SETI Institute suspends search for aliens

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

Well

I'm of two minds about that. One is that yeah, it's cool but not necessary.

The other is, what if the other life forms in the galaxy are LIKE US.

Some kind of early warning system would be awesome.

Ok Nigel, you win teh debate 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

Well

I'm of two minds about that. One is that yeah, it's cool but not necessary.

The other is, what if the other life forms in the galaxy are LIKE US.

Some kind of early warning system would be awesome.

SO WE CAN GET THE BASTARDS FIRST!  THEY'RE AFTER OUR GALAXY! 

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

The intent or purpose of the research doesn't matter (within reason:  I agree with the decision to destroy Mengele's research, for example).  The moon race was a cynical game of one-upmanship, but it gave us computers, modern plastics & metalurgies , and a shitpile of medical advances.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

The intent or purpose of the research doesn't matter (within reason:  I agree with the decision to destroy Mengele's research, for example).  The moon race was a cynical game of one-upmanship, but it gave us computers, modern plastics & metalurgies , and a shitpile of medical advances.

Agreed... from 1598 to 1969 we made huge leaps in awesome technology... which have impacted us to this day.

From 1985 to now (the legth of SETI) we gotten... ummm... a really cool screensaver.

I approve of science for science sake, but this particular project seems like "Nice to have' rather than a "Wow, thats really really important stuff" kind of thing to me.

If they have the money to throw at it, sweet... if they don't well, right now money is tight for most people, including the government. Once we're all snorting coke with $100 bills, we should absolutely be looking for ET, cause he probably has some really good drugs on his planet (I mean heel, remember in the movie, I bet he's got a killer hydro lab)

Obviously I'm exaggerating a bit there... if private funding can keep them up, cool... but I've got to think that there might be some other Science for Science sake projects that might be a better return on investment.

[Jasper]

I see it as a long-shot program that has a potential payoff so high that ROIs stop mattering.

I like that kind of program. 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

The intent or purpose of the research doesn't matter (within reason:  I agree with the decision to destroy Mengele's research, for example).  The moon race was a cynical game of one-upmanship, but it gave us computers, modern plastics & metalurgies , and a shitpile of medical advances.

Agreed... from 1598 to 1969 we made huge leaps in awesome technology... which have impacted us to this day.

From 1985 to now (the legth of SETI) we gotten... ummm... a really cool screensaver.

I approve of science for science sake, but this particular project seems like "Nice to have' rather than a "Wow, thats really really important stuff" kind of thing to me.

If they have the money to throw at it, sweet... if they don't well, right now money is tight for most people, including the government. Once we're all snorting coke with $100 bills, we should absolutely be looking for ET, cause he probably has some really good drugs on his planet (I mean heel, remember in the movie, I bet he's got a killer hydro lab)

Obviously I'm exaggerating a bit there... if private funding can keep them up, cool... but I've got to think that there might be some other Science for Science sake projects that might be a better return on investment.

There have been more technological advances since 1985 than there was in the entire previous recorded history of the world, driven by bedrock research done from ~ 1600AD to the present.

Just saying.

Also, there's more physics being done based on deep-space data than on anything other than colliders and possibly material sciences...and physics IS pure science.  Everything else is engineering of one form or another.

[Jasper]

Yeah, Hubble was recently gathering data that is helping dark matter researchers.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

The intent or purpose of the research doesn't matter (within reason:  I agree with the decision to destroy Mengele's research, for example).  The moon race was a cynical game of one-upmanship, but it gave us computers, modern plastics & metalurgies , and a shitpile of medical advances.

Agreed... from 1598 to 1969 we made huge leaps in awesome technology... which have impacted us to this day.

From 1985 to now (the legth of SETI) we gotten... ummm... a really cool screensaver.

I approve of science for science sake, but this particular project seems like "Nice to have' rather than a "Wow, thats really really important stuff" kind of thing to me.

If they have the money to throw at it, sweet... if they don't well, right now money is tight for most people, including the government. Once we're all snorting coke with $100 bills, we should absolutely be looking for ET, cause he probably has some really good drugs on his planet (I mean heel, remember in the movie, I bet he's got a killer hydro lab)

Obviously I'm exaggerating a bit there... if private funding can keep them up, cool... but I've got to think that there might be some other Science for Science sake projects that might be a better return on investment.

There have been more technological advances since 1985 than there was in the entire previous recorded history of the world, driven by bedrock research done from ~ 1600AD to the present.

Just saying.

Also, there's more physics being done based on deep-space data than on anything other than colliders and possibly material sciences...and physics IS pure science.  Everything else is engineering of one form or another.

Sure I can agree with that.

Maybe if they were billing it as 'deep-space data collection' rather than 'Let's see if ET is out there' it would sound better

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

The intent or purpose of the research doesn't matter (within reason:  I agree with the decision to destroy Mengele's research, for example).  The moon race was a cynical game of one-upmanship, but it gave us computers, modern plastics & metalurgies , and a shitpile of medical advances.

Agreed... from 1598 to 1969 we made huge leaps in awesome technology... which have impacted us to this day.

From 1985 to now (the legth of SETI) we gotten... ummm... a really cool screensaver.

I approve of science for science sake, but this particular project seems like "Nice to have' rather than a "Wow, thats really really important stuff" kind of thing to me.

