Life After People

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, SETI is looking for artificial-sounding blips. Patterns.

That's my point- if artificial signals get obscured, lost in the general background noise of the cosmos after about 1-2 light years, what can SETI say they are justified in looking/listening for when our nearest neighbor is Proxima Centauri (4.22 light years)?

I mean, I'm all for looking for intelligent life, but it would seem that listening for signals from intelligent life that are of the type that become indistinguishable from natural signals in 1/2 the distance to Proxima Centauri would be a waste of time and money.

 

[bento]

I side with the group of scientists who don't WANT our signals picked up from deep space.

"McDonalds's - Only 5 Light Years Ahead! Now Serving Deep-Fried Humans!"

 

[Mark]

I side with the group of scientists who don't WANT our signals picked up from deep space.

"McDonalds's - Only 5 Light Years Ahead! Now Serving Deep-Fried Humans!"

Twice-Battered Carbon Chunks (on a stick).

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

That's my point- if artificial signals get obscured, lost in the general background noise of the cosmos after about 1-2 light years, what can SETI say they are justified in looking/listening for when our nearest neighbor is Proxima Centauri (4.22 light years)?

Perhaps they're using Really Good transmitters and on the wavelengths that don't have noise?

The nice thing is that, ahem, this means we aren't broadcasting our presence to any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Brad

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Which works well for the Greg Bears of the world...being hidden has its merits.

But being hidden has its problems, too.

What if we're slated for demolition to clear the way for a hyperspace bypass and nobody bothers to tell us...because they don't know we're here?

Still, if "They are out there," we need to find them, and therein lies the problem. SETI is, AFAIK, the only organized effort to find extraterrestrials. If they've come forth and stated that their main search method is unlikely to find anything, how will they be able to justify their continued funding and/or schedule time on radio telescopes to conduct their search?

IOW, with SETI's best tool somewhat discredited by SETI itself, they've endangered their own mission, and there may not be anyone to step up to continue the search.

 

[Mark]

Which works well for the Greg Bears of the world...being hidden has its merits.

It kept us safe from the Goa'uld for a long time.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Who says were hidden. Someday you may have a chance to sue the aliens who abducted your ancestors.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Not really- they (and others) found us thousands of years ago (before we had any broadcasting tech), enslaved us, left then forgot us... We were "hidden" more because of internal Goa'uld politics than anything else.

Besides, none of the other inhabited worlds are within that 1-2 lightyear radius, same as IRL.

Come to think of it, I don't think any species who hasn't experienced humanity up close and personal mentioned our broadcasts...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

A funny mix of real science and science fiction going on here, guys.

I suppose the hope of SETI is that some aliens send simply stronger signals then us.

We have no idea how likely it is that other intelligent lifeforms exist, or how many of them exist at the moment. Adding the uncertainity of a high-powered communication signal doesn't really change much.

In the end, SETIs finances aren't justified by the likelihood of its finding anything, but by the impact it would have if they find anything.

In some ways, it is a game-changer. Finding out that we are not the only intelligent species around will change our perception of ourselves and our place in this world.

On the other hand, it will barely impact our day-to-day lives.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In the end, SETIs finances aren't justified by the likelihood of its finding anything, but by the impact it would have if they find anything.

Objectively, yes, but its not likely that the people who sign those big, big checks feel the same way.