Re:My dad launched the quest to find alien intelligence
by joe_the_user on Sunday June 21, 2020 @11:15PM
(#23597111)
Except, not even
If an earth-like society existed on the nearest star, transmitting as we do. Neither society could detect the other.
Ideas that we could find stuff that is "out there" presuppose societies that are more advanced, and more advanced on our terms, transmitting as we do but loud enough to "hear".
PLUS what you mention, we in our current incarnation have existed as a blip.
Re:My dad launched the quest to find alien intelligence
by joubert on Monday June 22, 2020 @10:14AM
(#23600395)
> Except, not even if an earth-like society existed on the nearest star, transmitting as we do. Neither society could detect the other.
Proxima Centauri, the nearest star, is 1.301 parsec away (4.25 light years), so sufficient time for a signal to travel between them and us, no?
Maybe you are saying we couldn't detect each other due to a linguistic or intelligence gap?
Re:My dad launched the quest to find alien intelligence
by cgriswald on Monday June 22, 2020 @01:11AM
(#23597464)
It presupposes they use radio and that they’re specifically sending a message to us. We have the technological capacity to send such a message. Listening is much cheaper and safer so most civilizations would probably opt to listen.
Perhaps we will disappear only to be a part of the fossil record in just as short a blip.
If all radio-species come and go so briefly, consider a signal from another planet serendipitous.
But, you know, you have to try.