posted on Mar, 26 2005 @ 07:40 PM
Despite the fact that the SETI project is very unlikely to give any results in terms of contact with any other civilization (though I'm running
SETI@home on my computer!), I think that article (third link) summarizes well my point of view...
Why the hell would we be alone in this vast thing called the "universe" and also why would we be the only ones to be intelligent? Given the age of
everything, we are likely very young, though old enough to realize it.
I mean, we're on the eve of doing something, but so far, with our mobile phones, GPS, microwaves and plasma TV's, internet, laser surgery, nuclear
plants to give cheap electricity to everyone (well just NOT everyone...), space probes and supersonic planes, vitamine pills, sleeping pills, energy
pills, all that "technology" that we use and witness everyday, we're just ridiculously slightly advanced... Just an infinitesimal fraction of
knowledge has been acquired so far by humanity, and it is even more true if you admit that knowledge of everything is somehow infinite. Just when you
think you know it all, there is something else. We have just started to learn... Science and technology, as we know it today, is something just a few
centuries (even millenia...) old. Compared to millions or even possibly billions of years of existence (those are not particularly incredibly long
times at the scale of the universe as we know it) for an older civlization, a few thousands are just a grain of sand on the beach...
Back on topic: those are very good links. I just regret sometimes that mainstream media doesn't get much more interested in the subject most of the
times, except some sensationalism. Serious articles and thoughts would make people in general more aware of the fact that we are very likely not alone
and so on..., and that would definitely be an advance in knowledge for our world.
[edit on 26-3-2005 by SpookyVince]