Author Topic: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
AgzntOrange2 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Those at the Seti Institute argue that the $2m (£1.3m) a year or so that the wider Seti effort requires is a drop in the ocean compared to, for example, military spending.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16265519

A funding drive raised money from Seti enthusiasts including former astronaut Bill Anders, sci-fi author Larry Niven, and even Hollywood actress Jodie Foster. But it's only enough to keep going for a few months.

"Since 1993, Seti has had to run on private donations from people who think this is an interesting thing to do," Seth tells me.

 

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Maleraka 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
it's a pretty cheap "just in case" option

 

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arekthorn 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
IMO they should switch the funding... Space (note : not just aliens) is MUCH more important in the long run.

 

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Ptilk 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
2 million bucks pays for like 8 seconds of the Iraq war...it's nothing.

Think of it this way, most stars in the universe are older than our sun, so the life on any planets around them is most likely older than life on earth. So when we find them and start listening to their stuff, we get to listen in on stuff from civilizations that could be billions of years older than our own.

Now that might mean we hear a lot about false teeth not fitting right and how much their arthritis medication costs, but they might also toss in stuff about all kinds of things that we could use in science and math.

Pretty damn cheap to unlock the secrets of the fricken universe eh?

 

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AgzntOrange2 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
I've read if Aliens ever do arrive it maybe like Christopher Columbus landing on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 and we will be the Indians this time.

 

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Lithium_Power 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
So you're one of those arrogant jerks who believes in this VAST universe, we're the only ones?

 

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JD_HOGG 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Who cares if we're the only ones? No one can get from one solar system to another.

 

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Ptilk 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
I doubt they will ever arrive. FTL travel is likely simply not possible, at least not in any kind of time frame that most civilizations ever discover it. If it wasn't damn hard or impossible to do...we would be overrun with tourists and idiots and a few looking for lunch.

The universe is a huge place, and we can listen to just about all of it. We probably will never be able to travel to much of it at all. Information will be exchanged, not cargo or passengers.

 

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Tipztoe 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
military and space budgets should be swapped.


lol @ two million a year.. acf could pay for that with all the millionaires here.

 

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Dwaveran 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
2 million is nothing. We can cut 10000 other places before we should cut this.

 

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Lithium_Power 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
AgzntOrange2 posted:
I've read if Aliens ever do arrive it maybe like Christopher Columbus landing on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 and we will be the Indians this time.


QFT

 

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Onslaught. 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Just like meeting your home budget, you get there by cutting a bunch of little things until you reach a goal.

Space and science explorations in general, even some that are somewhat far fetched like this one, are amongst the things that I am very against cutting funding towards, however.

America became what it was by investing in the sciences. Right now, we're already falling behind other countries in scientific research and innovation. We don't want that to happen...

 

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AgzntOrange2 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
True, why is Science getting a back-ordered? Maybe China said ;;back off;; the science or we won't lend you money anymore.....

 

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Ah-Schoo 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?


Aerlinthina posted:
Isreal doesn't want you to find the secret Zionist moonbase that beams orders to all the politicians except DOCTOR Ron Paul.

 

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Tipztoe 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Onslaught. posted:
Just like meeting your home budget, you get there by cutting a bunch of little things until you reach a goal.

Space and science explorations in general, even some that are somewhat far fetched like this one, are amongst the things that I am very against cutting funding towards, however.

America became what it was by investing in the sciences. Right now, we're already falling behind other countries in scientific research and innovation. We don't want that to happen...



exactly.. where have so many important technology and medical breakthroughs come from? Space.


Also it doesn't hurt to have a backup plan, for the survival of the human race.

 

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Dark_EternalFF 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Our species is doomed to eventual extinction if we don't colonize space. Period. There is no discussion about this, because the Sun will eventually swell in size near the end of its lifecycle and cook or devour our planet, depending on how big it gets. It will take millions of years, but if we don't kill ourselves off first and are still here, we'll all die.

Finding intelligent life that's capable of communication (and long-distance space travel) is one way of speeding up the process of space colonization (assuming, of course, they don't want to murder us). It also promotes unity among a species that is bored enough to bicker with and kill each other over ultimately pointless ideological differences.

 

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combat_mage_sc 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Ptilk posted:
2 million bucks pays for like 8 seconds of the Iraq war...it's nothing.



And how many starving Ubama supporters in Detroit can it feed for a month?

chicken

 

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putzbutt 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
AgzntOrange2 posted:
I've read if Aliens ever do arrive it maybe like Christopher Columbus landing on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 and we will be the Indians this time.


aliens like casinos?

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
why do we care or even need to know???
Climate Change is going to kill us in 20 years anyway.

 

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Hyperimiator 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
They are trying to pin down Obama's birthplace, you silly people.

 

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AgzntOrange2 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
I thought the Zionists had an underwater city, under the Artic, that is why there is so much squabbling up there.

