94 replies to this topic

[spud the mackem]

freetoroam, on 11 February 2013 - 04:44 PM, said:

The equipment we are using could be so dated to them, they may not be able to receive it. I know my mobile phone will not ring if someone tried to send it smoke signals.

  I never thought of that, should I try beating a drum to see what happens ? dum dum dum Bong Bong Bong dum dum dum , Oh well not to worry hee hee.

[freetoroam]

spud the mackem, on 11 February 2013 - 05:33 PM, said:

I never thought of that, should I try beating a drum to see what happens ? dum dum dum Bong Bong Bong dum dum dum , Oh well not to worry hee hee.

Thats done it, my phone is ringing.

[spud the mackem]

spud the mackem, on 11 February 2013 - 05:33 PM, said:

I never thought of that, should I try beating a drum to see what happens ? dum dum dum Bong Bong Bong dum dum dum , Oh well not to worry hee hee.

  My I.S.P. keeps trying to flog me an iPad,as they reckon my cell phone is steam powered,(or its only £30 per month to rent one),but all I want is a phone that I can use as a phone without all these fancy gadgets on.(my friends reckon I'm Fred Flintstones cousin) like blow thru a conch shell,hee hee.

[freetoroam]

spud the mackem, on 11 February 2013 - 05:44 PM, said:

My I.S.P. keeps trying to flog me an iPad,as they reckon my cell phone is steam powered,(or its only £30 per month to rent one),but all I want is a phone that I can use as a phone without all these fancy gadgets on.(my friends reckon I'm Fred Flintstones cousin) like blow thru a conch shell,hee hee.

You mean your phone does not make you cups of coffee in the morning? your phone is sooooo yesterday.
get the Ipad and then f em off.

[bison]

As the article explains, this search was limited in sensitivity, and very limited in it's duration, and in the range of radio frequencies surveyed.  As Dr. Tarter herself likes to point out, we have, with all our SETI searches to date, scooped a glassful of water out of an ocean of possibilities. The fact that we found no little fishes in the glass is of no real significance in what it can tell us about the abundance of technical civilizations in the galaxy.

[freetoroam]

bison, on 11 February 2013 - 06:12 PM, said:

As the article explains, this search was limited in sensitivity, and very limited in it's duration, and in the range of radio frequencies surveyed.  As Dr. Tarter herself likes to point out, we have, with all our SETI searches to date, scooped a glassful of water out of an ocean of possibilities. The fact that we found no little fishes in the glass is of no real significance in what it can tell us about the abundance of technical civilizations in the galaxy.

How? it hasn`t found anything.

[bison]

freetoroam, on 11 February 2013 - 06:18 PM, said:

How? it hasn`t found anything.

  We simply haven't searched enough to know much about what is or isn't out there. If we've searched through one set of variables of time, radio frequency, and signal power and there are a million sets of these variables, there could still be 999,999 civilizations out there and we wouldn't have detected them. That seems to be the message Dr. Tarter is trying to convey with her 'glassful of the ocean' metaphor.

[DBunker]

freetoroam, on 11 February 2013 - 05:18 PM, said:

How would I know? I was only pointing out that it may be dated, it may even be too advanced for them....or they do not use the same kind of communication systems as us, so it would be useless.....there may just be plants, or insects on  there, or fish or dinosaurs, apes or dogs, anything but human.....hence until we keep trying with other forms of communications we may just be wasting an awful lot of billions.
The system we are using is man made, so unless they have the same mindset as us, its useless.
The only way we will really know is by landing on one of them,,,,but that is still a long way off.

First of all - SETI arent spending "billions" (not even close)..... they are financed entirely by private contributions.

Second - The money and effort are so small with respect to the "pay-off"..... if they would find something.

[bison]

The desire, obviously, is to learn something about intelligent life in the universe, at the earliest opportunity. We stand a much better chance of doing so by radio contact, than by waiting until we can travel to other solar systems. The mindset that allows the creation of radio technology is probably not unique to humans. It could  easily occur in most technical civilizations, very early on, as it did with us.
The fact that some better communications technology may be developed by more advanced technical civilizations, should not deter us. It is entirely possible that some modestly more advanced civilizations may be interested in communicating with us. They should be smart enough to use a method that we can detect. Radio just naturally suggests itself, at our level of development.

[highdesert50]

Humans suffer from anthropomorphism or we tend to assign human characteristics to non-human objects, e.g. Aesop's fables, human face on Mars' surface etc. We expect the billions of random events, or engineered events depending upon one's philosophical bent, that allowed us to evolve to our current state has also occurred elsewhere and evolved a comparable entity who communicates in much the same manner ... That's a very lofty expectation.

[bison]

highdesert50, on 11 February 2013 - 10:34 PM, said:

Humans suffer from anthropomorphism or we tend to assign human characteristics to non-human objects, e.g. Aesop's fables, human face on Mars' surface etc. We expect the billions of random events, or engineered events depending upon one's philosophical bent, that allowed us to evolve to our current state has also occurred elsewhere and evolved a comparable entity who communicates in much the same manner ... That's a very lofty expectation.

Please explain what is specifically'anthropomorphic' about communicating via radio waves. Electromagnetic radiation of various wavelengths exists throughout the universe. It is easily generated and detected. Why should another technical civilization not become aware of it, at some point in its development? Why should it's usefulness as a means of communications at a distance not be readily apparent to any rational mind, regardless of the particular form that houses that mind?

[psyche101]

bison, on 11 February 2013 - 09:04 PM, said:

The desire, obviously, is to learn something about intelligent life in the universe, at the earliest opportunity. We stand a much better chance of doing so by radio contact, than by waiting until we can travel to other solar systems. The mindset that allows the creation of radio technology is probably not unique to humans. It could  easily occur in most technical civilizations, very early on, as it did with us.
The fact that some better communications technology may be developed by more advanced technical civilizations, should not deter us. It is entirely possible that some modestly more advanced civilizations may be interested in communicating with us. They should be smart enough to use a method that we can detect. Radio just naturally suggests itself, at our level of development.

Good God it seems almost surreal to be on the same page with you. Normally we agree on little, but in this case not so.

[Hazzard]

psyche101, on 12 February 2013 - 12:42 AM, said:

Good God it seems almost surreal to be on the same page with you. Normally we agree on little, but in this case not so.

I think its to early to say either way, as we only have an example of one to go by.

[psyche101]

Hazzard, on 12 February 2013 - 09:06 AM, said:

I think its to early to say either way, as we only have an example of one to go by.

I have much faith in communications as an initiator though. I cannot see why one would cross space when you can make a phone call.

[spud the mackem]

We class ourselves as Intelligent Life,yet we are not intelligent enough to stop wars,or feed the starving hungry,nor accomodate poor people with homes,nor educate the poor.Yet we are seeking out other civilisations.?.What king of intelligence is that ?.