Abstract

Statistical criteria used today in the analysis of radio signals suspected on reasonable extraterrestrial origin, are based on the assumption that all the radio signals of natural origin are described by a Gaussian distribution, which is traditionally understood as the Gauss distribution. Usually the normal distribution is opposed to all the others. However, this is difficult to recognize the reasonable, because in nature there are many different distributions. The article offers a more realistic dichotomy: the Gaussian distributions, obeying the central limiting theorem, dominate in nature, while non-Gaussian ones, obeying the Gnedenko-Doeblin limiting theorem, are generated by intelligent beings. When identifying objects belonging to an extraterrestrial civilization described by a non-Gaussian distribution is preferable to use the rank form distributions. Using this criterion is associated with certain difficulties: in nature there are also non-Gaussian distributions; in their activities animals generate non-Gaussian distributions like humans; the identification of non-Gaussian distributions in the rank form is hampered sometimes by the rank distortion effect of mathematical nature.