I asked.

"Present a bit of a difficulty. They're insoked." [Another internal word, meaning that they're interested in the world and don't make judgements about it based upon a recieved understanding. That's the best that I can do </shrug>.]

"They seem like us, first-rate, third-rate minds."

"So why don't we understand them?"

"They seem to have no understanding of maths."

I laughed, "you mean that we can't communicate our understanding."

"No, it appears that they have no conception of the natural numbers."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"They seem to be fractal. Dimensions, they always see things rationally."

"So why aren't we?"

"We are a bit...", he [me] waved a hand to indicate the four of us.

"But..."

"See. That's the difficulty."

"It's not that they can't conceive a zero, it's that they can't conceive a one."