Should we be phoning E.T.?

Connie, Haltom City, TX — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:47:43 GMT

Why are we getting so worried about signals broadcasted into outer space? Are those signals being received by anything at all? What is it we're sending will instigate a war? Why is there a worry? We shouldn't be getting paranoid... btw, has anyone tried receiving signals from space? Most people don't believe "aliens" exist at all... if they did, maybe we oughta receive something, even by now... Just wondering...

Should we be phoning E.T.?

steve smyth — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:52:31 GMT

The Aliens have all been listening to Howard Stern...if they haven't attacked yet, we're OK.
What makes these Folks think aliens are all so far away?
They also get webcasts, porno, and various wacky commentators all day long from our telecom transmissions.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Dennis, St. Petersburg, FL — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:56:41 GMT

What's in it for ET? If they are advanced enough to hear our messages, travel all the way to us, and enslave/destroy us, what do they gain? What is the reward thet would be worth the (presumably high) cost of travelling here that they couldn't get from uninhabited or at least uncivilized worlds?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Steve J, Plainsboro, NJ — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:38:29 GMT

IMHO, This is just silly. First, all our transmissions from the first radio to the text message you just sent are already headed out there. Too late, if they want to find us they already would have a head start.

Second, if ET's were bad guys they would have come by now. If you were an advanced warlike race with wonderful space travel ablities, would you have waited until some planet actually had weapons that might actually hurt you? No, you would come when we had muskets and such, less chance for failure.

Face facts, IF ET had evil intents, we would have been gone by now. Of course, as he reads the inane comments by Brin, (the internet is beamed too), they would have decided there was no sign of intelligent live here already.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Nathan Holtsclaw, Akron, Ohio — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:41:09 GMT

I understand the excitement of and need for exploration, advancement, and discovery. However, is this really the best time to be spending resources on calling ET? At the moment, I believe we need to get back to basics, get out of this recession, and settle the genocides, wars, and poverty of this world. How much did NASA spend to beam a Beatles song toward Polaris? Now, how many people cannot afford gasoline, food, shelter, insurance? Where are our priorities as a civilization? Call ET or don't call ET, but let's take care of ourselves first.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Ed Lawrence, Boston, MA — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:46:23 GMT

Put me down as supporting Mr. Brin.
The people who assume that aliens will be cute and friendly (i.e like ET) seem to have only one argument 'that anyone intelligent enough to receive signals will have gone through its awkward stage'. Our species is already listening for signals, and we certainly aren't through our 'awkward stage'.

Even my wife, when I read her the article, replied, "So they don't believe in those warrior races from Star Trek?" I told her she meant Klingons.

We would do well to think of all the horrible things that happened on Earth when advanced cultures and more primitive cultures met. Generally, the less advanced culture was wiped out due to disease, religious intolerance, superior numbers or technology of the more advanced culture.

Brin is right. Only one good thing might happen. A thousand bad things could happen, most of which would be very bad for humans.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Larry House, Boston, Ma. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:28:23 GMT

I think transmitting into space is currently a bad idea. If the speed of light is the limiting factor in interstellar travel there are only two valid reasons to do so. One is to leave one's home system never to return and become explorers, traders and tourists. The other is to find a new home when one's star or home world is dying. A quick review of our own history with advanced cultures interacting with less advanced cultures is highly predictive. The threat of a desperate race looking for a new home is the most likely alien encounter that we will have. We won't need far out aliens, just another race of humans with a different skin color and religion and we will be at war.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Shawn McClenahan, Woodland Hills, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:33:15 GMT

Brin wrote "The Postman" a novel about the destruction of our society because of the influence of a survivalist cult. It part it was because he disliked people who prepare for civilization's collapse (feel free to correct me) as too anti-social. It sounds like he is reading elements of his own book (not the same as the movie) into his own present, perceived reality. It seems the paranoia in the book of the evils of technology misused has now blossomed fully into the envisionment of the greatest boogeyman of all - planetfall - alien invasion. Perhaps another book of creative fiction is in the works?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:36:38 GMT

I don't know about a total alien civilization or 2 or 3 or however many actually reacting in such a way if they have received our beacons, but I do have this other idea that was sort of dealt with in A.C. Clarkes "Rondezvous with Rama" or a Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine".

Consider long extinct highly advanced beings that built complete self sustaining "robotic" or cy-borg like interstellar machines just travelling aimlessly only to react too electro-magnetic signals of obvious intelligent design. A planet buster? An ambassador of "the Gods"?

Personally, I don't think a real civilization would just be booting around interstellar space waiting to home in on some signals.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Marie, Palmer, Alaska — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:41:27 GMT

I am another vote in the "cautious" column. Just as not all humans I might reach with a broadband transmission are friendly, I dare not suppose that any extraterrestrials that I may or may not contact would be friendly either. That is, assuming they understand the context of the message as anything other than "sun spots".

Granted, the odds of there being another space-traveling species within "hearing" distance is very low. But if you were to look at all of the humans in hearing distance of your call, what percentage of them would you be willing to invite open-armed into your home?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

HetNet, Little Rocl, AR — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:43:10 GMT

My concern for years has been what WE are....
If we're not killing someone "else", of another religion or race or culture, we'll happily start killing each other...
Our entire history, art, and cultures are rife with our innate violence and our inability to move away from that.
I think that any intelligence that has the ability to recognize that they've detected us would be put off by what they see in all these TV and radio transmissions...It consists largly of us blowing others up or setting them on fire....
What would YOU do if you encountered a species that was very close to being able to come to YOU and that constantly demonstrated that the only way they know how to deal with anything different in even a minor degree is to attack it and destroy it?

I am quite convinced that if we DID encounter another species, of any kind....We would almost immediately try to kill it...

We always have concerning everything else we've dealt with, and I see no reason to assume we won't continue to do so...

I'd have to hazard that if any truly advanced intelligence IS watching us....They're preparing to wipe us OUT if we DO start heading thier direction....It would be a neccesity simply for survival given our history and innate violent natures.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Ray Geller, Jacksonville, NC — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:47:27 GMT

Question, is the worry because there is already the hint that someone is listening?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Steve Johnson, West Paterson, N.J. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:17:51 GMT

So Alan, what about some facts to help this discussion along. What's actually getting sent out and how directional is it, i.e., do TV signals go out as a big wave that eventually crests on every planetary shore? Or is it more like a cellphone call, aimed at one cell tower and in order to pick it up, you need to be in line-of-sight to the tower? And even given how fast the signals leave Earth, what percentage of the Milky Way, not to mention the Universe, can tune in to MSNBC by now? And given all of that clutter, how do scientists design their signal to stand out?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

cody mccall — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:24:42 GMT

Remember the original 'Alien' movie? Remember what Ripley wondered aloud . . . is that beacon a plea for help--or a warning? We have no idea what's 'out there'. Not a clue. It--they--could be our most fervent hope--or our worst nightmare. We don't know. And it IS a possibility we might not find out til it's too late. We assume the 'aliens' will be like ET--small, cuddly, cute. Or not. We assume the vast distances of space protect us. Sort of the Pearl Harbor mentality. The speed of light may NOT be an absolute barrier. There may be other modes of getting from there to here that we can't imagine. Think about it: we don't even know what 96% of our universe is made of. Which means we DO understand almost nothing! The future is going to be full of strangeness and weirdness. I hope it's friendly strange--but there are no guarantees.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Al Vince, Las Vegas, NV — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:44:18 GMT

Seems like a bunch or rhetoric to me...

"If they wanted to find us, and destroy us, they would have done it by now" How do you know they haven't and are not in the process of it, right now? My belief is a superior entity wouldn't waste its time or effort "destroying" but would rather "control". Knowing how to manage or control valuble resources is a skill that I am sure any intelligent being would be good at. With that said, they have most likely been here a long time ago, and are still here... cloaked and hidden. "Wizard of Oz" It's pretty simple to understand really.

"If we have been sending signals out into space, wouldn't they have responded already?" Now you really think, the government is going to tell you or us, either way?

I am sure, or pretty sure, that we deploy similar systems that would be used on a inerstellar/galactic level. Any intelligent entitity, within other groups of the same, would have some type of security council or senate. This would be a good reason, why you dont have "rebel" ETs out there just hopping from planet to planet, destroying them. I am sure it's against "galactic law". Any intelligent entity would have some type of law, such as our own. Barbaric type of creatures, probably dont make it too far up the "intelligent entity" ladder, if you know what I mean.

At this point, you really have to be stubborn or a straight caveman, to believe there is no such thing as ETs. Billions of years ago, The universe was billions of years old... before the milky way was a spark, there were ancient advanced civilizations.

So once you realize "we are not alone", then try to figure out the answers.

Put 2 and 2 together...

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Steve G — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:46:27 GMT

Ha-ha! It's a long way to go for human burgers. What's really the worry here? That something really gets a kick out of killing humans? That Earth-like planets are in short supply?

Number 1, we're already unintentionally sending tons of signals into space and no one is willing to "cloak" the planet.

Number 2, it takes anything thousands of years to get to our planet, and people are deluding themselves if they think that we would be so alluring to any advanced otherwordly civilization.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Ezaraudin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:51:16 GMT

The best evidence that there is intelligent life in the Universe other than Man is that they HAVEN'T contacted Earth.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Bob DFW TX — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:55:05 GMT

"we can't se the forest for the trees", comes to mind as we imagine all the different , strange lifeforms that could exist on a planet circling another star...It makes me want to lol. If they could exist on the strange planet of another star why have we completely discounted the 'possibility' that they could exist on one of the strange planets of our own star? Oh, I forgot, we have already 'conquered' our solar system and are heading to the stars.. Now I really will lol. Has anyone noticed that Saturn has a huge Hexagon at one of it's poles and an unusually strong storm at the other pole? "Aliens" may be right here close to us and we are too dumb to realize it.
Bob

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mike, Houston,TX — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:37:57 GMT

Aliens certainly exist...no doubt. God also exists and He is not going to allow any aliens to destroy the Earth.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Marty, Carson City, NV — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:40:32 GMT

Stephen Hawking may have said it best - we should keep our heads low, considering how our own speces treats each other. Weak signals from broadcasts are not the same as powerful, concentrated ones. Also, how would we know what 'stage' is next, for our own or any other speces? Maybe there is a reason we haven't found anyone else after decades of listening. They may have heard something they didn't like before making the mistake of speaking up.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Michael Parks, Roseville, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:48:42 GMT

Applying human paranoia to the contemplation of galactic faring beings seems so... typically human.

Think: a race able to cross the cosmos to hunt down stray signals? Wouldn't such a race likely have sensing equipment already scanning systems, capable of locating life? And, assuming we haven't been found already, what increase in percentage chance would our radio waves offer for detection over, say, the lightwaves from New York or Paris (all lit up beautifully)? Shall we also start darkening our cities at night? Ah hem... people, please!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Don Boyer, Haleiwa, Hawaii — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:21:16 GMT

I find the discussion a little bit too late. Our electronic signals have been blasting out to space for quite some time, are way ahead of any artifact we've sent out for the foreseeable future.

