The SETI Hoax

HarveyH55 wrote:
Personally, I think the government needs to quit giving away tax dollars, period. That's what the people should or could be doing, if interested, or see a need for it. The government passing out free cash, is killing capitalism. Products are only worth as much as a buyer is willing to spend. The government passing out free cash, sets the minimal price higher, so if we want or need something, we pay more, or do with less.

SETI started out okay, but they got a surplus of free money, went a little crazy, got too big. The got to the point, where they had to justify their existence, just to keep enough cash rolling in to operate, barely. At first, they were just listening. There is normal, background noise, but occasional they got signals that had distinct patterns to them. It's not necessarily communication from advance lifeforms, just that there could be lifeforms, with some technology. Pretty much every machine we build, emits electromagnetic waves, whether we intend for that to happen or not. That's pretty much what SETI was listening for. Fine if privately funded, but really not a concern for tax dollars.

There are many thousands of similar research projects funded with tax dollars, that won't ever produce anything of use or value, mostly just of interest for a few people.

I don't know why people are so certain that Global Warming is an actual problem, or that we could actually fight it, if we spend trillions of dollars on it. We didn't seem to learn anything from the Ozone Hole crisis of the 70s. The hole is still there, far as anyone can tell, it's always been there, and it expands and shrinks all the time. CFCs had nothing to do with it. But, at least there air quality in California improved greatly, and a little less graffiti vandalism. One degree Celsius warming per century is that big deal, as an average. We have no way of knowing if it'll hit a limit, or keep going. We will keep adapting to whatever nature throws at us, whether we spend money studying and predicting, or not. So far, none of the predictions have even come close. Al Gore needs to make a new movie, the prophesies and timelines flopped. Ice caps are still there, polar bears an penguins are still doing fine, coastal cities aren't underwater, or even a little flooded from rising sea levels. Hasn't been any reduction in CO2 production, few green energy projects, but even more CO2 producing plants and factories being built. A lot of people like talking about global warming, but nobody seems to be taking it serious enough, to actually be doing anything. Mostly, it's about votes, and stealing tax dollars, well any money easily parted from a few fools...

keepit wrote:
SETI isn't a hoax and i think it was only govt funded for a small fraction of its time.
Re: who out there could hear us?
We've only been sending EM transmissions for 100 years or so. Therefore noone further than a 100 light years or so away from us could have received any of our transmissions. They could see that we have oxygen in our atmosphere though going back much farther in time but if life is common there would be oxygen on many planets and not really a reason for thinking there was necessarily intelligent life. There are so many worlds in the universe and so few intelligent civilizations that it would take a curious civilization an awfully long time to investigate every planet that had oxygen.
And then there's the distances and the time required to investigate. It would be amazing to send a mission to investigate and have that mission stay focused for millions of years.
Maybe someone can travel faster than light though.
Still, there are so many worlds and so few intelligent civilizations.

keepit wrote:Harvey,
One way to reduce greenhouse emissions that doesn't cost any money at all is to quit spending so much money. Money produces greenhouse gasses. Don't spend, don't produce. It's free.

keepit wrote:
If the fed and treasury wold pay off all the debt and the economies would shrink, the CO@ output would decrease and we would work less and enjoy life more.
It would take a lot of printing but i could do it.

Into the Night wrote:Heh. If someone can travel faster than light, we'll never see them!

IBdaMann wrote:

Into the Night wrote:Heh. If someone can travel faster than light, we'll never see them!

If such a person were moving away from us, what would the red shift be? Would it be an infrared-shift? If so, at what temperature? Would it be enough to cause Global Warming? Would it be enough to make toast?

Just wondering?


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Into the Night wrote: I think we can safely ignore physics for this question.

sceptic777 wrote:
SETI may be a hoax, but has anyone here heard of CSETI? It is the organization started by Dr Steven Greer, a retired emergency doctor. He claims to have had repeated communications with extraterrestrials. He also claims to have extensive knowledge about them and their crafts. He says that some of the crafts that are seen and reproduction vehicles produced here on earth but others are extraterrestrial in nature. Anyone here knows more about this?

duncan61 wrote:
When you apply costings to a project you have to allow that the money was not just burned it employed a great many people and purchased a lot of resources.We have clown sailors that try to single hand sail around the great Australian bight and a whale tries to have sex with them or a storm breaks the mast and they have to be rescued by the Navy.The press announces that it cost $48,000 to rescue them.but where and what would the Navy frigate have been doing anyway.It would still cost $48,000 to run if it was on patrol or a training exersize.