The search for E.T life: a waste of time?
 

Is this something we as a species should care about in your opinion?

Do you think it's a futile attempt and won't pay dividends for at least a few centuries into the future?

Do you think it's worth spending resources on in the financial climate that we are in now or should it be scrapped indefinitely and just get on with our own affairs?

Do you think we would change our attitude to life if we knew we weren't the only intelligent beings in the galaxy?

Do you agree with Steven Hawking, do you think we are foolish to broadcast our location and genetic make up to potential invaders?

How much does the question of life outside Earth factor into your life and would you want to know?

I think its worth spending money on extraterrestrial ventures than it is bombing some Middle Eastern country for vague reasons.

It certainly is but if you were given assurances that all funding would be transferred to health care or infrastructure would you give it the green light or continue with it?

No, because, while health care and infastructure are important, so is space exploration, there will come a point in the far future when we've exhausted all of Earth's resources.

Very true. Not to mention that Earth will not be around forever. It's a good few billion years away granted but there will come a time when Earth is engulfed in the last act of our dying sun.

But do you think it's worth the money right now?

Could it be suspended until the economy picks up?

I believe they will come when they are ready. I don't think we will be the ones to find 'them'..

So I think continuing searching is pointless.

Edit. I actually think they watch us and are studying us right now. Kind of like a real life big brother thing :D

What do you think their intentions might be Vicky?

Benevolent guides or Conquering Space raiders?

No idea tbh. Its not something I think about too often, though I probably should.

I like to think 'they' are more advanced than we are though. So hopefully all the colonial rubbish is behind them. However the reason we have had no contact, is because they have watched us for a long time and realise that human beings are a vicious, violent species.

Part of me wants to find out in my lifetime, but then again if it ends up being the latter I hope I'm bits of charcoal scattered across the ocean by the time they get here! :hugesmile:

They have probably come to us in the past so I don't think it's ever an issue of having to find them

What makes "us" think that "they" may be using the same technology that we are using to locate "them".
We have only, in the last couple of hundred years, developed what might well be extremely primitive technology compared to what other species might have developed over millions of years.

tbh I don't think there's any intelligent life anywhere at all near to us or that there's a way more advanced species that could locate us anytime soon

I don't think it's a pointless exercise though, because it could open up so many possibilities

And if they had any sense they would use every technology imaginable to be sure.

I do think it's pointless, and a waste of money and resources.
We should look after this planet and the beings on it!
Screw ET, if he wants to chat he can phone us!

Sometimes I think it's a bit risky advertising our presence to everyone in our Stella neighbourhood . When I think of films like War of the Worlds, Independence Day and Skyline I wonder if our first contact with intelligent life would be like those films..

I hope they would be enlightened wise beings and not warlike monsters who want to eat us...!!!!

Don't worry Nedusa

The chances of anything coming from mars.....are a million to one!


But still they come.....

i think it took us 10 years to find bin laden on our own planet we got no chance finding aliens.
they walked on the moon 50 60 years ago without the tech of today yet we have done nothing since in space since of value which proves its bull so no chance

also we send up music for aliens incase they hear it now sending up one direction songs is just gonna piss of those one eyed lolloping blood munchers. not a good idear lol

I think it's money that's kinda well spent, of course it would be nicer if it went to build free houses for homeless people, but that wouldn't happen.

I think the money saved on not doing the space stuff would end up getting wasted or spent on weapons.

We've done plenty in space, since the moon

For example, look at this picture
http://www.extremetech.com/wp-conten...ount-sharp.jpg
That's not Earth, that's a whole different planet. The only thing thats stopping us sending people to Mars is we wouldn't be able to bring them back (yet). I think looking for aliens right now is sort of pointless, but when we advance enough to leave the solar system, thats when we can start looking. Space exploration benefits the whole human race's future. NASA do an amazing job, and they deserve funding.

That picture is brighton beach lol
they haven't done anything as big as the moon though thats a lot of years with no further progress in exploring. we already know about marrs etc they should be going further.

Where would you like us to go Smeagol?

I think we should investigate Titan whenever it becomes a reasonable proposition. I mean more than sending satellites maybe a rover.

Titan is already being investigated!

> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...tech^headlines