If these kinds of human action invite alien contact, then we'd better prepare for the range of contact probabilities we will need to deal with -- a friendly check-in by Vorlons looking for "The One" or, on the other end of the scale, contact with xenomorphs that carelessly leave large eggs laying about. In either case, the human race will be in need of sympathy.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

J. McIntyre, Seattle, WA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:26:15 GMT

This lune like everyother blogger wants attention. I do not what his degree is in, but I would not worry about an invasion.
I would worry more about us destroying ourselves. Between Global Warming, terrorist getting a biological or nuclear weapon, aliens would not have to invade. There has to be someone left to invade.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Sy Sibi — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:29:06 GMT

They are out there! They listen carefully. They have already decided why waste their time and precious fuel at $299.9/gal to come here and wipe us out. They know we are doing a fine job of it by ourselves. Just wait about another 1.5 Delgork periods (2010 earth years)and we will poison ourselves to death. Then come by and pick up the spoils.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

johnny — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:31:52 GMT

I don't want to give anyone bad dreams when they go to bed tonight, but, another more advanced life form maybe hungry and look at life on earth as food. When you eat chicken do you consider how the chicken feels about your intentions. Imagine another more advanced life form part machine that cannot be killed by viruses or bacteria chowing down everything including viruses for dinner. I think we should be more concerned about improving the livability and viability of not polluting and exterminating anymore species on our planet. goodnight p.s. ...sweetdreams

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Doug Robertson, San Francisco, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:32:47 GMT

As babies, we learn that a flame is hot. Unfortunately, we learn this fact a little too late regardless of what we're told by our guardians. In terms of the Universe's age, humans are infants. Some might even claim that we just a sparkle in our parent's eyes. As challenging as it may be we should try to think like "universal adults." After all, considering our water, protein, vegetation, and mineral resources Earth is a gold mine to any race looking for such gold. Let's be careful to whom we advertise our treasure map to.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

r.white, Colorado Springs CO — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:43:40 GMT

This may be a small world, but the universe is enormous. For the signals to reach Polaris it would take around 430 light years. All the crap we pump into the air hasnt traveled all that far. We can see far into space because that light has been traveling for thousands of years.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

madthom — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:03:45 GMT

There has been so many sightings for thousands of years it's arrogant for us to think only we are advanced. If anything, why worry? If they have millions of years head start technologically,they can find other means to circumvent traveling the speed of light and getting here almost instantly. That kind of technology is so overwhelming it would appear to us as magic. Remember, 50-60 years ago we thought the universe was our galaxy! We are but a blip on the time-line. It would take either assistance from 'outside', which I believe has been going on at some level for a very long time, or thousands of years of R&D to find how to stabilize worm holes or warp space in front of a ship to get around Einstein's rules at traveling faster than light. It can't be done. What if a small asteroid were to wander those light years away when we 'engage' and find ourselves light years away? We could easily arrive, but with a small asteroid penetrating the ship or the people aboard-or, decompressing to a vacuum at the least. NOT LIKE TV.
BOTTOM LINE- If they wanted to cause harm we couldn't do a darn thing. I guess ignorance is bliss.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Joe C, Dallas, TX — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:05:31 GMT

I believe we should be listening and should be cautious with our transmissions. Every discovered people in the history of our planet have been conquered. I prefer that our role be that of the benevolent discoverer.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Suzy, Melbourne, Australia — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:09:35 GMT

Seeing as the human race is doing a good job of destroying the environment and itself already, an alien invasion is the least of our worries! Maybe the aliens would do a better job at saving the Earth - a "hostile takeover" by "new management".

Should we be phoning E.T.?

David — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:22:14 GMT

Since tv started broadcasting we have been sending signals to space. It's a bit late to be concerned about signals and such.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Elbows n 'ass — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:23:05 GMT

Its already too late, they are on the way and we wont survive.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim, Moravia, NY — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:29:17 GMT

I think it's irresponsible to beam messages to space in efforts to let "them" know we are here. What if? What right does anybody have to play cutesy games with my world? They could already be heading here or staging for an invasion - sounds whacky - but in a universe are huge and diverse as we have - anything is possible. These ET enthusiast need to stop with the games that can put us all at risk - even if the odds are slim. These folks are really naively reaching for something to fulfill an emptiness and discontent in their lives. They have to believe there is something "better" out there to save us from our misderable state. The real answers are not "out there" but within each of us.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Flaming Pope — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:46:38 GMT

Why would any advanced race invade us? Answer: Living Space and rare resource deposits

Aside from that I would welcome any advanced civilization

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Brandy, Atlanta, GA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:11:58 GMT

Irrespective of one's view on the existence of aliens, if we are going to be sending these messages out, such broadcasts should be regulated.

It may sound absurd, but in a worst case scenario man could very well be the indigenous tribe with lovely land (and E.T. the conquistadores.)

The point is that we just don't know.

Common sense alone calls for a degree of caution and thoughtful reflection when the stakes are so very high.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Jim R., Glendale, AZ — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:32:24 GMT

Maybe the ETs will show up hoping to attend a Beatles concert.

I think this is much ado about nothing. Given the realities of physics and the distances between stars, the possibility of any civilization reaching another star is very remote. Going such vast distances to wage war? Preposterous!

IF, and I mean if, we ever receive a signal from afar, then we should get together and decide how to respond. As far as sending signals, I do think it's a good idea to be more systematic rather than sending messages haphazardly.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

David Brin, San Diego CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:45:39 GMT

David Brin here, responding to this mostly-fair, but still a bit misleading article.

Most of your commenters, so far, have gone for the classics, like "it's already too late!" But the Seti Institute itself has made clear that it is an old wives' tale that "I Love Lucy" reaches the stars. Simple calculations show that no TV or even radar transmission has ever had the narrow angular footprint that could make it recognizable, even at the nearest star. But narrow beams, like those used in METI, CAN dramatically alter Earth's radiation signature from afar. Folks who sneer "ofcourse!" really ought to ponder the possibility that they don't know enough, yet, for an opinion.

Likewise, I have never, ever mentioned fear of invasion by slathering alien hordes. Not... ever. The emphasis is on the fact that we simply do not know anything about what's out there, and hence, it might be nice to talk about it a bit, before leaping ahead and shouting "Yoohoo!" We are the youngest tech-species in a daunting new jungle.

Shouldn't we consult all our sages? Historians, biologists, philosophers, legal scholars, before letting one small group of radio astronomers decide our destiny, rolling dice based on their own assumptions?

Generally, first contacts between species... and between Earth cultures... went badly at first. I hope and pray that won't be the case when we contact others out there. I have written scores of popular stories about good and bad contact events and I can tell you, the range of possibilities is immense. Let's talk them over a bit before plunging in. THAT is all I've asked.

Please read the links given about... the "shouting" link and the "singularities" link. We can argue decently. Like informed people.

With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Bob, Florence, SC — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:03:30 GMT

There are many different points to address this argument with, but only three important facts: we're sending signals out, those signals won't reach another star for hundreds of years, and we aren't receiving any signals.

I'm seeing alot of arguments in other peoples' comments that are based on assumptions that we can't make. The 'what do aliens get by invading us' argument, for example, assumes that aliens think like we do. For all we know, there may be an alien race out there that just likes to kill things for no logical reason (come to think of it, I think that race is here). The 'any alien race that can get to us wouldn't want to hurt us' argument makes the same fallacy. The 'damage is already done because we've been sending signals out for years' argument is not a sure bet. Maybe the signals we've sent are too low power to be detected by aliens. Maybe our signals have been overshadowed by astronomical events like novae or gamma ray bursts (we won't see these events, if they are happening now, for years). Maybe our signals haven't reached any intelligent races yet. There are simply too many unknowns to say that we are safe in sending these signals out. By actively sending signals into space we are essentially standing on top of the Eiffel Tower during a violent thunderstorm and we're merely lucky that we haven't been electrocuted yet. It's time to come down and go inside.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Anthony Wrifford, Columbia, SC — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:06:49 GMT

[B.S.] Sure, and I suppose the aliens might be terrorists, as well, huh?
They remain silent because we are of no consequence. We are likely so inconsequential that a message from us is tantamount to a buzz from a bug to us. They don't want our world because it, too, is inconsequential. There are probably as many habitable planets in the universe as stars in the sky (literally).

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Alan Boyle — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:15:13 GMT

I'll add a bit of information here:

1. I did refer to the fear of alien invasion in the first paragraph of this item, but since David feels this is a bit misleading, I'm softening that reference somewhat.

2. On how much can be heard from Earth ... Seth Shostak said in his paper that TV signals don't go all that far before they disperse, while military radar signals go farther. Here's how SETI @ Home addressed the topic in their FAQ:

http://seticlassic.ssl.berkeley.edu/faq.html#q4.1

"What sort of spectrum is currently being emitted by earth? Is that signal visible say 10 or 50 light years away? If SETI were on a planet say 10-50 light years from here and running this project there, would it be able to detect earth's signal (assuming it was looking in our direction)?

"Earth is polluting space with radio and television signals that might be detected by nearby advanced civilizations, but it would be difficult for such a civilization to discover these signals if they only have Earth's current level of technology (eg: if they have an Arecibo like telescope and SETI@home like search).

"Early TV shows like I Love Lucy and Ed Sullivan left the earth about 40 years ago, so have gone out 40 light years, reaching several thousand nearby stars. But these signals are relatively weak and SETI@home is not likely to detect the equivalent of Earth type TV transmitters, even on the nearest stars.

"Earth's strongest transmitters might be somewhat easier to detect, such as those emitted by military radars, or some radio telescopes. The Arecibo telescope transmits very powerful signals when it is used as a radar system to study planets, asteroids and the ionosphere. These radar signals are powerful enough to be detected 10,000 light years away by searches like SETI@home, except for three big caveats:

"a) The Arecibo transmissions are in a very tight beam (they are not omnidirectional, like TV and military radar), so they only cover a very small part of the sky at once (about a millionth of the total sky). It is unlikely another civilization will be within one of these narrow beams.

"b) The Arecibo transmitter's oldest signals left Earth about 30 years ago, so have only travelled 30 light years.

"c) SETI@home is not searching the band of frequencies that the Arecibo transmitters utilize (although our older SERENDIP III program did survey one of those bands)."

[Alan here again...] 3. I've tried to get in touch with Seth, but he's out of the office. Nevertheless, he addressed many of the issues related to transmitting signals to E.T. in this 2006 article:

http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_transmit_060525.html

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Patrick Bishop, Caldwell, NJ — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:39:34 GMT

How weak of a signal will we be able to detect in a hundred years...in a thousand? In a thousand years, we could probably detect a signal broadcast from a trucker's CB radio in 2008 and bounced back at us from an asteroid in a star system 500 light years away. We could probably detect a transmitter as powerful as our most powerful today from the other side of the known universe.

The issue of signaling ET directly is irrelevant. If they are out there and listening with instruments that are sufficiently advanced, it is inevitable that they will detect us.

If they are also as advanced socially as they are technologically, given the dubious nature of the signals emerging from Earth, they will probably not be in a hurry to contact us. More likely, they will put an interstellar quarantine on our whole solar system.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Focus Inward Marietta GA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:04:54 GMT

Forgot all outer world life forms and remember that it is the Intelligence that is beyond space and time and on this planet, humans can be receptive to it and we all are a blend of it right now, but a weak one.
Jesus had more of this divine intelligence flowing, and Einstein mentioned it came from outside.
So, take more time each us to increase the trickle to a flow, like so many others have written about and it is that heaven within and we are all Gods and all miracles of Jesus attributed to it, and perhaps the only solution to global warming, which looks like the wrath of God from the Old Testament days. We have many more live prophets today and I feel great scientists only need tweeking a little by Intelligence willing to tweak when the human form is receptive to It and not presenting lower self interference. It is increasing the blend of lower self and higher self and I feel our divine human right and let the political systems adjust to that.
The more people turn within from this current outer ward view, the more realized that Intelligence is behind all of nature, makes trees of seeds, and we are the same and have no rights to ignore nature and destroy it for human comforts. Not only wine from water and one fish to feed many, but consider 1 billion Jesus like human forms, like he said we are all Gods, but perhaps the ability to multiply earths.
We as humans can't get to the next star system using all of earth's resources. I think we can move much quicker within this Intelligence that dwells within, which is beyond Space and Time limitations and now being practiced in secret and not realized as a divine right for all people. Hard to build a military with people who love all people, so there are some obstructions at odds with this. I would say that the great scientists have a higher blend of this higher self alongside their lower self created at age 2 or so and conditioned and trained and educated but at the same time a higher self nourishment flowing and not the normal trickle that most now have.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Christian, South Africa — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:23:56 GMT

I think that we should not encourage contact between ourselves and civilisations out there, if any exist. The universe is a big place and we are arrogant to even assume that 'aliens' will come here for whatever reason.

