SETI and Predictions of Contact

Jump to Last Post 1-3 of 3 discussions (10 posts)
  1. profile image0
    mbuggiehposted 10 years ago

    http://s1.hubimg.com/u/9022920_f520.jpg
    "It is not hyperbolic to suggest that scientists could very well discover extraterrestrial intelligence within 2 decades' time or less, given resources to conduct the search" says Seth Shostak---a senior astronomer with the SETI Institute during testimony to a  21 May 2014 hearing held by the House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

    Shostak cited---in support of his claim, the "increasing power of digital electronics to find and sort out radio and other signals, and other work related to exoplanets and astrobiology."

    For more information: http://news.yahoo.com/well-alien-life-l … 44513.html

    What is your reaction to Shostak's claim?

    1. syzygyastro profile image82
      syzygyastroposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It is entirely possible that aliens have already visited Earth repeatedly throughout its history. Life on Earth was seeded from space early on and is responsible for all the atmospheric changes from about 4 billion years to the present. In the beginning, Earth was the twin of Venus in almost every respect; same atmosphere, same barometric pressure, similar surface temperatures. Yet Earth developed to what it is today, while Venus remains close to what is was so long ago. I wonder if Aliens have been responsible in some way in terraforming Earth.

      There seems little doubt that we will encounter alien life in the not so distant future and there are indications that we have already detected life. As for civilizations, that may be some time away. We may be able to find their signals, then we will have to decode them, but getting there is impossible with today's technology. Further, communication is ruled out as the further we are separated from them, the longer any dialogue will take. In fact, dialogue may be more in the form of instructive messages rather than two way exchanges.

      Our radio signals have now penetrated well into the local group of stars. If they have advanced civilizations listening in, they already are learning about us. I wonder what they think of our mass murdering ways and what to do about us if and when the visit us or if we stumble upon them in the future.

      1. profile image0
        mbuggiehposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you for your comment. It is much-appreciated!

        As for our ways: I suspect all intelligent life is replete with good and bad, with productive and destructive forces and people. Humans are no more mass murderers as a group than we are perfectly altruistic beings. The same, I strongly suspect, would be true of alien life as well.

  2. psycheskinner profile image65
    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    I don't think there is any sensible way to predict when we might find something in an unknown form, at an unknown location in the universe, that we aren't even sure exists.

  3. bBerean profile image61
    bBereanposted 10 years ago

    Please describe the minimum data, or communication that would likely qualify among the scientific community as solid evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.  What at minimum would be convincing enough to command worldwide headlines upon discovery?

    1. profile image0
      mbuggiehposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like a question for Seth Shostak, but I suspect any signal not know to be random and/or associated with signals of objects that populate the universe; computation algorithms representative of mathematical language (again rather than randomness), etc.

      1. bBerean profile image61
        bBereanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you.  I guess I was wondering what volume of such data would be required, if an isolated signal, for it not to be written off as an anomaly of natural origin?

        1. profile image0
          mbuggiehposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          I suspect that even one signal or one computation IF demonstrably not of "natural" origins would be sufficient.

          This, of course, brings us to the so-called "Wow Signal" of 1977 and why it was not or has not been taken as evidence of something.

          For more information:


          http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-l … 130524.htm

          http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/c … ow-signal/

          1. bBerean profile image61
            bBereanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for the interesting links.  I do recall that.

            1. profile image0
              mbuggiehposted 10 years agoin reply to this

              You are very welcome!

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)