If they have the money to throw at it, sweet... if they don't well, right now money is tight for most people, including the government. Once we're all snorting coke with $100 bills, we should absolutely be looking for ET, cause he probably has some really good drugs on his planet (I mean heel, remember in the movie, I bet he's got a killer hydro lab)

Obviously I'm exaggerating a bit there... if private funding can keep them up, cool... but I've got to think that there might be some other Science for Science sake projects that might be a better return on investment.

There have been more technological advances since 1985 than there was in the entire previous recorded history of the world, driven by bedrock research done from ~ 1600AD to the present.

Just saying.

Also, there's more physics being done based on deep-space data than on anything other than colliders and possibly material sciences...and physics IS pure science.  Everything else is engineering of one form or another.

Sure I can agree with that.

Maybe if they were billing it as 'deep-space data collection' rather than 'Let's see if ET is out there' it would sound better

So, the problem isn't funding or pure research, it's finding a sexier name for the program?

[Freeky]

Soon we'll need naked anchorwomen just to get people to watch the news.


Oh, and Sex Puppets for the kiddies.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Wait, why is this specifically something that "shouldn't be shut down"?

I mean, its not like we're expecting "Yo, Earthlings, for a good time and cool science call 23-4-25 on your local SETI phone now!"

At best we're maybe gonna someday see a pattern that can't possibly be generated by accident... and that will be proof (for people willing to accept it as proof) that we aren't alone, or at least weren't alone at some point in the very distant past.

Its an awesome project, but with climate change, world unrest, a fucked up economy and everything else, is it 'necessary'?

Cool, Hell yes. Necessary? I dunno about that.

The space program let a dozen spags play golf on the moon.  The payoff was a PILE of fucking technology that revolutionized industry.

Someone has to fund "pure science", and it sure as hell isn't going to be the Koch brothers.

I don't disagree with that... 'pure science' is necessary. This particular exercise, maybe not as necessary as others.

Besides, they were playing golf on the moon, mostly to stick it to the Russians  

The intent or purpose of the research doesn't matter (within reason:  I agree with the decision to destroy Mengele's research, for example).  The moon race was a cynical game of one-upmanship, but it gave us computers, modern plastics & metalurgies , and a shitpile of medical advances.

Agreed... from 1598 to 1969 we made huge leaps in awesome technology... which have impacted us to this day.

From 1985 to now (the legth of SETI) we gotten... ummm... a really cool screensaver.

I approve of science for science sake, but this particular project seems like "Nice to have' rather than a "Wow, thats really really important stuff" kind of thing to me.

If they have the money to throw at it, sweet... if they don't well, right now money is tight for most people, including the government. Once we're all snorting coke with $100 bills, we should absolutely be looking for ET, cause he probably has some really good drugs on his planet (I mean heel, remember in the movie, I bet he's got a killer hydro lab)

Obviously I'm exaggerating a bit there... if private funding can keep them up, cool... but I've got to think that there might be some other Science for Science sake projects that might be a better return on investment.

There have been more technological advances since 1985 than there was in the entire previous recorded history of the world, driven by bedrock research done from ~ 1600AD to the present.

Just saying.

Also, there's more physics being done based on deep-space data than on anything other than colliders and possibly material sciences...and physics IS pure science.  Everything else is engineering of one form or another.

Sure I can agree with that.

Maybe if they were billing it as 'deep-space data collection' rather than 'Let's see if ET is out there' it would sound better

So, the problem isn't funding or pure research, it's finding a sexier name for the program?

Nah, there's no problem either way, but if money is tight... I think I'd pick "Pure research for going to Mars..." "Pure research for finding X interesting Physics thing" etc than "Pure research for listening to see if ET has a decent DJ for the Morning drive time."

Going to Mars seems like a useful direction, straight up study of particle physics, deep-space data etc seems like its useful... focusing on aliens that may or may not exist, by using a method that is truly searching for a needle in a haystack the size of the universe... seems lower on the priority list. I don't think its a waste of money, but if money is tight... I'd rather see that dropped than research into alternative fuel ideas, the mission to Mars or colliders.

Maybe I'm short sighted... but with the problems facing us right now, survival and short term successes seem far more important than catching a millions year old signal that might be from intelligent life.

[Jasper]

You're talking in jest, but that may be just the thing.  SETI is so dry.

Call it, "If We Succeed, You Will Owe Us Your Lives, You Mother Fuckers".

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Nah, there's no problem either way, but if money is tight... I think I'd pick "Pure research for going to Mars..." "Pure research for finding X interesting Physics thing" etc than "Pure research for listening to see if ET has a decent DJ for the Morning drive time."

Going to Mars seems like a useful direction, straight up study of particle physics, deep-space data etc seems like its useful... focusing on aliens that may or may not exist, by using a method that is truly searching for a needle in a haystack the size of the universe... seems lower on the priority list. I don't think its a waste of money, but if money is tight... I'd rather see that dropped than research into alternative fuel ideas, the mission to Mars or colliders.

Maybe I'm short sighted... but with the problems facing us right now, survival and short term successes seem far more important than catching a millions year old signal that might be from intelligent life.

Sure.  We need that 13th aircraft carrier (no shit, we're building another one) to fight Zombie Tojo's fleet, so out the door with SETI.  We didn't need those engineering advances produced in the development of their equipment, anyway.