On the other hand we are creating a noose for ourselves and we are running a huge risk for everyone on earth.

[...]

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Timmy in Phoenix — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:30:25 GMT

Whats disturbing to me is the lack of understanding of the scope of the potential problem. The situation is that we are dealing with an unknown that is UNKNOWABLE. We are talking about aliens as if they were our neighbors. Keep in mind that what the word "alien" means is something outside of our experience. These are not illegal aliens, these are true alien beings. How can any of us, any of you, possibly be so arrogant as to quote statistics, probabilities, and percentages regarding the likelihood of intentions of something that is by definition unknowable? Not one single person on this planet has any ability to know what experiences and motivations an alien race may be operating under. Not one person on this planet knows anything about timelines of civilizations other than our own and to draw inferences to alien civilizations from the one lonely example (ours) is ridiculous in the extreme. Think and then think again. When it comes to this, we are all wrong. Count on it.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

George, San Diego, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:47:15 GMT

If aliens were hostile they wouldn't bother with war. War is expensive, it depletes resources, and losses can have negative responses back home. That said, a race so advanced to be able to travel the vastness of the galaxy, would do the most efficient, cheapest, and quickest attack. None of that Signs, Independence Day, or Star Wars crap. Biological weapons, alien advanced bio-weapons, maybe DNA specific. If today's human bio-weapons are good and relatively dirt cheap, imagine what technology that is thousands of years more advanced could do. And they could do it from the safety of ships in orbit. That's what hostile aliens would do, we wouldn't even know they were bad and there would be no one to talk about.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Antonio V, Madrid, Spain — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:48:27 GMT

Sure, it´s possible that we could face consequences from these transmissions (negative, or otherwise). Is it likely? Probably not.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

James, Australia — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:42:06 GMT

We've been 'broadcasting' the presence of life on Earth for billions of years. Any alien distantly observing our atmosphere will see that it has a rich and persistent O2 atmosphere which is indicative of life. As the earth passes in front of the sun our atmospheric EM spectra can be seen by any technological civilization, just as we have already done with some extra-solar planets.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Paul WI — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:43:43 GMT

I don’t think it really matters either way. On the one hand if there are advanced civs out there they would most probably be interacting amongst themselves. We would look like the little kid crying to play with the big kids and not get much attention until we grow up a bit. On the other if they're out to eat our faces, eventually we would be found and still so far behind technologically that no matter how much time passes we wouldn’t stand a chance. So I think this whole issue is a lot to do about nothing.
Sence

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mary Dove, Culpeper, VA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:54:25 GMT

There have been numerous societies on our own world that thought they were isolated, safe, stronger than anyone out there, but they became conquered and enslaved by people they considered "aliens". Let's not make the same arrogant mistake that many of our ancestors have made. And only 100 years ago, no one on this planet thought we would be traveling to space.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

G.C. Griswold, Lakewood, NJ — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:41:45 GMT

Two things come to mind concerning alien contact 1. we think they will conform to our preconceived humanistic ethical and behavioral models, which they most likely will not; 2. to them WE may be nothing more than food-stuff!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Expelliarmus, OH — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:42:59 GMT

Are we REALLY worried about this?!?
We've got enough REAL problems to deal with without creating paranoia over fantasy threats.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

corey,noblesville,indiana — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:51:07 GMT

Think about the history of the human race. If you really think about it and look at our past, we as humans are evil greedy creatures. We kill each other over money, power, even realigon. Our past is filled with war, death, and murder. Sure we have some good traits about us, but i think our bad out numbers our good. Now, if you were an alien race that is far more advanced would you want anything to do with us humans. Thats why we havent been contacted before, and if any of the UFO sightings are true they are probably watching us. Waiting to see how far our technoligy will grow. I think we will be ok untill humans get a little to big for our shoes. Once we are able to travel to distant galaxies, and contact them, thats when you'll probably see trouble....unless we change our ways. We haven't in about 2000 years, will we ever?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

karl mahlmann, Irvine, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:09:15 GMT

Scientifically speaking, the search for extra terrestrial intelligence has produced null results, exactly like the search for luminiferous Ether 120 years ago. Talk about alien invasion is on par with the dread of sea monsters at the edge of the earth. SETI has become a religion. The truth shall set you free.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mark, Pasadena Tx — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:11:43 GMT

Sending transmissions willy nilly into space is at best an incredibly stupid idea. Simple fact of the matter we DO NOT KNOW what is out there or what it is or will be like. We can speculate. We can pretend that since it hasn't happend yet, it will never happen. In light of our ignorance it would be better to play it safe rather than broadcast a big kick-me sign to the comsos.
Since after all hostile races out there is a distinct possibilty. Especially when you look at how hostile the human race is, and we KNOW we exist.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Rick Perez, Weston, Fl — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:32:41 GMT

I think we should start considering how to handle their petitions for residency. We need to get that cleared up before we have an even bigger immigration issue on our hands.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Jason Fontaine, Houston, Texas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:33:26 GMT

Something is afoot. How long will we be before contacted...again?

Maybe they will get a Thug Bug Hug. In the distant universe - a hug is universal.

What do ya say - taking a trip on light today?
http://web.mac.com/jasonfontaine

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Gouranga Charlotte, NC — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:34:26 GMT

Alright, first of all, it is naive at best to assume intent on alien life. Their history, biology, culture, their planet itself is totally different from what we have here. I think it is arrogant to assume we are the norm and they will all think and act like us.

That being said, why not be safer rather than sorry here? If aliens are able to come here from far away worlds, it is likely that they have figured out a way to travel faster than light. ANYONE who throws up it is impossible is missing the entire human history. Many things we do today were deemed impossible by the science and our understanding of the universe at the time.

Hypothetically, you have a race who conquered the speed of light. They would have a ridiculous power source. On top of that, to get through deep space, I would imagine they would need some type of energy or physical shielding to protect from micro meteorite impacts, derelict primitive space probes (like the Voyagers ;) ), radiation, and other hazards out there. Does anyone think we and our weapons would be anything more than annoying should it come to a fight? The forces at work in the universe that their ships would encounter are multitudes more powerful than an atomic bomb is.

Given all this, it is probably more prudent for us to sit quietly and learn a bit more about the universe around us. In my lifetime alone, the HUGE shift in the understanding of the universe is amazing. Heck just what we learned on our own planet is amazing. We have just scratched the surface. Truthfully, if I was a peaceful, advanced alien culture, I would avoid the planet earth at all costs. At least for the next thousand years or so, coming here would result in death and destruction on a planetary scale. We have seen a microcosm of that here when advanced cultures meet more primitive cultures. The results are rarely positive and in the end the more primitive culture is a shell of what it was if it even exists at all.

If I was less than peacefull and wanted a planet with an atmosphere like ours to exploit I would come here and either totally exterminate us or enslave us.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Art, Dallas, TX — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:54:04 GMT

Ah, I see the key driver for Brin's hysteria is exposed near the very last paragraph: "...in my new novel." You'd think that sort of disclosure would merit a place near the front of the article. I guess if fear can win elections, it could sell books, too.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mike, Hallettsville, TX — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:02:42 GMT

"Aliens certainly exist...no doubt. God also exists and He is not going to allow any aliens to destroy the Earth."

What makes you think that? He certainly doesn't keep us from destroying each other.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Andy La Plata, MD — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:04:41 GMT

I say let's blast away with everything we've got. And then, in a thousand years or so, when we have received no response, maybe we'll come to realize just how unique our place is in the cosmos. The fact that life is so abundant here seems to have led some to believe that it must be common throughout the galaxy. I, as you can probably tell by now, take the opposite view. I say the initial conditions for abiogenesis are so critical that we may be the only life, intelligent or otherwise, in the entire Milky Way. Of course, I could be wrong. In that case, I'm gonna side with the aliens are probably not friendly crowd. Considering the investment a civilization would have to make to explore interstellar space, just finding life would hardly seem like a worthwhile return on their investment.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Chris Moore, Laurel, MD — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:04:58 GMT

I agree with HetNet....

We have 30% of people in some states admitting that they wouldn't vote for Obama because of his race. This is a guy who speaks the same language as us, and in all the ways that matter, has had roughly the same experience as the rest of us. Yet there are people who admit that they find him too repulsively different to vote for him. Americans are uncomfortable with any level of difference, especially with people from different countries, even though, once again, we are all the same at the most basic of levels. If we can be nasty and cruel to people because of their skin color, gender, language, or sexual orientation, how do you think we would respond to beings from a completely different world?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Chris, Laurel, MD — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:10:40 GMT

It's a cookbook!

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Daniel Osborne, Charleston, WV — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:18:11 GMT

Distant stars and and deep pockets of space have been receiving our telecom and electrical emissions ever since we've been shooting them at each other. Granted at the speed of light, it would take years for them to reach the next inhabitated solar system and if they haven't got pissed off already at receiving transmissions of Howdy Doody and Hee-Haw, then I'd say its a pretty safe bet that they wouldn't get annoyed with a Beatles song.

However, I think the human race needs to realize that just because we send a TV emission or an RF transmission into the outer reaches doesn't mean another civilization will have the capability or technology to pick up that transmission. These alien civilizations probably have their own methods of communicating that may not even be compatibile with ours and vice versa. In essence, it would be like trying to receive information on your cell phone from your wireless router- the two signals are incompatible without substantial mods. If we could pick up alien communications with my DirectTV dish then I think we may have bigger problems.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Daniel S., Arlington, VA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:24:16 GMT

What I find amusing is that so many people are worried about the warrior race that is coming from the stars. My theory is that there are others out there. They most likely have not contacted us because we are a danger to them. We need to grow up as a species before we are allowed out of the nursery of ou planet. No one likes children who are arogent bullies.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Robbie withey — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:44:30 GMT

listen, by the time "they" receive our transmissions, we will have been dead for thousands of years. it'll be like us finding cave drawings. yeah i believe we're not alone as far as the entire universe is concerned, but remember, we're talking immense distances and timeframes for interstellar/intergalactic travel. even if our signals are actually received and acknowledged,we won't know it or be around for the callback, unless someone cures aging and dying, which should be our ultimate goal instead of calling ET. our race will eventually need to find an earth2 when our sun starts going red giant, but that's a looooong way down the road. if we can just get past our petty differences and the nuclear threat. that's why "they" don't want anything to do with us...

Should we be phoning E.T.?

EatYouUp, Alpha Centauri — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:46:42 GMT

Be not afraid Humans. We come in peace. To show our altruistic motives allow us to give you a copy of our treatise, "To Serve Man".

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mike in STL — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:51:43 GMT

I'm more of the mind of "what's the point of trying to send messages to ET?" If our world had a surfeit of both wants and needs, if all lived in comfort and peace, if we'd conquered all disease, etc., then we might consider if we wanted to determine if there was intelligent life out there. As it stands, though, we are so far from utopia as to make spending of value resources on what amounts to no more than curiosity questionable at best.

If ET is out there and has the capability to communicate with us, it would beg the question of why hasn't he to our knowledge yet? I'm not so worried about an alien invasion as I am about wasting valuable time and resources (both physical and intellectual) on something that just doens't seem to offer much benefit other than to satifsy curiosity.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Such a Bastard, Bastardsville, Earth — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:03:26 GMT

We are a race of hatred and war. We are a childish and idiotic race. Alien beings will not be visiting us anytime soon. Why would any being advanced enough to come to our planet want to do so? They wouldn't. They would see us as mindless fools hell bent on self destruction. Why subject themselves willingly to that?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Chad, Atlanta, Ga — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:09:23 GMT

Has anyone given thought as to why we haven't heard anything from E.T.?

