[...]does having interstellar technology automatically mean they must be scientific? Could there be technological but nonscientific aliens out there, capable of crossing the vast emptiness of space without understanding the physics of their amazing leaps?

It’s tempting to think that aliens would have to be scientific to develop that technology. But is that leap of logic founded in insight—or ignorance? Is mathematical, scientific thought actually a requirement for advanced technology, or is it just the only path we can imagine to achieving space travel?

Our own history tells us that the connection between science and technology is not so simple. On Earth, civilization has been technological for thousands of years, well before the recent advent of what we consider modern mathematical, empirical science.

How did the ancient Egyptians build the pyramids? It wasn’t ancient aliens. This would be a much shorter book if it were. To construct their monumental architecture, ancient Egyptians did not rely on physics and material science as we understand them, either. What built the pyramids was a skilled grasp of technology, honed through practice, accident, and cultural memory. A couple of thousand years after he died, the designer of the first pyramid was worshipped as a god, which is sort of like the Nobel Prize of the ancient world.

Similarly, blacksmiths learned to make swords that kept their edge by experimenting with various techniques, making discoveries through happy accidents, and refining their craft over generations. The very precise craft of metallurgy that forms the foundation of a skilled sword maker’s work was explained primarily through the how. The question of why was secondary.

The same is true of beer, bread, yogurt, and cheese. Humanity has a weird alliance with a variety of opportunistically cooperative microorganisms that make some of our favorite treats. Techniques to take advantage of these micro-critters were discovered and developed independently over and over again in many places, well before anyone invented a microscope and figured out what was going on. Until then, it seemed like such a magical process that most places that developed fermentation also had an associated god who was kind enough to make it possible. Even today, one can make an excellent soufflé by following a recipe, without understanding the kitchen chemistry at the heart of the process. A soufflé is not a spaceship, but you get the idea.

To make bread or swords, humans didn’t have to know what was going on at the microscopic level. People all over the globe had fantastically impressive technology long before we had our modern, mathematical, empirical science.