Clues to the nature of epiterrestrials from usage of the epi prefix?

Sensing Epiterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) (Part #8)

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The prefix epi-, or ep- (if followed by a vowel, as with epo, or the letter "h"), is derived from a Greek preposition meaning: above, on, over, nearby, upon, outer, besides, in addition to, among, attached to, or toward. (cf. Sanskrit api: also, besides; Avestan aipi: also, to, toward; Armenian ev: also, and; Latin ob: toward, against, in the way of). Before unaspirated vowels, reduced to ep-; before aspirated vowels, eph-. Extensively used in modern scientific compounds (e.g. epicenter).

The website More Words provides a List all words starting with epi -- some 328 (including grammatical and spelling variants). This offers access to a sorted version: The most frequently occurring words starting with epi of which some 30 are indicated as occurring more than once per million words of average text. That original list has been reduced to eliminate grammatical variants and clustered as follows. Other words located in web searches have been added. "EPI" is also used as an institutional or methodological acronym (as noted below), leading to related compound terms (epi+problem). Some may be proprietary (as creatively used by bloggers).

clusters		epi-terms
conceptual (philosophy)	knowledge	epignosis epimathematics epistemology episystem epi-thinking epirelational epimimetics ***
	?	epidimension epi-faith epiknowledge epimemetics epimental epimorphism epiphenomenalism epiphilosophy
	proprietary, compounds	epicomplex epiconcept epiconsciousness epilogic epimaths epiproblem epipsychology epireligion episciences epivalue etc etc
social	arts	epicedium epicene epigram epigraph epilogue epiphany epistle epistrophe epitaph epitasis epithesis epithet epitome epiverse epode eponym
	social	epicure epidynamic epigon episcopacy
form	time	epic epiphenomenon episode epoch
	geometry	epicenter epicontinental epicycle epifocal
	material	epidote epigenesis epilimnion epimer epinaoi epipelagic episcope epistyle epitaxy
biology	biology	epigenesis episome epistasis epitope
	botany	epicalyx epicotyl epidendrum epigeous epinasty epiterrestrial epiphyte episcia
	medicine	epidemic epidemiology epidural epilation epilepsy episiotomy epistaxis
	zoology	epiblast epiboly epicardium epicarp epicritic epicuticle epidermis epididymis epifauna epigastric epiglottis epigonatis epigyny epimylis epimysium epinotion epinephrin epineneucos epineurium epiphragm epiphysis epiplex epilokele epiplous epistome epithelium epizoon

The question is how "epi" indicates, to whatever degree, another sense or modality of organization which some infer -- to be contrasted with others more commonly used (as discussed below). Of some potential interest is therefore the use of "EPI" to make valued distinctions through proprietary naming (as noted above), as well as its use as the acronym of certain initiatives:

• Earth Policy Institute (EPI)
• Economic Policy Institute (EPI)
• European Partnership for Independence (EPI)
• Educational Policy Institute (EPI)
• European Pollinator Initiative (EPI)
• EPI Global: an organization promoting the practice of inclusive emergency management to the benefit of all people.
• Episciences-Maths: a project hosted by the CCSD (Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), supervised by an "Epicommittee" composed of leading mathematicians, in order to stimulate the constitution of editorial boards willing to create new "epijournals" (technical platform of peer-reviewing) in areas not yet covered. These open access electronic journals will take their contents from preprints deposited in open archives such as arXiv or HAL.

Of similar potential interest is the use made of "epi" in certain indicators and measures:

• Entropy Power Inequality (EPI)
• Ethical Positioning Index (EPI)
• European Participation Index (EPI)?
• Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

Of particular relevance to this argument is Extreme Physical Information (EPI), a concept in a theory of physics based on information. It is a principle that states that the precipitation of scientific laws can be derived through Fisher information, taking the form of differential equations and probability distribution functions. EPI can then be seen as an extension of information theory that encompasses much theoretical physics and chemistry (eg, Schrödinger wave equation, Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law). It can be used to derive a number of fundamental laws of physics, biology, chemistry and economics. EPI has also be seen as a game against nature. It is consistent with the recognition by physicist John Archibald Wheeler that:

All things physical are information-theoretic in origin and this is a participatory universe... Observer participancy gives rise to information; and information gives rise to physics.

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Suggestive indication of connotations between a "terrestrial" and an "epi" focus

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