Considering that no matter what we do, we live in a technology age where it is impossible not to emit signals from Earth. Considering this, wouldn't it be sound to say that any advanced race out there suffers the same fate - especially if they are more advanced than us? Given this question... Why haven't we picked up those signals?
There are only two reasons I (uneducated guesses) can come up with -
1. We are too far away from each other and in another 10,000 years we might get a signal.

2. We might be alone, or at least on the same technological level as our neighbors. Is that such a bad assumption? Considering (our guesses) put man on the planet 10,000 years ago and it took us this long to make it this far. Maybe we are the most advanced civilization on the block.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Stephen Howell — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:10:00 GMT

All this paranoia about ETs is ludicrous when it is far more likely we will exterminate ourselves in the next few years. Why would they go to all the trouble to do us in when we will do the job for them?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Jason Fontaine, Houston, Texas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:28:51 GMT

What will you do when it's announced we've made contact? Any species with the level of thinking it would require - they would be so far beyond our natural instinct of "conquest". All who fear being eaten by aliens - relax. They have an intelligence level beyond the very fabirc of our understanding. They have, therefore, conqurered their desires to go to war on a flim.....or over oil!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:38:29 GMT

To address several of the more intelligent issues raised:
Most of the signals people are expressing concerns about are low energy, broad dispersion. If we were isolated in a remote part of space and were scanned by another civilization in a remote part of space with nothing near direct line of sight then maybe we’d be detected. Distance (weakening signal) and their technology are determining factors. Consider how difficult it is for us to receive the local tv station. That may seem dumb to a lot of people, but take away cable, set up a tv and antenna 90 miles from the broadcast site and good luck. Now move out to near earth orbit. First, you’re now seeing 5 different transmissions of relatively the same strength on that frequency. Even if you can isolate that frequency the jumbled mess may seem like a particularly active random radio source. Now move out to the edge of our solar system. This is still really close in terms of the distances we’re talking about. Now there is an extremely faint, apparently random signal mixed in with the radio signature of our sun. We’re only about one solar diameter from the sun. Separating that signal from background is like seeing a 60 watt bulb on the full moon. Sure it’s putting out light, but a 60 watt bulb in orbit , with no illuminated moon to mask it, would be hard to spot.

Al Vince posed the question of whether our government would let us know if we received a communication. I don’t imagine they’d be that forthcoming right away. They may lie about it. They may take some action to prevent the lowly masses from finding out on their own. After all, the signal would be available to anyone who had compatible equipment. If another race were to respond to our signals how would they do it. Maybe watch a little Sesame Street, learn the language, and counting, and then send back a signal in the same format. So anyone with a tv would be able to independently receive a reply from space aliens. As long as the government doesn’t take away our broadcast tv I don’t think there’s any cause for concern because they’re obviously not trying to cover anything up.

Next is the stronger transmissions aimed at satellites. While these will travel a considerably farther distance at a detectable strength versus solar interference they’ll be moving fast. And I don’t mean at the speed of light. The aim will be whipping across the cosmic background, as seen from earth. Pick a point in the sky, that’s your listening post. This is the QB hitting the receiver. The timing is only right for on photon far enough out. How long is one of those strong signals pointed at that point? How many oscillations is that at the frequency being transmitted? Now let’s assume the military is using gamma ray transmissions (highest frequency) and the satellite is in high earth orbit (moving slowly). The questions of concern are how long is the signal receivable, how often does it hit that spot, how strong is it, how strong is it compared to the sun? Still no worries.

The only thing to worry about is an extremely high power signal aimed at a point in 3-space for an extended time. This isn’t the QB/receiver anymore, this is using your hose to fill a glass on top of a car as it drives by. The Polaris shot was one of these. The least difficult they could come up with.

Ray Geller asked if there’s any hint anyone is listening. The signals move out from us at the speed of light, so 1 light year per year. The nearest stars are 4 ly away. Our continuous feed broad transmission signals of strength, tv and radio, weak as they may be, have gotten to-could have been recorded/amplified/resent by a few hundred star systems. To detect them you’d need a really killer antenna operating in the right band. It would take an enormously powerful generated signal to be able to pick up a rebroadcast on consumer equipment so it’s back to the sarcastic bit above. If we’ve gotten anything back, nobody’s talking. But, also from above, it’s very unlikely that anyone could pick these broadcasts out of the radio soup.

Lastly, for all those with questions about why they would bother coming here considering the expense. Read some of the other posts asking why we bother with the expense of trying to make contact. We are driven by curiosity. Our curiosity is, evidenced by the old saying, shared by the cat. Otters, dogs, dolphins, is it only the mammals? Octopi are extremely curious. And let’s face it, they look like aliens. Given the broad range of curiosity for curiosity’s sake in species on earth, theirs no reason to think that it would be unique to earth. They might come because they hear us. Think of the classic reponse about climbing mountains. Why go to earth? Because it’s there. Do aliens have egos? To be the first. Do they have pride? To prove they can.

Putting those together, if our low level broadcasts attract them it’s because they’re already close, like in this system. If they’re already in this system they probably found us long before we learned to make ourselves visible.

Even benevolent intelligent life poses a threat to us. One way being a reaction to our decidedly violent nature. They could come in peace with nothing but hope and good will toward us, we might shoot at them. But even if we don’t shoot, if we shake hands instead, how was it that Montezuma was defeated. Let’s see, it wasn’t the crossbow, …

Should we be phoning E.T.?

jdtseattlewa — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:23:49 GMT

I guess we can hope for the quarantine. In fact, acting like really horrible people might be the best way to avoid trouble. Well, err..then there's the missionary types. And they can certainly do their share of damage.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

jdtseattlewa — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:32:16 GMT

George! You the man! Bet you've read "The Screw Fly Solution", haven't you?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Lost In Space, Somewhere in the Ford Galaxy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:44:10 GMT

I think it's more like Earth is an anthill and the aliens (if there are any) are like cars on the freeway. You wouldn't notice the anthill if you travelling 70 mph. We are so low on the civilization totem pole, there is no reason to acknowledge us...just like that anthill.

Actually the reason I truly feel the failure of SETI and have no fear of "aliens" is that IF there are any out there, galactic distance are so great that it would take hundred or thousands of years to get here..

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Chad, Milwaukee Wisconsin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:47:56 GMT

We're the reason why any other life-forms are silent. Its not that we need to worry about something out there. We are the thing that anything else should be worried about. With all the wars, weapons, human suffering in the world. Why would anything want to approach us.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Matt, Dallas, Texas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:03:50 GMT

I don't know why people are worried about an alien invastion.

It is arrogant to assume that the Earth is special resource wise in our Solar System. 90% of the asteroids are iron, and other heavy metals. The others are water ice. Europa is covered in water ice (fact) several miles thick, with a warm ocean underneath (theory). The planet Mercury has a core of solid iron the size of our planet's core just 100 miles or so below the soil. The Moon is made up of the same mineral and metal composition of Earth and is unihabited. Io would have all the power they need if they could harness its Geothermal power.

The people in this thread are showing a vast amount of ignorance about our own Solar System.

If an invading force were to attack our Solar System for resources why attack the one planet that might fight back when they could easily take the VAST (Think 100X's what the earth ever could have) resources from other dead worlds.

If they came for the food (i.e. eat us) you think they would have developed a self-sustained food source for inter-galactic travel.

The people that are worried about a massive pandemic of space bacteria are ignorant in how diseases work. Look at how vastley different bacteria that invade say a frog, or a goat and one that attacks a human are from one another. How many times in history has a bacteria jumped a species barring special circumstances (extremely close proximity, or a rare mutation). Now try to imagine a disease that jumps from an organism that has a completely different set of building blocks to another. Now if you believe that the aliens could devolop a disease to wipe us out just look at the above reasons not to.

The only reason they would attack us is if they wanted to live here. But with as common as planets are around stars they should easily find an unihabited planet that can sustain life somewhere else. Why expend the destroying the native population when you could fly a few lights years away to find a planet just like Earth without the squatters.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Rob, Seattle, WA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:04:29 GMT

We might as well regulate it, I don't think we should attract attention to ourselves. Shouting in an unknown jungle is a good analogy, and plus what good do we have to say anyway, a Doritos commercial? That is ridiculous, the last thing I want another life form to experience is the junk that gets on tv.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

barry bailey, roxboro, nc — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:07:09 GMT

What makes you think ET has not been aware of us for a long time? Considering the age of the universe, ET's have been reaching the industrial revolution for ten billion years.

Being a space bully is not wise. There is always somebody bigger. ET has the same concerns we do.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mia — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:13:17 GMT

Am I the only who thinks that all these signals are obnoxious? I mean really, what merit is there is sending out a Doritos Commercial? Are aliens really missing out on Doritos Collision flavors?

If there is intelligent life out there let's try and give them an idea of what humanity is like at our best not our most annoying...or they might blow us up just to get that jingle out of their head.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Kevin L., Sacramento, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:23:11 GMT

Just like waves from a rock thrown into the water at the beach, any signal beamed out from earth will attenuate (disperse) into background cosmic noise by the time it gets 4 or 5 light-years away. Attempts to contact E.T. are pointless.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tom, Clifton Park, NY — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:24:36 GMT

Couple of key points for people to remember on this debate. Personally I am for searching for life and exploring space. I believe that EVENTUALLY we will find a viable faster than light drive. Here are my points.
1) Don't assume that aliens would have our morals, values, or think the way we do. They could be big huggable bears who can't wait to meet us and give us everything. They could be tyranical dictators who need to control everything, or something else. We don't know. And to assume that just because they technology has evolved to that level does not mean that they will have left violence and war behind.
2) They may not have noticed us yet.
3) They may have discovered a viable cheap FTL (Faster than light) drive.

To forget these points is just foolish. Now reachign otu and exploring is important. But we should be consciences of what we are sending. Our messages are travelling at light speed. It takes years for any to reach a star, and then they must be heard. The chances of there being life NEAR us that can also hear our messages is very small. So we are probably ok. But you never know what deathstar might be cruising through a system.

Here is a perfect example. David Weber wrote this great book called Armageddon Inheritance. In it, there is this race that cruises through space looking for sentient life that could pose a threat to it eventually, and eliminates it before it can do so. They had been attacked by a race in their history that had nearly wiped them out, and they were terrified of it happening again. Now again this is fiction, but aliens are just that aliens. We do not know their thoughts, or fears, or anything.
John Ringo wrote another book, first one I believe is called Hymn Before Battle, where there is a galactic federation basically who just doesn't want to talk to us because we are too warlike. They finally do because they now need warriors to deal with another threat of aliens expanding into their worlds and killing, enslaving, (and eating) their citizens. And they are on their way to Earth next. Again, aliens are just that alien.
So basically, we need to remember that and be careful about how we proceed, look, but look smartly.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Jayson W. King — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:29:08 GMT

I agree with Brin that signals that are intentionally being sent to distant stars should have some oversight as to the content of the message. A frakkin doritos commercial is not a good way to make a first impression. A coherrant and intelligent message tells the alien who gets it that we mean business and should be treated as civilized galactic citizens. Craigslist ads tell them we're monkeys who shouldn't be allowed to possess technology until we've been properly shepharded into galactic society. See Brin's Startide Rising and the Uplift War for more details on that kind of scenario.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

xml — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:33:28 GMT

WE ARE ALREADY HERE
and have long since infiltrated your planet
We are particularly fond of tacos

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Robert Alto, Texas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:34:09 GMT

The Earth is very unique in that it is double planetary system just the right distance from the sun to sustain life as we know it. The tidal forces maintain a liquid outter core that gives us our magnetosphere that protects our atomosphere. It is unlikely that there is another one in the Milkyway galaxy. There may not be any extraterrestrials, but there are extrademinsionals known as demons and angels and they are very real, and the demons work night and day to destroy us and the angels fight them night and day to protect us we need to worry about demons not ETs. We need to put our faith in God not science. Science is good but it will never save us.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Rob Edwards, Germantown, MD — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:40:07 GMT

The cost of knowlege? Knowing that other life exists might be worth our possible extinction. But only scientists would truly understand this, everyone else would pick existence over knowlege.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:43:24 GMT

The earths atmosphere is too polluted for alien biology. That's why they stay away!

