[Gllug] seti (OT)

[Nix]

On Mon, 6 Jan 2003, Jonathan Harker yowled:
> May not be there? IMO, ETI is out there. Modern biochemistry says it must be. 
> The universe is fundamentally geared for it to be.

What, natural selection in biological systems has a special drive for
intelligence now, does it?

Alas, despite the high density of planetary systems in the solar locality,
that doesn't say much about the density of planetary systems in other areas
(Population II stars for instance will probably be much more planet-free),
nor does it say much about the density of Earthlike planets, nor *anything*
about the probability of life occurring on said planets, the probability
of that life being intelligent, and the probability of that intelligent life
sending signals that are powerful enough for us to receive.

i.e., most of the variables in the Drake Equation are still
indeterminate. The universe is *not* necesasrily fundamentally geared
for it to be, except in the weak anthropic sense (i.e. obviously
intelligence is not impossible because we're here).

> However you may be right in that we're looking in the wrong place. Using EMF 
> (especially the 21cm H line) in deep space has always struck me as like 
> trying to use a torch in deep fog to signal someone on the other side of the 
> english channel. They probably use neutrinos, gravity waves, QE, or some as 
> yet undiscovered Star Trek reverse subspace tachyon beam thing.

Alternatively, they don't talk very much because the bandwidths are too
low compared to the local dataflow rates; see Stross's Accelerando
series, Robert Bradbury's Matrioshka Brain pages...

(Arguably entities with the sort of intelligence Bradbury and Stross are
discussing won't want to talk to us anyway; how much time do you spend
conversing with amoebae?)

-- 
`I was thinking of the legendary British Weather, with the four seasons
 of winter, mud, rain, and damp.' --- Peter da Silva

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