Why is the US alone in SETI?

coalesce said:
To me, proof that there are other species out there that have the technology to try and look for others intelligent species means that just because we humans have a savage, violent streak in us that we don't have to give in to it; that we can evolve past that savagery to a more productive, positive path.
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Humans intelligent? Really? I suspect that any Aliens might be working with a different scale.

In my opinion species that haven't developed FTL communications just wouldn't be worth communicating with. In fact if I were an alien and I did discover Earth I would order an quarantine on the whole system.
 
AWPrime said:
Humans intelligent? Really? I suspect that any Aliens might be working with a different scale.

In my opinion species that haven't developed FTL communications just wouldn't be worth communicating with. In fact if I were an alien and I did discover Earth I would order an quarantine on the whole system.
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You're probably right: whatever other intelligent life is out there developed on a differently curve than we are. But there's one way of finding out how it was done: try to find them and ask.

Michael
 
Lets first invent FTL communications. And we have it then we should start to listen. And knowing our luck the first things we receive will be the scrabbled intergalactic porn channel.
 
coalesce said:
To me, proof that there are other species out there that have the technology to try and look for others intelligent species means that just because we humans have a savage, violent streak in us that we don't have to give in to it; that we can evolve past that savagery to a more productive, positive path.
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Not necessarily. What if that transmission we pick up when finally translated says: "Somebody help us! We're dying because we wrecked ourselves in stupid internecine warring!"
 
AWPrime said:
Lets first invent FTL communications. And we have it then we should start to listen. And knowing our luck the first things we receive will be the scrabbled intergalactic porn channel.
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Mmmmm....green boobs....

Michael
 
Corsair 115 said:
Not necessarily. What if that transmission we pick up when finally translated says: "Somebody help us! We're dying because we wrecked ourselves in stupid internecine warring!"
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Then at least it would mean that someone else was able to get to the point of some sort of interstellar transmission, and just because they killed themselves doesn't mean that we have to.

Do you think that a privately-funded project to see what else may be out there to be a fruitless endeavor? Personally, I support it with my CPU time, but to each their own.

Michael
 
Phaedrus74 said:
Make no mistake, I appreciate the significance of the discovery and that it would be very exiting. I am merely trying to clarify the reasoning behind not engaging in such a project.

With regards to the fact that the dicovery of extra-terrestrial intelligence would be a reason to assume we won't self-destruct. I think your reasoning is flawed considering the fact that we are trying to detect coherent radio-signals. Plenty of time after the invention of radio to self-destruct for any civilization.
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True enough, perhaps, but still, I'd like to try.

Michael
 
Corsair 115 said:
Not necessarily. What if that transmission we pick up when finally translated says: "Somebody help us! We're dying because we wrecked ourselves in stupid internecine warring!"
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And what if we later discovered that that translation... dun dun dun dun dundun.... came from Earth -- thousands of years in the future! *Twilight Zone music*
 
coalesce said:
Can you imagine Benny Hinn and his ilk's reaction to the realization that their God may not be the only God, that other beings have the outright temerity to have other beliefs? That alone is worth the price of admission!
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I wrote a short story for 10-grade English that featured a group of Christians making first contact with not one, but two civilizations. Then they discover that those two civilizations were once at war, but were now in a stand-off due to mutually-assured destruction.

The cause of the war? One civilization's Messiah was killed by hanging, and the other's was killed by drowning. Thus, the former wore nooses around their necks, and the latter wore small millstones around theirs.

When those civilizations realized that "our" Messiah was killed by crucifixion -- which they both considered a barbaric abomination -- they came together and declared Holy War on us!

The story was written in the first person (singular) as a series of journal entries of the last known survivor of the Christian Pan-Genocide.

I got a B+.

Maybe I can re-write it and post it somewhere.
 
Damien Evans said:
US alone in SETI?

Didn't SETI start at Jodrell Bank in the UK?
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I don't think so... Like a lot of things, it's hard to pinpoint an exact "start" for SETI since there have been several programs with similar goals at different times.

That said, I always thought the first full-fledged SETI program was at Ohio State University, but I could be wrong. That's where the famous "Wow!" signal was found, anyway.
 
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coalesce said:
Then at least it would mean that someone else was able to get to the point of some sort of interstellar transmission, and just because they killed themselves doesn't mean that we have to.
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Why are you assuming it'll be a deliberate transmission of any sort? Humanity has been unintentionally broadcasting its presence into space for, what, about eighty years now. Seems to me the first extraterrestrial transmission we discover has just as much chance of being some alien race's version of the sitcom as it does some deliberate beacon announcing their existence.
 
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Corsair 115 said:
Why are you assuming it'll be a deliberate transmission of any sort? Humanity has been unintentionally broadcasting its presence into space for, what, about eighty years now. Seems to me the first extraterrestrial transmission we discover has just as much chance of being some alien race's version of the sitcom as it does some deliberate beacon announcing their existence.
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I don't assume any one single signal. You're right--it could be an interstellar I Love Lucy. But just as we sent out a deliberate "hey, we're here" message on the Golden Record on a Voyager spacecraft, someone else may have sent a similar signal. Trying to say exactly what the message will be and in what form it will take is short-sighted. I would like to think it would be an unambiguously benevolent hello, but that doesn't mean that it MUST be that simply because I want it to be.

And what if the signal detected doesn't conform to what our pre-conceived notions of what the first proof of other intelligence ought to be? Does that mean we disregard the signal or message? Does that mean we shouldn't look at all? I disagree. I would want to continue to look and gather any and all ancillary scientific knowledge gained in that search. To me, it's the journey and not necessarily the destination that counts. And besides, I, for one, would welcome our new insect overlords.

Michael
 
fagin said:
Why do you naturally assume that aliens wouldn't be savage or violent.
They could be Klingons.
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Why do we assume that we aren't?

If you discovered evidence of humanity and had the choice to contact humanity or not, you might be tempted to take a look at humanity's behaviour to determine how humanity might choose to interact with you. Would you contact humanity?

I wouldn't. We are aggressive, violent, savage, everything-phobic, prone to extremes, in denial about everything, inflexible, destructive, unthinking, dogmatic. Sometimes I think that if we interacted with an alien species we would force them to exterminate us for their own protection...

Grim indictment, isn't it?
 
fagin said:
Not for much longer-

Worf reveals that the tribbles were hunted down and exterminated by the Klingon Empire; specially-trained warriors were sent to kill every tribble in existence, and an armada of Klingon vessels obliterated the tribble homeworld. - wiki
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Yeah, but then Sisko and crew went back in time and got some more.
 
coalesce said:
Does that mean we shouldn't look at all? I disagree. I would want to continue to look and gather any and all ancillary scientific knowledge gained in that search.
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Note that I never said I was against funding for SETI, I was just challenging your initially stated assumption over what the alien signal would be.

I have no problem with SETI being funded. The definitive proof of the existence of intelligent species elsewhere in our galactic neighbourhood would be a major discovery in my view.
 
Phaedrus74 said:
Make no mistake, I appreciate the significance of the discovery and that it would be very exiting. I am merely trying to clarify the reasoning behind not engaging in such a project.
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The exceedingly low odds of it "bearing fruit," mostly. (PS I like the idea of SETI as much as anyone - just answering the question)
 
Is SETI science? How could you prove that there was no life in the Galaxy (other than our own) that sends out radio waves? If you cannot, then SETI could go on forever.

How does it fit in with this loop?

Define the question
Gather information and resources (observe)
Form hypothesis
Perform experiment and collect data
Analyze data
Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis
Publish results
Retest (frequently done by other scientists)
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Scientific method.
 
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