Maybe if H.G. Wells was around today he would make his story in line with a polluted atmosphere rather than one-celled organisms as the demise of idiot aliens that didn't consider grade 12 biology.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Christopher Major, Seattle, WA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:44:30 GMT

Aside from the hypotheticals...do we really want a Doritos commercial to be our welcome mat??

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Pete Swinford, Lafayette, Indiana — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:46:31 GMT

Incoming aliens will just drop by the asteroid belt, strap on a few rockets, and guide them in. Then just wait for the dust to settle, kill whomever, and move right in. Nothing to it.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Dave — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:54:47 GMT

The scale of the "known" universe should enlighten your perspective. All of humanity is akin to the bacteria living on the surface of a grain of sand. With the next habitable grain a LONG way away. Also, once an alien intelligence decodes any weak video transmisions and actually watches the Borg invade,who will tell them it's fiction? If WE receive such video, won't we assume actual fact? We are babies so far, haven't yet really explored our own backyard yet. Even so, there is a growing sphere of detectable transmissions emitting out from our cradle of sand grain. Yes we are making noise, but in truth, it's less than a drop in the deep dark ocean. As long as we are too young and limited in our abilities, we will be as vunerable as a small child. We should plan to spread our base of operations to more than just a single world, since there are obviously many dangers in having ALL your eggs in just ONE basket, floating in the ocean of space unknown. We should assume that other "infant" races probably exist (since we do) and that their goals of survival may be similar even if the distances are mind-bendingly unknowable.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Dale T. Babb — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Does it not make common sense that there are Earthlike planets all over the Universe and that in the center where it all began, would be the most likely place where advanced civilization would exist? Millions of years advanced. And most likely many times more intelligent in terms of any life forms, culture difference and what not. Probably no longer influenced by religious aspects of life that humanity must have to find meaning for our existence. And not likely bent on destroying other life forms but to finding solutions of their own problems and possibly our own. Their evolution might well mirror our own, exception being theirs would be highly evolved while we still linger in our comparatively primitive state. Makes more sense to me than a band of hostile creatures we portray in fiction whose hands could not fashion the tools needed to make their space travel remotely possible :-)

Should we be phoning E.T.?

M. D. Weaver, Spokane, Wa. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:12:33 GMT

Part of what it means to be Human is the undeniable fact that we are very curious. We always search out the unknown because we don't like not knowing. Exploration has always had its pitfalls and disasters, our own country's indiginous population as an example. Should we or should we not make attempts at communication with others? That is an important question that should be given the floor. However, considering our current state of world affairs, the rise in mega weather patterns and an ever increasing population with its demands upon limited resources, should we not better spend our eneries of curiousity on how we, as a race, will survive? If aliens were interested in us, they would have been here a long time ago, if they haven't been already.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Ben Kingsley, Chicago IL — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:23:40 GMT

ET's cannot receive human radio signals. They do however review internet blogs - so watch what you say here. Just ask M Knight Shamalamadingdong.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Dario — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:34:05 GMT

They’re quiet not because we are uncivilized technological animals (oops, I mean homo sapiens) who have a penchant for atrocity and destruction of our own human race but because they are afraid we may ask them for oil, trees, and batteries for the Prius (so Toyota can keep up with demand).

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Philip J. Calamatas Montreal Canada — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:43:23 GMT

I have once read somewhere that the Earth (at certain spectral radio frequencies) radiates more power than the Sun, although this would be received as mostly noise caused by the mixing of several million different transmitters (think of all the cell-phones and more). To me if some alien race can see our Sun then it seems obvious that they should be able to hear the radio noise as well.

There’s an interesting point that David Brin mentioned that most people seem to have overlooked; that being the destruction of the planet by a Micro Black Hole. Although he hasn’t supplied much details, there is a small possibility of this occurring at CERN later this year.

The point I am raising here is that these two problems may be somehow linked, as some people have suggested that the reason we don’t see any radio signals from outside of our solar system is because these extra-solar races have destroyed themselves by the experiments they performed on there home planet (the technical term used to describe this possibility is: “The Great Filter”).

Now there may be another possible explanation in that these advanced races are waiting to see how we handle this and other up-coming situations, as a test of our intelligence before they decide we are worth to contact.

Tet another possibility could be that information gained by the experiments at CERN may unlock new methods of communication and transportation that utilize the speculated hidden dimensions space-time (up to 11) that would operate nearly instantaneously (recall Einstein’s statement of “Spooky action at a distance” dealing with the instantaneous transmission of Quantum States). For better of worst, once we open this doorway we may find out where all the aliens were hiding.

Just a taught.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Chad W — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:48:25 GMT

What will be the religious implications once we discover life on other planets? Will we finally be able to realize all the varieties of man-made religions we're constantly exposed to are just that - man-made. I mean, can someone of faith out there please give me your side of the argument once intelligent life (beyond our world is discovered.) Surly these alien cultures will have their own primitive stories of a "divine creator" that they have long forgotten about .... I'm just wondering what the religious community will say about it. Any thoughts??

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Reginald Holland, Dumfries VA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:58:58 GMT

It is the height of human arrogance to suggest that the distance between stars is too vast for another civilization to traverse. Just because we cannot do something now does not mean we will not be able to do it tomorrow or in the future. Only humans would be so arrogant to think that because of our limited knowledge of physics and mathematics relegate us to requiring years even thousands of years to get to other stars and solar systems that it must be the same for some advanced extraterrestrial civilization.

The bottom line is "anything and everything is possible". God exists. Aliens exist. It can be both. Eventually, someday, someone will walk barefoot on the sun. Just because we can't do it today does not mean we will always be limited to our level of knowledge and technology. We learn new things everyday that contradict previous ideas, science and mathematics. The universe is simply too big for humans to be the only intelligent species.

That said, humans are a good indicator of nature's constant struggle to propogate itself at the expense of or at the cost to lower forms of life. We have evolved to become the dominant species on this planet at the expense of all other life forms, and we make sure to exterminate anything that threatens that dominance (viruse, bacteria, flora and fauna). We must be cautious in beaming signals to space. If there are alien cultures capable of getting to earth (and I do believe that there are) we would be but ants to them and of no consequence. AN ADVANCED ALIEN CULTURE HAS THEIR OWN INTERESTS. Altruism is a human concept and might not be universal.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Chris, Meridian, Idaho — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:59:03 GMT

So called aliens are nothing more than fallen angels, and the Percieved God's ove most religions around the world. The truth is they have been here and influincing our societies since the fall. We have been recieving their messages for thousands of years. They are working behind the scenes with those that are in control of our nations. A great deception is coming. Are you ready? Read your Bible, study archeology and read the book of enoch and you will understand what is coming. Nothing we send in to space is going to change any of it. Research nephilim and the Annanki. Also research the Mayan clock and 2012. UFO are nothing more than Fallen angels.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Bloggerrich — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:01:19 GMT

A lot of these posts seem to follow movies and TV shows. I have a friend who I always tell has been educated by TV. He's always quoting TV shows and movies and acting as if it was something he learned in a text book or something. It makes for good entertainment though!

We have many issues related to being "heard" by another world. Have you ever tried to listen to AM broadcast on an FM radio...doesn't work, does it? The signals we are sending out may not be picked up because of compatibility issues. Maybe we haven't hit the right frequency yet, who knows.

Then, there is the issue of good and bad contacts. First, if we exist, then there are others...not "there are likely others"...there are others. Second, we have no way of knowing what their politics and economics are not to mention their religion if they have one. "Intelligent" beings are driven by many things, but only a few really matter in a big picture situation...those are mentioned above. Politics and religion are generally driven by economics. If you disagree, then take a look at the obvious. Go to any third world country and tell me they are not obsessed with religion and usually accompanied by extremely corrupt politics.

If a world has a good economy, then they most likely will be a friendly contact. But if a world has a terrible economy where most of their resources are gone, they will likely not be friendly. In fact, we may end up the bad guy on the block if we are not careful.

Of course, there may be some other issues that typical psychology may not fully explain. A world that was attacked by another world may not be friendly or simply may not respond. What if a world's sun was about to go super nova and they moved all their resources to space? In their search for a new home, would they be desperate enough to wage war against another planet? At this point, who knows?

We are entering a new era of discovery. I recently read an article that I believe said we would be able to detect inhabitable earth sized planets in the next decade or two. My belief is that it is more like a year or two, but I am usually an optimist. In any case, when this happens, we may be able to passively detect intelligent life or at least life in general. We will then have to seriously consider how we go about searching for someone to talk to. Chances are if they are even slightly more technologically advanced than we are, they already know we are here. So, it is my reasoning that no matter what we do someone will know we are here and it is also likely that many worlds already know we are here.

Here is what I think our plan for the present and future should be for establishing and dealing with contact with other worlds...

We should establish guidelines for developing weaponry to deal with a more advanced species. Missiles and rockets will not work because they will simply be avoided or shot down. Particle beams, lasers, etc. will need to be developed as a defense in space and in the air. On the ground, more conventional weaponry can be used. Let's face it, no matter how advanced you are, you ain't going to dodge a bullet. It is highly unlikely that we will see some kind of energy shield like you see in the movies. I know that I can't know that for sure, but it just doesn't seem realistic. Any ship coming here from another solar system will likely be huge due to the resources needed to travel such long distances. They will likely be armed even if they are peaceful. Like the NRA...it's better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them. Also, we will need to develop easy access to space with vehicles that can take off from Earth and enter space and return with relative ease. It seems as if we were close with the shuttle, but now we are returning to capsules. Hopefully, the private sector will be able to develop something, because NASA seems to be back stepping in this case. Defense satellites may be the best initial defense, but we will have to develop Earth based defenses that can reach space, because we just won't have the resources in space needed to defend ourselves.

I know all this sounds like a science fiction movie, but eventually, it will be science fact. It's just a matter of time. The one thing, good contact or bad contact, is that the costs involved in traveling such great distances over many years will be great. We have the ability now to create a ship to go to another solar system, but it would have to be bigger than the largest ship we ever built to get enough resources on it to survive the trip, which would likely only be one way. Generations of children would have to be born and trained on the ship to continue the mission.

Here are some details about our closest neighbor which supposedly doesn't have any planets that have been detected yet:

1. Proxima Centauri is the closest star at present.
2. Light travels at 670,615,200 miles per hour and 5,874,589,152,000 per year.
3. Proxima Centauri is about 4.2 light years away from Earth.
4. There are 36,792 hours in 4.2 years.
5. Multiply 5,874,589,152,000 miles per year times 4.2 and you can see what it takes to get there in 4.2 years (my calculator got an error when I tried this).
6. I believe that the fastest spacecrafts we ever had were the Helios and Helios 2 probes which attained maximum speeds of around 150,000 mph, but only as they approached the Sun. Light travels 4,470 times faster than that in an hour. Even at 1 million miles per hour (if I’ve done my math correctly) it would take about 2,817 years to get to Proxima Centauri.

