Kind of like how the Playstation in the US uses o as cancel , and x as confirm . I recently acquired a PS Vita from Japan and o is confirm , and x is cancel . So confusing . <| sep |> French fries dipped in a milk shake <| sep |> Yea I do see some of my statements are incoherent . Wrote it in a rage . First of all , the aliens do not seem to possess any visual reception eyes . It is hard to argue that the alien can distinguish boards from human body . The approach to start writing something and expect to explain it does not really work . This is similar to why you cant teach dogs or cats from showing them picture of words alone . And if they are fishlike , we have no idea how they perceive images . So going in with that is a big leap of faith with no scientific backgrounds . At the end of the movie , Amy Adams tried to teach the language to everyone in the world . That is the main point . The alien needs our help , and it can only be achieved if human can use this language . Using this language , we can see the future . Therefore , humanity , with such diversity , when we can see the future , some will definitely try to change it . This also agrees with the point about free choices and future . If the alien knew that one of them will die explaining the stuff , and they still do it , it is their choice . However , in human context , it is hard to say you will still do it knowing you will die . Especially since this is all about miscommunication . Presumably , since the alien knew in the future , human will work with them , they should understand human ' s languages . Therefore , that death is totally avoidable , and by accepting that , we surrendered our free choice for the sake of getting things done .