SETI....Worthless rubbish OR Worth Trying Anyway

I used to run it years ago, around 1999 - 2000
Have installed it again recently and has been happily processing data.
Already a member of Paddy's in Space...

Wow, this sure is a popular thread. I haven't read any replies yet, but I have cast my vote in favour of SETI. I mean, surely we can't (either on a religious or biological level) be the only intelligent beings in the known Cosmos. So, I reckon they are 'out there', and like us, will, or are trying to, communicate with us. So, SETI should be kept going.

Seanie.

I came back to check up on this message. It has been a popular topic!

Since i posted this message originally, PADDY'S IN SPACE has since become the largest and most active Irish team on the SETI@home project. We changed our website to www.paddysinspace.com and we are now one of the top teams in the world in the SETI@home project. PADDY'S IN SPACE now has well over 300 members on the team, i think we had about 20 or 30 members when this message was posted. :D

Alas, SETI@home still has not detected other life in the universe. But then again, nobody else has detected other life either.

Science by its very nature is complex. The eternal quest to use our human understanding of science to detect other life will continue for many years to come i suspect.

Anyone interested in running the SETI@home project on there home computer would be most welcome to come and join Ireland's largest team PADDY'S IN SPACE; setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=127961

I should try to visit this website more often, its hard to find the time. This website is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in astronomy.

John.

PJ, I had the software on my pc for a couple of years. I processed about 30 lumps of data in that period. My machine found nothing of course....but hey...just think if it is your pc that finds something ya might have an alian named after you....look out the PJ's are coming to get yaa...LOL

I smell a copyright violation here ... PJs?

Since i posted this message originally, PADDY'S IN SPACE has since become the largest and most active Irish team on the SETI@home project. We changed our website to www.paddysinspace.com and we are now one of the top teams in the world in the SETI@home project. PADDY'S IN SPACE now has well over 300 members on the team, i think we had about 20 or 30 members when this message was posted.

Well Done!!

I have no doubt that the Universe harbors more life than just us. HOWEVER - I doubt that we'll ever communicate with them, as the likelihood of us co-existing in the same timeframe / spaceframe will be very small. Still that shouldn't stop us from looking.
(If I ever manage to get the kids off the computer at home I might try running some of this, and I'm sure I can donate some spare CPU cycles from work computers).

Yea....why not, keep looking anyway....my view as always

Slime on rock = common (probably)
multi-cell life = uncommon (maybe)
complex life forms = rare (almost certainly)
bi-pedal, carbon based, complex, walking talking, curious type technologically minded beings = virtually impossible (but ya never know whats round the next Nubula)

Deco

My addendum in bold

Yea....why not, keep looking anyway....my view as always

Slime on rock = common (probably)
multi-cell life = uncommon (maybe)
complex life forms = rare (almost certainly)
bi-pedal, carbon based, complex, walking talking, curious type technologically minded beings = virtually impossible (but ya never know whats round the next Nubula)
Chance of bi-pedal, carbon based, complex, walking talking, curious type technologically minded beings with a short window where they transmit lots of radio waves before moving to directional(microwave) and fiber optic transmission technologies, eg 100 years 1900-2050 and a window for receiving that only opens after 4 billion years of evolution on their planet and after 100,000 years of existence as a species.....and that short transmission window occuring synchronised with their distance from earth, ie Et's reaching their 1980's 1600 years ago and their signals arriving from 1600 LY distant Orion Nebula in our 2008 before our inevitable slide back to the stone age after nuclear holocaust.......what a mouthful

Deco

What are the chances!!

While Calibos's point is very good and does indeed suggest the need to lower the expected parameters in the Drake Equation I still have a reservation.

The approach pre-supposes that omni-directional EM waves are eventually discarded as a means of communication by an advancing civilization. I don't agree that this will necessarily happen- especially if no alternative means is discovered. If however an alternative means of super long distance communication were to be found then it's still practical to maintain a 'listening watch' and even send periodic 'Anyone hear this?' messages on EM, to account for the fact that others may be doing the same.

Indeed the point is that one of the characteristics that drove us towards 'civilization' in the first place was curiosity and I really expect that others have the same curiosity= therefore I would not be pessimistic and I expect others are actively also using EM waves still as a search mechanism.

An earlier post did point out we already know the absolute minimum answer to the Drake equation is '1' and Calibos's suggestion provides maybe a new 'floor' value a small bit higher.