You will now see how improbable it will be that we get a visit. However, if we do get a visit, this will show how determined and persistent they would be and if they are violent, than there will likely be nothing we can do.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Gerard, Nrfolk VA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:07:56 GMT

This is one of the most ignorant ideas to get persued! We as a species cannot accept a person because of the color of their skin, what religion they practice, their political beliefs and so on. What in the world would we do if we did get visitors from Space? Untill this planets inhabitants can accept each other for who they are, we have no business in trying to contact other species in space. Take that money and put it towards building hydrogen cell cars and refueling stations.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

J Quinlan — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:10:41 GMT

I have a son-in-law who is a private pilot who travels the planet hauling the rich and famous. We "talk" quite regularly while he is in far flung places through our Skype connection. And as most people who use Skype on a regular basis, they find others trying to contact them seemingly, from out of the blue, from any where on the planet...........I don't return their queries. I'm afraid to.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:23:11 GMT

I think that people tend to migrate toward their self-perceived strengths. When they don't have the mental facilities to make sense of anything beyond themselves they turn inwardly. They probably can't make sense of that, either, but they can reasonably dismiss anyone else who tells them they're wrong. Retreating to an internal world allows them to envision themselves as truly knowledgable, the one thing they cannot be in the real world. I'm okay with that, hope they manage to find a way to feel good about themselves. It becomes a problem for me when they start preaching it around in hopes of other people getting drawn in to their fantasy because it's a happy place. Don't be fooled. Let your imagination wander into the things that aren't yet but stay firmly seated in the independently verifiable.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Dave, Forest, VA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:24:25 GMT

I would assume that the aliens, if they exist and rapid space travel is possible, would have been here on many occasions in the past and probably the future. We can not assume that mankind is the first being that would be capable of conquering space travel and we certainly do not know what future advances in technology are possible.

For this reason, I think that it would be useful to study unusual occurances that people see and have seen in the past. It may turn out that some of the UFO or ghost reports are caused by alien technology. The sending of powerfull radio waves into space will most likely be of little consequence. It is my guess that 'they' would have found us or our ancestors a long time ago.

On Earth, the times when one group discovered another less weaponized one, usually lead to bad consequences for the less powerful neighbors. It seems that the main reason for the difference in technology was in fact due to the lack of communications and contact for a very long time. Mankind can rapidly absorb the new technology that it is exposed to, thus making the game more evenly balanced. This may well be true for an encounter with 'them'. The only requirement is that 'they' do not have the power or inclination to eliminate us before we reverse engineer the new technology that is encountered.

If I were to guess about the future encounters with alien races, I would assume the following. They are extremely advanced with regard to us in technology and science. We would interest them from a historical point of view, watching us develop could be a kind of tourist attraction. The earth would most likely not offer them any minerals or resourses of value that could not be obtained by other means.

If we continue to discover new technologies and develop for a few million more years, it becomes possible to imagine all sorts of new creations and capabilities. Just take a look at the last 100 years to get an idea of what can be invented or just lucked into. Anyone who thinks that they can guess what will happen in the next 100 years is out of touch. An example is the LCD display I am looking at while I use my desktop computer to write this. Who could have seen this coming back in the early years of the last century? Now think forward a million years---

I find it insane to think of us as a food source, since it would most likely be much easier to make up any type of proteins or tastes out of raw materials, especially considering the problem of transporting the goods to a far away place.

The idea that the aliens that are attracted our way by the radio signals are in need of growing space seems way out as well. They would have encountered the same problem as us regarding exponential reproduction rates. Somewhere along the path to space conquering, they would have found a way to limit the number of new beings just to have survived on the resources that they found on their own world. Otherwise, they would have eliminated themselves.

So I vote to allow the scientists the opportunity to send out whatever signal they wish into space. The chance that anyone new will hear it and come to do us in is extremely remote. Just do not waste too much of our resources in the process. Listening via SETI seems like a more likely way to find 'them'.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Gene, Atlanta — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:42:28 GMT

Another perspective:
Draw the galaxy, Locate Earth. Draw a circle around earth with a radius representing the distance our very first transmissions have by now traversed. Count the stars within that circle.
Not many.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:06:53 GMT

Wouldn't it be great if aliens were here at the time of the dinosaurs and filmed and took pictures. Then they show up in the near future and present it to us as a gift, just as a guest does when they visit? Or they could just email it to us...with these high gas prices and all!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Alan Boyle — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:11:20 GMT

Here are some comments from SETI searcher Brian McConnell:

Alan,

I read your article about METI concerns. I am a SETI searcher, and focus primarily on constructing messages using mathematical languages. My interest this is not for the purpose of transmitting messages (I agree with Brin that we should be in listen-only mode until we know more about what's out there), but for understanding how an information-bearing message is likely to be constructed. It will be highly disruptive if SETI detects a message that proves to be indecipherable, as there will be a glut of people claiming special insight into the contents of the message (recipe for all sorts of bad behavior).

I basically agree with Brin's concerns, although I also think there is not much we can do to prevent an advanced civilization from detecting us via atmospheric markers. A civilization with advanced telescope technology, which we are on the verge of mastering, will have been able to study our atmospheric composition over centuries or millenia. The increase in CO2, methane and other compounds will be a dead giveaway to industrial activity. If that's the case, we're already visible out to 100-150 light years.

My concern is what happens if we are in the vicinity of an aggressive civilization that has a policy of suppressing emerging civilizations before they can pose a threat. There is, unfortunately, a scarily easy way to sterlize a planet. If you have the ability to launch a robotic probe capable of spanning interstellar distances within a few decades or even centuries, all you need to do then is dispatch a probe that will find and attach itself to a large comet or asteroid, and then over a period of years, nudge it into an orbit that intersects with the planet. This is beyond our means, but when you consider that in 50 years we've mastered the art enough to land probes throughout the solar system, it's reasonably foreseeable.

Basically all you need to accomplish this is a highly efficient propulsion system that can produce modest thrust over very long periods.

Note that this is not unlike what we're planning to do in missions to deflect earth intersecting objects, should we discover an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

The scary thing about this mode of attack is that the object would not appear to be on a collision course because we would assume it is on a classic Newtonian trajectory when in fact it is being continuously pushed into a colliding trajectory. It's likely we would ignore the threat until it was too late to do anything about it. The problem is only multiplied if the attacker launches multiple probes to compensate for failures, in which case we wake up to find several incoming objects (a clear sign of a directed attack). An added bonus of this strategy is that if it fails, the target does not realize it was attempted (they just see a close call and ascribe it to random chance).

Of course, it may all be science fiction, but it's certainly feasible. Food for thought.

Brian McConnell

For more from Brian, check out his book, "Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating With Alien Civilizations":

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596000370/

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Lee Billings, New York, NY — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:16:09 GMT

Alan,

The Times Online article you link to about the resignation of Billingham and Michaud from the IAA Study Group is based on an earlier piece that ran in Seed magazine, which is the media organization that got the scoop and broke the news. The Times Online article lifted quotes unattributed from the original Seed piece by David Grinspoon. Do you think you could change your link to reflect this?

Original Seed article: http://seedmagazine.com/news/2007/12/who_speaks_for_earth.php

[ALAN ADDS: Absolutely, sorry about not giving credit where credit is due.]

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:38:51 GMT

Wow Alan! Brian McConnell's scenario sounds much easier for aliens than to actually make a "manned" trip. No need for anything but fuel, navigation and communication systems. Of course, unless they develop some communication technology faster than light, there will be a point in between that they will be unable to manipulate the "weapon" before it hits it's target. This will give us the opportunity to send up some hardware to intercept. I think we take Gene's idea and draw a sphere, measure out 100-150 years and start checking them out. In the next few years, we can probably figure out which, if any, have possible intelligent life and keep an eye on them. As I stated before, the closest star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light years away. We should start their, although, I understand they haven't found any planets yet. Of course, I don't really think that another world is out to get us...but just in case.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Kent Brockman — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:55:28 GMT

I, for one, welcome our unknown alien overlords.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Henry A. Eckstein — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:12:29 GMT

I personally think we are looking at all
the wrong places...

I HIGHLY SUGGEST we look at the Lagrange Points
BETWEEN individual galaxies (i.e. the gravitational
middle-point between stellar or interstellar objects)
to find Dyson Spheres (i.e. artifically built globes
that are built around a natural or artificial sun and
could hold MANY TRILLIONS of life forms which look
like Star Wars Deathstars but are MUCH BIGGER) which
aliens would have built over millions of years to
HIDE themselves from other species.

Within a Dyson Sphere, a comfortable long-term
existence could have been eked out in an area
that, by definition, would be hard to get to
and be hard to detect.

Therefore, I say to all the space scientists ou there
that we should be looking for abnormally "Dark"
spots near the mid-points between any two galaxies.

We should also be looking into the great
Galactic Voids between super-clusters of galaxies
that may HIDE these massive spacestations containing
alien civilizations of Trillions or even Quadrillions
of life forms.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Brent Gray, Chico, California — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:37:02 GMT

Only the likely uniqueness of earthly life forms could possibly be of any value to an alien. All other resourse would be much easier obtained closer to home for any entity whom could travel here. It is more likely that they would save us from ourselves than harm us...we are in an accelerating mass extingtion event that will likely include the end of all primates including humans.
Ethics evolved in all earthly social animals to allow for symbiotic interaction of indviduals, it looks much the same from dolphin, wolf, chimp, and human,... even tho it must have independently apeared many times. No group could aford the presence of a thief or an murderer. It is likely to be the only quality that we immediatly relate to in a alien.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

EatYouUp, Alpha Centauri — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:11:39 GMT

This has been one of the most interesting discussion threads in some time. I'm strictly on the fence here.

I think there are other worlds out there with sentient life but they are so far away as to make their "dropping by for a few drinks and a snack" pretty unlikely. That said there is a science fiction writer out there. I'm sorry, I can't recall his name but he wrote the novel "Chindi". Anyway, one of the recurring/ongoing story lines in his novels is the world discovered by "our" explorers which is in roughly its late industrial age and is involved in a world war. We're observing this world
while trying to remain invisible to them. But from time to time observer teams "get caught" and there are wild stories in the media of UFO's and alien visitors, etc. It's really more subtle than I make it sound but a very clever "what if". Think about it.

And Kent Brockman, marinate yourself is A-1 for four hours and give us a call. It's almost dinner time.

[ALAN ADDS: "Chindi" was written by Jack McDevitt. Might not be a bad pick for the Cosmic Log Used Book Club. Do you have any other alien tales you'd like to suggest? You might want to check the CLUB Club archive to see what the past selections have been.]

Should we be phoning E.T.?

David G., Fullerton, CA — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:13:42 GMT

There was a study done a year or so ago that showed basically that no one is watching old I Love Lucy shows out there. As the Inverse Square Law states, the energy of a radio transmission diminishes by a factor of four with a doubling of distance, becoming 1/9th as strong at triple the distance, etc. At around the limits of our solar system, Lucy has become random noise, indistinguishable from the Universe's background radiation.

But it's an entertaining question to ponder, anyway.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:43:01 GMT

Chad W,
On a religious note, at least those that are Bible based: God has a great desire for entities that will freely worship him. He created man, at least, to fulfill this desire. Then he'd leave and come back later. There's nothing in there that says this is the only planet he created beings on. It also doesn't address where angels came from, another world perhaps. So other beings pose no dilemma as far as Bible goes.

