There might be a way around this dilemma: Artificial robots may be more successful emissaries between interplanetary civilizations, since they could take on a more neutral form. Another solution would be mimicry. Many science fiction aliens, from The Man Who Fell to Earth to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, take human form when they come visiting.

Religious questions also come into play when discussing the otherness of aliens. How would the major religions on our planet deal with the discovery of intelligent aliens? At the 2015 Library of Congress meeting, Brother Guy Consolmagno from the Vatican Observatory said he was once asked whether he would baptize an alien. I thought his answer was very smart. He said yes, but only if the alien wants to.

Of course, some Eastern traditions like Buddhism would do away with notions of “self” and “other” altogether. Perhaps that is the key insight that will allow us, and perhaps other civilizations hoping to travel among the stars, to meet each other with open arms, rather than with weapons drawn — even if some of us (or them) might still have a deep nagging feeling inside of being repelled by alien otherness.