SETI, or the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program may have found something, and the news is beginning to spread it's way across the infoweb.
It seems that a possible laser pulse signal has been found by an astrophysicist in Australia. Like the famous wow signal however, it's only been detected once, but that was enough to the scientist double checking everything and searching for a repeat of the signal. They need to double check and make sure it's not like a glitch, space noise, or some unknown space phenomenon, so don't get your hopes up that SETI has actually found ET (that is assuming of course that ET hasn't already found us.).
Let's assume for a second however, that this is indeed the signal that all the world has been waiting for. What does it mean for mankind?
One of the most popular ideas is that it will crush most modern religions, particularly the Abrahamic ones. Unfortunately it probably would due to the fact most proprietors of those faiths don't realize that there is nothing making ET incompatible with their religions. Overall the idea of a God and aliens is completetly compatible, it's just humanity's interpretation of religion that makes in uncompatible.
On the technological side of things, will we be able to interpret a signal from an alien species? Yet alone one that has a completely alien form of communication or language? After all, we'd have nothing to compare it to, that is assuming that the species communicates in a vocal way like we do. For all we know, they could squeak, click, or even fart to communicate.
The one obvious thing is that we will not be able to communicate back and forth with them, even if they are capable of doing so (as they point out in the article as well). Signals take hundreds, thousands, and even millions of years to travel between galaxies and stars. That also means that even if we could communicate back with them, they might not even be there when our return signal reaches their planet.
Or picture this; what if their signal was the one and only that they could send in a vain hope of getting help from another species as some disaster that was about to destroy their planet, or wipe out life on it? Wouldn't that be an ironic twist?
Finally, for those of us who believe in UFOs, would this get us any more credability? Doubtful in my opinion, unless of course this whole signal thing is a setup to release advanced UFO tech.
Imagine that the government has had ongoing communications with ET for years through years. If Roswell or any other UFO crash was indeed alien or if Eisenhower did meet with aliens during his term, we could be have been releasing alien tech for decades as some have theorized. And if the world's governments wanted to just jump the gun and go as high tech as possible while skipping generations of technology, why not claim to have found an alien signal? After all, if they've been covering up as many have assumed, they could claim they interpreted this signal SETI picked up and say it was instructions for advanced technology from "peaceful space brothers".
Anyways, those are my thoughts on this...what are yours?
3 comments:
Very interesting, will have to keep an eye on this story... however I must take issue with one paragraph:
"One of the most popular ideas is that it will crush most modern religions, particularly the Abrahamic ones. Unfortunately it probably would due to the fact most proprietors of those faiths don't realize that there is nothing making ET incompatible with their religions. Overall the idea of a God and aliens is completetly compatible, it's just humanity's interpretation of religion that makes in uncompatible."
No way would this bring about the end of the Abrahamic religions. These guys will simply claim it's a trick by Satan or some such silly thing. They can work around every obstacle. It really is amazing to watch them do so... when we make First Contact the Christians will still be happily going on with things just as they always have. Bless 'em.
I'm betting they find a prosaic source. They _can't_ find off-planet intelligence in space. See, their whole function is to keep the concept of "alien" entirely in theory and so at arm's length. Actually finding one only feeds the suspicion that the alien is in fact already here, too, eh?
Jae,
You are right that they would probably pass them off as demons. Actually some are already doing that by passing UFOs and their occupants as demons.
Alfred,
Indeed, it would fuel the suspicions that they are already here, at least for those of us in the UFO world. Unfortunately I don't think scientists or skeptics would be convinced that UFOs are alien, even if the signal proves to be from an alien race.
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