However, this isn't about Bible, this is about people. Remember this rule of thumb: The Garden of Eden was the perfect place for people until God put people there. A whole lot of people won't accept other beings, just like a whole lot of people wouldn't accept that the earth isn't the center of the universe.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

An Amateur Stargazer — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:19:05 GMT

I think if we want let the E.T.'s know that we know they are about, why not beam up signals over every electromagnetic vortex naturally created by the Earth because this is where they probably come to when they are here and use to their advantage.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Dennis M. Dwyer, Hot Springs,AR. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:11:41 GMT

OK,here's a litle more to add to my first conjecture. Any civilization with the technology to cross space-time via wormhole, warpdrive, or whatever is too advanced for our feeble attempts with beaming electromagnetic signals into deep space which take too long to get very far for practical means, as I proposed earlier, let's try to get their attention as they come in,or out, the door? As I said earlier, the Earth is surrounded by electromagnetic vortices (Stonehenge is just one example)and E.T. seems to be attracted by these vortices A network of sensors and transmitters at every one of these should get their attention. And yes, I believe we can't be alone in this vast universe.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:21:58 GMT

Whew! What a lot of conjecture here! People being fearful or hopeful and constructing relevant scenarios to bolster their personal beliefs.

But we are alone, a very specific development depending upon very specific cause-and-effect natural processes. As we count those processes we begin to eliminate certain stars (too big, too small, etc.) and certain planets (too close to the primary, too far from the primary) and when we continue to examine natural science we find more and more reasons why there is no one else either looking for us or waiting for us.

Earth may appear to be only one of eight (or nine) planets, but as we learn more and more about the "lifeless" other planets, we see that the co-incidence of life appearing, thriving, and developing here is absolutely a unique experience.

"Shouting into the jungle" is only dangerous when there is really something to be afraid of. Sending a "signal" into space is as hopeless as a castaway dropping a bottle into the tide and expecting a reply later the same day.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Klaatu Barada Nikto, Utopia Plantia, Mars — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:33:45 GMT

I agree with several posters...maybe the reason why aliens are ignoring is that the signals that they are getting are annoying them! I'm sure the people who live in the Alpha Centauri system are sick and tired of having the telecast of their sport events interrupted by commercials from the 1960's....It takes about 40+ years for them to get our signals....come to think of it, they haven't found out about us landing on the Moon yet....

Should we be phoning E.T.?

oombey, Pittsburgh PA — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:28:45 GMT

From what I understand, we've been sending loud music for years. What if we are merely just making a lot of noise for another planet and they cannot communicate back to us to stop? What if, another planet start sending their crazy type of music blaring at us and we cant stop them from doing it? We need to chill out and take care of ourselves and quit looking for greener grass unless it can tell us, one, how we got here, and two, how to extend life.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Carlos, Lockhart, Tx. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:34:43 GMT

So, you want to communicate with an advanced, probably highly advanced, E.T. civilization? To what end? Isn't that end to eventually acquire some of that civilization's advanced know-how? I'm sure those E.T.'s would be well aware of those intentions. Therefore, since the E.T.'s are unwilling to give it to you, they will not respond to any of your messages.
Why are they unwilling? Well, would you give any of our present know-how to a previous civilization, say the Roman Empire? I think not. It would be best to leave them to their own contrivances. The E.T.'s are smart to leave us to our own contrivances.
I wouldn't expect an acknowledgement to any messages.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

oombey, Pittsburgh PA — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:59:55 GMT

For what reason are we sending Dorito's commercials? Do we really want them to meet Missy Elliott? lol Do we want them to know we can mix and match blue cheese and hot winged flavored chips? WTF?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

oombey, Pittsburgh PA — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:32:01 GMT

I just wonder what we would have thought years ago if we received songs and commercials from outer space. Would we have thought it was "God" talking to us? How would a planet be able to tell us to "cut it out" with all that noise?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Stacey M., Midlothian, Texas — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:49:13 GMT

My opinion is that it would not make any difference if some alien life were to "hear" us. If they wanted to come to destroy us, all they need to do is wait. We seem to be doing a wonderful job of that ourselves. I have always heard that if you think bad things will happen to you, they will. Maybe if "they" are benevolent, we could learn a lot.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

DMDuncan, Denver, Colorado — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:11:39 GMT

What if we taste just like chicken?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

sandra, brownsville tx — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:30:06 GMT

i love how people automatically assume theres something out there with a higher span of intelligence than ours. i mean, im not trying to sound cocky or ignorant, but just because we have an order of intelligence on our planet doesnt mean that applies to outerspace as well. i believe (my opinion) that theres a possibility we might be the only intelligent life out there (not saying thats entirely true) but i mean, seriously, just because space is so vast and wide, doesnt mean it has to inhabit more than one planet containing intelligent life. maybe our surroundings have brought us to a state where we cant fathom being the only ones. kind of like how most people cant imagine time being everlasting because we are used to the fact that everything, including ourselves expire. i know im not any scientist or intellectal to be stating such facts with such assurance, but i do believe its a thought worth considering. i personally have no clue whether theres other life forms out there, let alone lifeforms that are more advanced than us, but why worry, we probably couldnt do much about it anyway if there was a threat (which wouldve probably presented itself a long time ago, unless, of course, these "other beings" are just as "small" as we are)

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Delmar Fairchild, Barron, WI — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:20:41 GMT

When "they" get here, they will give us a book called, "How to serve Mankind". They will be our slaves! (Rub your hands together.) Hee, Hee.

Phone: Jingle, Jingle (or buzz buzz or National Anthem or Bon Jovi)
Hi, dear. Yes, I am on the elevator going up to the space ship now. A cook book you say? Oh no!!! Let me off this elevator! (Sounds of pounding on the door) Honey, I can't get out. Say good bye to the kids for me. I love y......... (Static)

Seen something like that in "The OuterLimits" or was it "The Twilight Zone"?
******
With not being able to travel beyond the speed of light, the distances are too far between "Here" and "There". We may be able to hear them, and they us, but it will take many generations to receive or send the answer. Even if we did get an answer to our signals, by the time we get it, no one on Earth will remember what we sent or it will be of a signal that the other species would be unable to receive on their sets or on ours.
Time along with the speed of the signals are the limiting factors that make it vitually impossible to get ahold of our neighbors on the Intergalactic phone.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Frank Glover Rochester, NY — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:31:59 GMT

"What's in it for ET? If they are advanced enough to hear our messages, travel all the way to us, and enslave/destroy us, what do they gain? What is the reward thet would be worth the (presumably high) cost of travelling here that they couldn't get from uninhabited or at least uncivilized worlds?"

In terms of energy or material gain? Probably nothing. But if humans are any example, not all wars are fought over resources (though that may add to the mix). It can't be said wether or not any given ET civilization would have certain philosophical and/or political and/or religious and/or psychological motivations that might be a danger to us.

Even someone else's idea of *help* might or might not be a good thing for humans...

Not that I'm seriously concerned about this (at this time) because there are just so many currently unknowable factors and assuming the worst has its own risks, but it *is* something to think about.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Gary Feierbach — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:49:10 GMT

The SETI folks have always argued that we are too far away from even the nearest stars to believe that they could transit the distance. There are a number of things wrong with this logic. 1)We are assuming they have lifetimes like our own. 2) We are assuming they are biological (They may be robotic or something else that we haven't dreamed of.) 3) We are assuming there are no shortcuts through space and time. 4) we are assuming that they are not interested in spreading their species. (We may be able to do this ourselves in the not too distant future by freezing eggs and sperm and using artificial wombs in a robotic spaceship that may take hundreds of years to reach its destination. 5) There may be roving civilizations that just go from one star system to another in huge spaceships that are complete ecosystems.

There is also the problem of cross contamination of ideas that could prove to be as dangerous. Imagine what would have happened if the atomic bomb were available to earlier Earth civilizations because they had an aggressive SETI program and made contact with a more advanced civilization with an on the air Wikipedia.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

RRR — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:57:24 GMT

I cant get good reception from 20 miles away from the TV station, and you expect me to believe that if I was wayyy out in space that the reception will watchable......something just dont add up

Should we be phoning E.T.?

a p garcia — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:31:42 GMT

Messages saying that we are sentient have already been sent. Whether they are intelligent enough to answer or even decode the messages is another matter. I wouldn't put very much public money for the private sector has done it since Marconi. "I Love Lucy" is about 60 light years away by now.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Ian , Miami ,Florida — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:33:27 GMT

This guy has been watching and reading too many sci fi stories.
Frist of all, his premises are based on an assumption that other techno speices exist.
Secondly his other assumption is that these other Techno-Species would have developed interstellar travel capacbilty and are capable of reaching Earth in a short space of time to excute their objective(s).
Thirdly his other asummption is that we on earth or that Earth's Biology and the mineral composite of this planets soil is worth the while of some other external entity to travel trillions or quadrillions of miles to come here and take.

Talk of stopping direct broadcasting into space is nonsense, it has been happening now for over 80 years.

one other false notion of Brin is that other Techno species would have developed radio reception capabilty.
That a misnomer.
The Ancient Chinese and Egyptians, Babylonians, Aztecs and Mayas Greeks and Roman did not have such technology and were able to achieve great things.

Brin has made a serious mistake of appling one of the Hollywood stereotype of space possible inhabitants reaching and connectng to earth and its outcomes.
That model of his is far too human. one could easy see that if other Techno species were to decide to attack Earth, that the easy way to do it would be to drop a bomb on us from outer space, and not sent hundreds of Alien War Craft or Battleships to do the job,
Just plant a bomb or some hostile microscopic life form in a metrorite and land it in the Earth's ocean, Atmosphere or near some large city and let it do its work slowly.

at any rate if we want to find out if there are other techno species out there, all we need to do is send a space probe(s) in to deep space , like say 1000 to 10 000 astronomical units from Earth and let it sit there and listen for signals from beyond .

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:47:16 GMT

I just watched UFO week on the history channel and if NASA is holding back their accounts of UFO's seen during spaceflights that start in the '60's and continue to present day then I have to say a high probability that something unexplained is going on...a lot! Actual intercepted transmissions between astronauts and Houston repeatedly make references to UFO's and "bogeys".

Even some Apollo astronauts were serious about UFO's trailing them for a time to the moon and then leaving. It was all facinating stuff. Actual footage from the ISS was included of something that flew in such a way that it couldn't be some junk material. Houston would always pass off these reports as junk or spent boosters etc. but the astronauts often were in dispute.

We should keep our minds open to infinite possibilites in an infinite universe.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:45:56 GMT

Des Emery,
You're assuming that life on earth occured naturally. The vast, vast, vast majority of people on Earth disagree with you. I don't know of any major religion that holds that idea. The only people expressing that are in the science community. Scientists have backtracked to a primordial Earth that may have produced life. But experiments under laboratory conditions expected to exist at the dawn of life have failed to produce. That doesn't prove that life can't come into being in that way, but it definitely doesn't prove their theories. The religious views all have life brought to the planet with the assistance of other entities, in one fashion or another. So the vast, vast, vast majority of people on Earth hold that life on Earth was seeded. I personally have seeded life in a sterile petri dish, proving the plausibility of this theory.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:57:08 GMT

Des Emery,
I thought I should clearly state this: That would mean that there is life elsewhere in the universe. The seed could be bacteria that was blasted off the surface of some other system planet by meteor impact, it could be the pets of intergalactic travellers, or other. In the case of the Bible's version it could be a built up body that was inspired with life (CPR?) We can already build body parts with, essentially, an inkjet printer. Will we one day be able to "print out" a man, charge paddles and zap him into sinus rhythm? A produced body being brought to life isn't that far from a just deceased body being brought back to life. Blood is the difficulty, but if you print it out seperately and keep it moving so it doesn't coagulate, ...

Should we be phoning E.T.?

