posted on Jan, 12 2007 @ 03:30 PM
I think many underestimate the difficulty of searching for signals from ET, and assume that since we haven't found any, they don't exist.
First off, we've only searched (due to capability and manhours) a very small portion of the night sky.
Second, it's a matter of timing. Let's use us for example. We'll probably use radio waves and tv waves for about another 500 years (to be very
generous). So, that means we'll be broadcasting these signals for about a total of 600 years, before we go to a different means.
Well, as we all know, it takes a lot of time for such signals to reach us. Let's say that alien civilization A is 10,000 years away (as the signal
flies). They used tv and radio for 1000 years, and their last broadcast was 8,000 years ago. That signal is STILL on it's WAY!!!! We won't detect it
for another 2000 years, and that's IF we are looking for such crude signals then. That's just one example, but it's like finding a particular
needle, in a stack of needles in a field of stacks of needles.
It's a cool idea, and should make for a groovy grant, but statistics are way against anything coming from it.