Are the SETI kooks still at it?

Arnold wrote:

Rich wrote:
I remember back in the 1990s they were using computers with spare
processing power to analyze signals to look for extraterrestrial life.
I read the Drake Equation and wonder, how do you have a scientific
theory when EVERY term in an equation is an unknown variable?
I hope NASA, etc, never put any money into this rubbish.

1. Do yourself a favour and google the "WOW! signal". It was a
'perfect' alien signal but it didn't repeat. Imagine it was real!

2. The SETI Institute is privately funded and as far as I know, US tax
dollars are not used for SETI searches.

3. There were and will be a lot of spin-off discoveries made from doing
searches for alien signals.
Seti@home data led to some unplanned discoveries related to the
distribution of hydrogen in the galaxy.

4. Do not limit your thinking to radio signals only. Projects exist
that look for optical signals like lasers.
One day we might even detect artificial alien structures using
sensitive infra-red detectors.

The point is - although the galaxy is not blaring with alien beacons or
radio stations, we should still try and detect electromagnetic emissions
of artificial origin. If we don't, we will never know the truth.

Most good discoveries come by accident. Maybe not searching is the key
to discovery?
We are our own first instance of extra terrestrial life?






As suggested in another post, have a look at the Planetary Society's
website for more info (see link below).

I keep an open mind. Never say never.

--
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28° 12' E
GMT+2

Join the Planetary Society
http://www.planetary.org

On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 01:23:13 GMT, "Richard Jarnagin"
wrote:

To be honest, I don't know, but the military and commercial pilots are
better trained in distinguishing between astronomical objects and unknown
craft anyway...

I can tell you that by far the least accurate meteor reports I get are
from airline pilots. Police aren't much better. (I'm in occasional
contact with a sheriff deputy who regularly sees UFOs- presumed alien-
in the San Luis Valley, Colorado).

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Davoud:
Now, the alien races who send their astronauts to earth -- over light
years at incalculable cost -- do they choose their ablest pilots,
engineers, and scientists, creatures with an unquenchable thirst for
exploring the cosmos? No. They send sex perverts whose sole mission
appears to be to abduct and abuse semi-literate white people who live
in trailer parks in the western United States. It hardly seems to be
worth the trouble.

Pierre Vandevenne:
Maybe that is the way they punish their sex offenders? ;-)

Or reward them?

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Davoud"
Newsgroups: sci.astro.amateur
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:57 PM
Subject: Are the SETI kooks still at it?


Richard Jarnagin wrote:
There's at least one other answer... they're already here. Given
the
credibility of some of the multiple witness accounts (police officers,
military and commercial aviation pilots, etc., etc.), I wouldn't rule
this
one out.

Your entire argument rests on a false premise -- an urban legend, if
you will -- and that false premise is that police officers and military
and commercial pilots are somehow more credible witnesses than the
average person.



That's no false premise, my close-minded friend, that's a fact. Military
and commercial pilots spend thousands of hours in the air, and they are very
familiar with the night sky and all types of aircraft. This alone makes
them FAR more credible witnesses than the average person who has little
experience with either. Furthermore, it has to be something pretty
spectacular before most military and commercial pilots would even consider
reporting it. I have heard them go on the record stating they were
apprehensive of the negative consequences to their career of reporting a UFO
sighting. But when you're looking at a large craft making "impossible"
maneuvers, up-close, it's difficult to just ignore it. As a result, several
have come forward over the years, and in some cases, entire flight crews
witnessed the event.




They have no claim to be such. On the contrary, a
person, regardless of occupation or experience, who claims to have seen
an alien spacecraft is /ipso/ /facto/ not a reliable witness.



Well, there's no convincing someone with that attitude. I get this image of
a huge alien craft coming down on top of you, and all the while you are
chanting "It's just the planet Venus, it's just the planet Venus, it's just
the planet Venus..." sqqiiisssshhhhhhh!!! whoops. So much for extrat
errestrial relationships. Seriously, try to be a little more open-minded.




Why don't they just land on the lawn of the White House? There's
another question with multiple possible answers, though I must
admit, I do find it odd that there are many different kinds of
crafts reported, but NONE of them have chosen to make open contact.

Do you, now? Find that odd, I mean?

Here's what profoundly amazes me about the aliens that come to earth.
Space travel, we have learned, places incredible demands, both physical
and mental, on astronauts. We pick our brightest and most fit pilots,
engineers, and scientists to be astronauts. Putting people into space
-- just a couple of hundred miles from home -- is enormously expensive.
The cost of sending a manned spacecraft over countless light years to
find and visit an alien civilization is incalculable; the risk of
failure must be near enough to 100 percent as makes no difference.

Now, the alien races who send their astronauts to earth -- over light
years at incalculable cost




You make the assumption that "aliens" with much more advanced technology
than our own are sending craft out into the Universe under the same
conditions that would apply to us. THAT is a false premise, and a
ridiculous one too, if you think about it. It may be the equivalent of a
transoceanic flight for all we know.



-- do they choose their ablest pilots,
engineers, and scientists, creatures with an unquenchable thirst for
exploring the cosmos? No. They send sex perverts whose sole mission
appears to be to abduct and abuse semi-literate white people who live
in trailer parks in the western United States. It hardly seems to be
worth the trouble.



LOL, if that were their mission, I would have to agree. But I suspect, like
the rest of your argument, you have a flawed analysis of the situation.

"Florian" wrote in message
news
To be honest, I don't know, but the military and commercial pilots are
better trained in distinguishing between astronomical objects and unknown
craft anyway.


I doubt that.

..Florian


I'm not surprised. Think about it some more.

RJ

"Chris L Peterson" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 01:23:13 GMT, "Richard Jarnagin"
wrote:

To be honest, I don't know, but the military and commercial pilots are
better trained in distinguishing between astronomical objects and unknown
craft anyway...

I can tell you that by far the least accurate meteor reports I get are
from airline pilots. Police aren't much better. (I'm in occasional
contact with a sheriff deputy who regularly sees UFOs- presumed alien-
in the San Luis Valley, Colorado).

I'm not sure there's a correlation between the accuracy of a meteor report
and being able to distinguish between a known aircraft, an astronomical
object, and a UFO. I would be interested in details, though, just for the
sake of my own personal knowledge. Thanks.

RJ

You make the assumption that "aliens" with much more advanced technology
than our own are sending craft out into the Universe under the same
conditions that would apply to us. THAT is a false premise, and a
ridiculous one too, if you think about it.


Okay, so describe under what sort of different conditions an alien would be sending craft out into the universe.

..Florian

I've said it before but i do like these UFO/alien threads since they always expose the loonies.

;-)

..Florian

"Florian" wrote in message
...
I've said it before but i do like these UFO/alien threads since they always
expose the loonies.

;-)

..Florian


Yeah, that's me, a loonie... now go sleep securely in your
self-inflicted ignorant bliss. You're still top life form in your
neighborhood of the Universe and all is well. And they all lived happily
ever after. The End.

RJ

Florian wrote:
I've said it before but i do like these UFO/alien threads since they always expose the loonies.

;-)

.Florian





Yup!