TheFallibleFiend, LORTON, VA — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:02:27 GMT

Brin's Uplift Saga is destined to be among the classics of SF. He's put a lot of thought - creative, yes, but also critical - into the idea of inter-species contact. We don't know what we're doing. We don't know whether aliens exist; if they do, how they think; how they would react; what they're capable of doing in response.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Sen McCartney, South Bend, Ind — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:29:23 GMT

Griswold is right on the money. There is only one reason any being would bother with Earth - to gain something. It may be to gain knowledge of our cultures. It may be because we're on a galactic buffet. It may be to cliam our resources. Whatever it is that brings another being to this planet, I'd say it's likely to be for their benefit, and not ours. Every bit of exploration humans have ever done was ultimately to improve or sustain our lives, and this is no different than any other life on our planet. Although it is possible that the noble quest of exploration for the sake of knowledge is the only reason an alien might want to come here, it seems that the various other reasons are far more numerous and far less desirable.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:28:51 GMT

"one other false notion of Brin is that other Techno species would have developed radio reception capabilty.
That a misnomer.
The Ancient Chinese and Egyptians, Babylonians, Aztecs and Mayas Greeks and Roman did not have such technology and were able to achieve great things."

Duh.

Strictly speaking, creating stone axes is 'technology.' So is creating starships. And everything in between and beyond.

Obviously, all of this applies only to civilizations that have at *least* developed radio frequency communications.

Compared to the entire time that homo sapiens has been a distinct species to now, the time to get from the civilizations you name, to Marconi and beyond, is a sliver. If an ET civilization reaches a comparable stage as those Earthly civilizations, it's not unreasonable to think they'd develop radio-frequency communications a comparable time later.

But it's okay. Multiply that time by a factor of 10, if you want. It's still probably a sliver of the time that their world can be habitable (that is, before their star leaves the Main Sequence and becomes a red giant). How many places out there have reached a technology at least equal to ours? Those only slightly less technologically capable will obviously not be sending or recieving interstellar signals and we won't hear or be heard by them. The odds then are that we would recieve (or be physically contacted by) those *vastly* more capable than ourselves. Perhaps in ways that would render them at least unfathomable and possibly unrecognizable to us.

However, this does make an argument for interstellar travel, in addition to communication. Not just to locate life forms that don't *yet* have radio technology, but also for those that may be quite intelligent, but *physically incapable* of radiotelescopes or starships, by themselves (as perhaps dolphins may be).

If you don't actually go looking, you'll never find those ETs.

Indeed, if we ever get a contact (by whatever means), my first question will be: "Are we your first contact? If not, who *else* do you know of, out there?"

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:52:43 GMT

Sen McCartney, South Bend "There is only one reason any being would bother with Earth - to gain something. It may be to gain knowledge of our cultures. It may be because we're on a galactic buffet."

So what is the difference between that idea and the average tourist?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Thomas Paine — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:56:51 GMT

Here's a 100%, guaranteed, fool-proof method to get ET's attention: absolutely, positively NEVER fails:

Explode a low-yield, high neutron flux, nuclear device outside the earth's atmosphere....say somewhere midway between here & the Moon. They'll come a 'runnin.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

M. Johnson — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:06:28 GMT

"Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free". Why don't we send that? Then maybe we could have 6 billion more "souls" immigrating to escape "economic hardship"? Maybe they will do our gardening and work in our fast food restaurants.....

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Martin Gee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:39:55 GMT

Yep they might very well launch a fleet of ships in the direction of Earth; but not to steal our gold; or mine our diamonds, or swipe our oxygen; but to grab a few extra Beatles disks...

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Greg Parnes — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:45:28 GMT

"Friendly" is a meaningless concept. As if they were going to have coffee with the humans. It is more the dispassionate exchange of knowledge. "Unfriendly" also has little meaning. They have no need to eat us; or destroy us. Are we a threat to their territory in the infinite vastness of space? Do they need our food? Useless to them. Nor do we threaten them. Nothing to fear.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Frank Glover Rochester, NY — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:11:12 GMT

"Sen McCartney, South Bend "There is only one reason any being would bother with Earth - to gain something. It may be to gain knowledge of our cultures. It may be because we're on a galactic buffet."

"So what is the difference between that idea and the average tourist?"

Anthropology (or the ET equivalent).

We study (relatively) primitive cultures on our own planet, why woiuldn't some ETs have a similar interest?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Gary Shagena, Phoenix, Arizona — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:26:56 GMT

I'm quite sure that if any alien civilization were to find and study the bio diversity on earth, it wouldn't take them long to recognize humans are the greatest threat to themselves and to all life on earth. The question comes to mind, would aliens wipe out humans to save the remaining diversity of earths biosphere, probably not. They might just shake their little green heads and say "what a shame".

I think it was Carl Sagan who said something about humans will someday have to be held accountable for our stewardship of planet earth. Whether it's our grandchildren or someone else (another advanced intelligent being) We haven't done a very good job.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

BAS — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:28:01 GMT

The trouble with all the comments here is that they are the perspective of a human. The ants in my back yard constantly display intelligence in their ability to communicate with each other, building networks of tunnels, transporting food etc. The problem is that none of this impresses me in the least and when I need to wipe them out for "any" reason - I just do it!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

AR, OP KS — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:08:38 GMT

The length of our transmitions thus far into space equals -. Distance it would have to travel for any realistic chance of someone hearing us equals ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X 1,000. Let me see if I can open my car window and hear that fella in Japan do some karaoke.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mike, Long Island, NY — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:55:05 GMT

Since we don't know what, if anything, is out there it makes sense not to shout at the darkness. Who knows what we'll find. We may find nothing, but if we are operating like we think there is something to find it makes sense to be cautious. Didn't your momma teach you not to talk to strangers?

But it all depends on your point of view. There are the overly optomistic Star Trek fans who think that all intelligent creatures will be benign towards us. Then you have the folks who think contact will be the end of civilization. Reality is a mix of the two.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Scott, Hesperia, Ca. — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:28:01 GMT

I think it's imperative we look for other civilizations and while I believe them to be out there and abundant, I don't believe they will respond simply because they may not know what they are hearing or looking at. We could have received thousands of signals from alien civilizations by now provided we had the right equipment with which to detect such signals. Who really knows though right?!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Alessandro Fabbri, Atlanta, GA — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:58:38 GMT

It seems to me that this discussion is very much alike a religious argument, something like "my god is better than your god". On one side we have the Cautious, in essence advocating the "better safe than sorry" stance, and on the other side the Pragmatic, in essence advocating the "no reason to worry" stance.
A more useful discussion can be based on some assessment of danger likelyhood.
We do that every day, inconsciously: why do we wonder out the door every day when we are SURE that there are people out there who lose control of their car and hit other people? Answer: because it is a very remote possibility that that happens exactly to us.
If it were more likely, we would do things differently.
I realize it is extremely difficult to try and come up with an assessment considering that we know very little outside our own solar system - but no pain, no gain.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Copa, Columbus OH — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:36:12 GMT

You people all need to get an imagination. Everyone imagines ETs with such humanistic qualities. ETs may not purposefully hurt us, just like how early European explores did not purposefully spread small pox.

We also have to take into account the almost certain possibility that alien life will be nothing like life on earth. Evolving in a complete different manner than earth life. Maybe they exhale cyanide? Maybe they are functionally immortal so do not understand death, so "accidentally" killing humans would have no ethical meaning to them.

I am not advocating to prepare for some kind of alien invasion, I think though we should be have some kind of protocol in place, some contingency for more possibilities then: "Aliens invade" or "Aliens are friends". The possibilities are limitless in a universe as big and as old as ours.

I also agree with a poster above who noted that, the potential for bad outcomes during contact with an advanced species outweighs the potentially good ones.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:23:24 GMT

Not everyone thinks they have humanistic qualities. Some of us saw Starship Troopers. And on the accidentally thing. What if they are the sharks or hippos os space. How many life forms on earth have another lifeform that does cleaning. What if the intelligent life forms have cleaners, perfectly normal, why give it a second thought. We might get groomed to death.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Mark Yates, Osage Beach, Mo. — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:22:46 GMT

You would have a huge ego to believe we are alone in this universe. That said, yes, I believe someone or something is listening. If they are advanced enough. Whether they are war like or friendly, we will find out soon enough. We are both war like AND friendly, now aren't we?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Watusha Burundi, Miami, Florida — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:38:37 GMT

What a disgusting waste of money! Children are starving, being abused and neglected, people are out of work, wars are raging, and we're spending billions on projects like this? These scientists are like spoiled children. No worse, sociopaths. While people are starving around them, they are worried about what types of signals to beam into outer space. The sickness of people never ceases to amaze me.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Sasha Brightwood, Portland, Oregon — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:27:27 GMT

I don't get it. Why don't we just talk to the aliens that are here already? They talk to me all the time. They told me they are from another dimension and that we are at the end of a 3600 year cycle. We will become more spiritual, whereas in the past we were materialistic. We are transitioning into a new era. Humans will become more androgynous and yin/yang will be more balanced. We now live in a world dominated by yang energies. Our chakras will become energized and the Kundalini will rise. This is what the aliens tell me. I can't wait!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Unga Boogaloog, Watusi, Burundi — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:47:38 GMT

I am excited by the SETI program. To think of contacting an alien civilization! The wonder! Even if they were to enslave our men and take our women as wives, to know that we are not alone in the universe would be tremendous! Let them come! I am ready!

Should we be phoning E.T.?

a p garcia — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:02:05 GMT

I wonder if they liked "I Love Lucy".

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Ray Bilodeau — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:04:31 GMT

Fascinating. Everyone assumes "aliens" will be using our mathematics and something close to our technology, or will have gone through a similar evolution so they will have a clue how to "translate" our efforts to talk to them. And forgetting that there are, out there, aliens complaining about wasting their resources on finding savage-culture planets. To what purpose? You want to spend a few million years watching an ant-hill evolve? In most cases, you just get more kinds of ants and ant-hills. The dinosaurs eveolved for millions of years - where are their complex technological remains? Why would any Class III civilization think we will develop into something useful or even mildly interesting?

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Josh, montreal, canada — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:09:23 GMT

to me it seems we have been at a distance long enough...either blow us up or share your technology, but get on with it already. either way its inevitable.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

norman edwards, Saint Petersburg FL — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:10:55 GMT

Why would aliens come to Earth?
Local Flavor or course!
That mean's either Mexican Food or DNA.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Springfield Gardens, NY — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:14:01 GMT

NO. We should no more call ET than we should pick up your home phone and call a stranger with your caller ID name and number unblocked. Some people won't pick up. Some will. Some will call back. Some will Google your number. http://whocalled.us/ But one thing for sure, call enough people enough times and some one will report you to an authority. Now what? By the way, did you hear that ET had a heart attack? Yep, he finally received his phone bill.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Nkosi Evans, Chicago, IL — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:04:26 GMT

What if they're afraid of us? Maybe they're afraid that we might be deadly to them. If they studied us, they might no that we are a violent race. We usually tend to treat people differently because of how they look or think. For example, when the Europeans came to America, they weren't generous to the native americans. They killed them, hunted them, enslaved them,and even destroyed one tribe, a genocide. This is a reason for them to afraid of us.

Should we be phoning E.T.?

Jon — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:24:30 GMT

I think some people are missing the point IF an Advance Extra Terrestrial Civilisation exists, they certain wouldn't want to interract us, we would be more of annoyance then anything. But IF (because I am unsure if they exist) they would want our resources, they wouldn't want to be our friends. But like someone already said they wouldn't goto war with us, the would have advance weapons things that we couldn't imagine or even biological engineered weapons that would be specific targets to indiviual DNA triats i.e. Human. Look at Earth when an country is running low on resources it will attack it's neighbour to gain terrority, it maybe 1000 years or 100,000,000 years they will come. Also to preserve life eventually all civilisations will need to leave there homeworld because stars burn out or explode including our sun (it will expand then burnout). Their range from 100 Million years to 50 Billion Years The large the star the quicker it burns out or explodes. Large stars usually explode.