They're Made Out of Meat

So one of the biggest complaints regarding science fiction literature and movies I heard from my mother growing up is science fictions writers almost universal belief that any living being found in the universe would look so recognizably human. They would have two eyes, two leg, two arms, a torso etc. First, yes I grew up in a household where this was a topic of discussion... maybe after watching E.T, second this is what came to my mind when I read this short story. I'm not sure if it is a fundamental human shortcoming that we are unable to truly grasp the concept of the completely alien, but it is nice to think that other beings in the universe could have the same prejudice. Although doesn't that sort of make my point for me!