But the humans not only don't recognize the aliens, they don't even see them.
Oankali apparently have no art (at least that humans would recognize), music or written language.
They are highly social, with family issues that humans may recognize.
"We will win this war before the humans even recognize the forces that have been arrayed against them."
But one day, he suspects, humans will not only recognize them but understand them.
The idea behind using faces is that humans easily recognize faces and notice small changes without difficulty.
Some humans can recognise consciousness in plants and effectively communicate with them.
The humans do not recognize the connection between the cradle and the spacecraft.
Since everything is basically Will, then humans and animals are fundamentally the same and can recognize themselves in each other.
Few humans could recognize any particular alien; to them all aliens looked alike.