Tom Munnecke’s Eclectica

Just in case folks are bored with the issues of globalization, civilization faces another, longer term issue, call it galactization. We’ve had SETI, The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence looking for signals from outer space, for some time. No luck yet, but maybe they are so smart that they don’t want us to know about them. As my neighbor David Brin points out, if you were wandering around a dark jungle at night, it probably isn’t a good idea to shine a bright light on yourself and shout, “Anybody out there?” See his essay, SHOUTING AT THE COSMOS: …Or How SETI has Taken a Worrisome Turn Into Dangerous Territory.

Now, there is a new issue civilization faces: METI: Messaging to Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. This might seem a little advanced to some, for example, the iPhone doesn’t support it. The issue revolves around whether we should be actively sending messages to possible extra terrestrial intelligences. Should we broadcast our presence out into space, hoping to attract the attention of other civilizations? What are the pros and cons of this?

This is definitely a “long fuse, big bang” type of problem. Even if the Other gets the message in say 20 years, then the earliest we would get a reply would be 40 years… unless they’ve figured out some physics we don’t quite know yet.

Leaving the improbability issues aside, though, this still brings up an issue: just who decides whether to have a coming out party for Earthlings? Is this a UN issue? Do astronomers decide this? If New Age enthusiasts want to broadcast a message from a pyramid, do we let them speak for everyone on earth? Do we create a METI Institute?

See Meet the neighbours: Is the search for aliens such a good idea? in the June 25, 2007 issue of the Independent:

Many scientists, frightened by the danger that might lurk out there, have argued against our actively seeking contact with extraterrestrials. Jared Diamond, professor of evolutionary biology and Pulitzer Prize winner, says: ” Those astronomers now preparing again to beam radio signals out to hoped-for extraterrestrials are naive, even dangerous

I have been lurking on some of the mailing lists talking about this issue, and that even on a fairly closed list, the conversation broke down amidst typical mailing list dynamics. Its kind of ironic that a homogeneous group with a common language, culture, environment, and biology are having trouble talking about the possibility of communication with others wildly different.