 

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aurther-the-leader 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
so far we have not hit a plateau on progression in the sciences, I assume in another 12,000 years (assuming we are still around) we will look back at our technology now and think of it as extremely archaic. as someone mentioned above our solar system is very young It would be i think extremely ignorant and arrogant to assume we know the most about this universes physics given how very young we are. Though i view most things through a scientific view point, as in we evolved over time to become intelligent as opposed to most religious nuts that just put all their coins in the faith bucket believing aliens cant exist because we are gods 1 favorite creation and evolution is bogus because obviously it was god that just made us. So viewing it scientifically, I can only conclude we are a very young solar system, if life evolved intelligence here in such a quick time frame (relative to the life of our star) I also will conclude it probably evolved intelligence long long long long long ago in the millions and billions of years. long before our system even existed. Aliens exist, smart aliens probably exist.

now whether they can get here or even send signals that far without them degrading to the point of unreadable is still up for debate. Only fools can look at all the scientific evidence in the recent years and still believe this planet is the only one with "life" the only really non rational people I have talked to about the subject of aliens are religious nuts. the real bane to science is religion because "faith" has no place in science yet they will fight to the death to defend faith without any evidence to back it up.

 

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Hyperimiator 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
aurther-the-leader posted:
so far we have not hit a plateau on progression in the sciences, I assume in another 12,000 years (assuming we are still around) we will look back at our technology now and think of it as extremely archaic. as someone mentioned above our solar system is very young It would be i think extremely ignorant and arrogant to assume we know the most about this universes physics given how very young we are. Though i view most things through a scientific view point, as in we evolved over time to become intelligent as opposed to most religious nuts that just put all their coins in the faith bucket believing aliens cant exist because we are gods 1 favorite creation and evolution is bogus because obviously it was god that just made us. So viewing it scientifically, I can only conclude we are a very young solar system, if life evolved intelligence here in such a quick time frame (relative to the life of our star) I also will conclude it probably evolved intelligence long long long long long ago in the millions and billions of years. long before our system even existed. Aliens exist, smart aliens probably exist.

now whether they can get here or even send signals that far without them degrading to the point of unreadable is still up for debate. Only fools can look at all the scientific evidence in the recent years and still believe this planet is the only one with "life" the only really non rational people I have talked to about the subject of aliens are religious nuts. the real bane to science is religion because "faith" has no place in science yet they will fight to the death to defend faith without any evidence to back it up.


“Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fantasies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in after years relieved of them.”Hypatia of Alexandria

She was the last Librarian of the great Library, tortured to death (skinned alive with oyster shells) by a Christian mob for the secret location of the scrolls of Socrates and the other great thinkers of the ancient world, which she had hid from destruction, only so they could burn them over the next 20 years to heat the water for the public baths.

This is how religions treat scientific knowledge that is contrary to their "faith".

 

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Hawkson 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Dark_EternalFF posted:
(assuming, of course, they don't want to murder us).




Bolded and singled out this part for two reasons. I'd be more worried about humanity trying to kill or destroy the "visitors," if there ever were any - because look at how well we do with differences between ourselves.

Additionally, I think that the most solid sign that there is intelligent life in the universe is that it hasn't come to pay us a visit. We're not worth the time.

 

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Hyperimiator 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Hawkson posted:
Dark_EternalFF posted:
(assuming, of course, they don't want to murder us).




Bolded and singled out this part for two reasons. I'd be more worried about humanity trying to kill or destroy the "visitors," if there ever were any - because look at how well we do with differences between ourselves.

Additionally, I think that the most solid sign that there is intelligent life in the universe is that it hasn't come to pay us a visit. We're not worth the time.


Yeah after all look what they did to Christ, his big crime was advocating peace, and he even looked like us.

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?

I could find 2 million in the cushions of my couch.

 

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Hawkson 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Hyperimiator posted:


Yeah after all look what they did to Christ, his big crime was advocating peace, and he even looked like us.


Religion is the leading cause of death on this planet. If everyone could just learn to keep what they believe to themselves, the world would be better off.

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
*shrug*

probably a waste, but it keeps the weirdos happy.

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Hawkson posted:
Hyperimiator posted:


Yeah after all look what they did to Christ, his big crime was advocating peace, and he even looked like us.


Religion is the leading cause of death on this planet. If everyone could just learn to keep what they believe to themselves, the world would be better off.


including those that don't believe

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Hawkson posted:

Additionally, I think that the most solid sign that there is intelligent life in the universe is that it hasn't come to pay us a visit. We're not worth the time.

 

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ikkoikki 
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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Earthlings tend to think we're more important than we actually are. The whole "If there's life in the universe why hasn't it visited us yet?" argument is a thought dripping with egotism and self importance. Perhaps they haven't visited us yet because you underestimate how insignificant our little backwater solar system is in the vastness of our own galaxy, let alone our own universe. Our radio signals have barely even covered much real estate yet as to make them likely to be intercepted by extraterrestrials.

If the United States was the Milky Way Galaxy, our solar system would be the equivalent of a quarter lying in the dirt somewhere in Idaho. Go find that quarter. Is your mind blown yet? Now imagine the vastness of intergalactic space, imagine countless amounts of galaxies in an ever-expanding universe in every direction you turn. Now it becomes a little clearer why it is that no aliens have contacted us yet, and why we haven't contacted them.

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
ikkoikki posted:
Earthlings tend to think we're more important than we actually are. The whole "If there's life in the universe why hasn't it visited us yet?" argument is a thought dripping with egotism and self importance. Perhaps they haven't visited us yet because you underestimate how insignificant our little backwater solar system is in the vastness of our own galaxy, let alone our own universe. Our radio signals have barely even covered much real estate yet as to make them likely to be intercepted by extraterrestrials.


Insignificant? God made us in his image, remember.

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
Cause their not going to come to us.

 

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Subject: Why are we paying $2Mil a year to search for Aliens?
send them seti fellers over to my hood..
there is a metric asston of them aliens around here..
especially in late august-sept.

 

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