meantime I’m going to pursue some hunches of my own.
The nature of binary representations of floating-point is that nice bit-patterns make for round numbers and vice-versa, so I’m not sure that we can conclude a lot from that. The fact that the floating-point interpretation of the data results in numbers that cluster around certain values is telling, but could still be a red-herring. Part of my reluctance to endorse that theory is narrative: we were told that this is a simulated alien message, and what are the odds that aliens have independently invented double-precision floating point?
In any case, I’m reading those threads attentively, but in the meantime I’m going to pursue some hunches of my own.