Alien: So why do you do it?
Human: We don’t know. But we do it for seven or eight hours every day or we’ll die.
Alien: Sounds boring.
Human: Not always. Sometimes they show movies.
Alien: Why do they do that?
Human: Dunno. You usually don’t remember them.
Alien: Weird.
If the aliens came from an extremely homogenous, cohesive species, they may have a hard time understanding our tribal nature. “So, humans tend to form into groups which disagree with other groups of humans, and each group tries its best to thwart the goals of the other group, and disavows the beliefs of the other group, even if there is scientific proof of those beliefs? And these differences go so far sometimes as to involve actual widespread killing? How have you accomplished anything as a species?”
Alien: “So you say that two species go on walks together?”
Human: “Yep.”
Alien: “And when the little one stops to take a shit, the big one picks it up and carries it in a bag until he can throw it away?”
Human: “That’s how it’s supposed to work.”
Alien: “And then when they get home the big one gives the little one a snack?”
Human: “usually.”
Alien: “But you are saying that the big one is the dominant species.”
Human: “Well sure. He’s the one who goes to work. Those treats sure aren’t cheap!”
Alien: “And while the dominant big one does these random tasks all day, what does the little one do?”
Human: “Sleep, mainly.”
I love SF stories where aliens can’t figure us out. One (from the 60s?) had a psychic alien’s journal with an entry to the effect of “There is this thing called LAFF that they do.I’ve never encountered a species with such joy. And the way they just empty their brains as they do it…”
Me: everyone in the US has the right to own one or more guns
Alien: guns are trophies to hang on the wall
Me: no, we shoot with them
Alien: what happens to someone or something that gets shot
Me: it gets destroyed
Alien: so guns are used to destroy other things
Me: well, only crazy people destroy things
Alien: so only crazy people have guns
Me: no. Everyone can have a gun. It’s for protection.
Alien: so it is dangerous to be a human. You must protect yourself with these guns.
Me: it’s not dangerous, most of the time. Some people like to carry them around, shoot at inanimate objects, kill animals for food, scare other people.
Alien: guns are toys that destroy other things. I understand