Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

supercluster.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 123 posts

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#21

Post by dvsfish »

nradov wrote: post #17
kurthr wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even just knowing they are there/coming or might arrive in 1000y would have huge effects on human society. Not being alone as a species has fundamental existential meaning and religion. Would the effects be good? The truth can have bad effects, but so does not confronting reality.

Would it really though? I would still have to attend that early meeting tomorrow. Still have to go grocery shopping. Still have to pay my mortgage. Finding signals from aliens on some distant planet would be interesting for one news cycle. Then everything would continue on as before.

I actually believe it would - it would inspire generations to work towards something greater than even humanity. Whether that resulted in beauty or disaster is besides the point. It might bring some greater sense of unity amongst humans, and direct our efforts for millennia.

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#22

Post by nwallin »

miika wrote: post #14

I doubt SETI could detect even our own signals, when it’s encrypted digital data. I mean it’s just noise like any background signal.. Then, we people are very soon capable of communicating using quantum entanglement, which means it’s beyond wireless and you simply couldn’t tap into it with some antenna. For these reasons I suspect that SETI is waste of money.

> I doubt SETI could detect even our own signals,

This is true. The signals we communicate with amongst ourselves would be too weak to detect using present equipment at any distance.

> when it’s encrypted digital data. I mean it’s just noise like any background signal..

This part is not true. A simple spectrum analyzer will show what radio bands are being communicated on and it's clear as day.

> we people are very soon capable of communicating using quantum entanglement,

This is very much not true. This is theoretically impossible. Unless we are very--very--wrong about quantum mechanics, we cannot use effects related to quantum entanglement to communicate.

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#24

Post by edgyquant »

kurthr wrote: post #9
verandaguy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a very strong argument to be made that making first contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species would be the most significant single event in human history. I can't say I have high hopes given the odds of making first contact, but it'd still be a huge milestone for our civilization if we can survive it.

Even just knowing they are there/coming or might arrive in 1000y would have huge effects on human society. Not being alone as a species has fundamental existential meaning and religion. Would the effects be good? The truth can have bad effects, but so does not confronting reality.

For most of history people knew we weren’t alone, given the existence of gods angels etc, so I don’t think this would change things all that much.

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#25

Post by bastawhiz »

miika wrote: post #14

I doubt SETI could detect even our own signals, when it’s encrypted digital data. I mean it’s just noise like any background signal.. Then, we people are very soon capable of communicating using quantum entanglement, which means it’s beyond wireless and you simply couldn’t tap into it with some antenna. For these reasons I suspect that SETI is waste of money.

> I mean it’s just noise like any background signal..

My microwave produces noise but I'd like to think scientists could pick it up with their sensors and say "huh, sounds like a microwave".

You might be sending encrypted noise over the wire, but the things like error correction codes are not encrypted. It might be white noise, but you've got to make sure it's the correct white noise when it arrives at its intended destination.

> Then, we people are very soon capable of communicating using quantum entanglement

How many years from now do you think it'll be before we simply stop using radio waves entirely?

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#26

Post by MagicMoonlight »

miika wrote: post #14

I doubt SETI could detect even our own signals, when it’s encrypted digital data. I mean it’s just noise like any background signal.. Then, we people are very soon capable of communicating using quantum entanglement, which means it’s beyond wireless and you simply couldn’t tap into it with some antenna. For these reasons I suspect that SETI is waste of money.

Yeah but they’ve wasted their lives doing it so they’re going to keep up the act.

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#27

Post by analog31 »

edgyquant wrote: post #24
kurthr wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even just knowing they are there/coming or might arrive in 1000y would have huge effects on human society. Not being alone as a species has fundamental existential meaning and religion. Would the effects be good? The truth can have bad effects, but so does not confronting reality.

For most of history people knew we weren’t alone, given the existence of gods angels etc, so I don’t think this would change things all that much.

Indeed, and those things have often been bad news for humanity. Whether they exist or not, we try to prepare for their arrival, obey people who know their habits, impose their rules on ourselves, and fight their wars.

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#28

Post by sockaddr »

nradov wrote: post #17
kurthr wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even just knowing they are there/coming or might arrive in 1000y would have huge effects on human society. Not being alone as a species has fundamental existential meaning and religion. Would the effects be good? The truth can have bad effects, but so does not confronting reality.

Would it really though? I would still have to attend that early meeting tomorrow. Still have to go grocery shopping. Still have to pay my mortgage. Finding signals from aliens on some distant planet would be interesting for one news cycle. Then everything would continue on as before.

I think that speaks more about you than society

Re: SETI scientists to devise plan for lunar listening station

#29

Post by TechBro8615 »

nwallin wrote: post #22
miika wrote: post #14

I doubt SETI could detect even our own signals, when it’s encrypted digital data. I mean it’s just noise like any background signal.. Then, we people are very soon capable of communicating using quantum entanglement, which means it’s beyond wireless and you simply couldn’t tap into it with some antenna. For these reasons I suspect that SETI is waste of money.

> I doubt SETI could detect even our own signals, This is true. The signals we communicate with amongst ourselves would be too weak to detect using present equipment at any distance. > when it’s encrypted digital data. I mean it’s just noise like any background signal.. This part is not true. A simple spectrum analyzer will show what radio bands are being communicated on and it's clear as day. > we people are very so…

> we cannot use effects related to quantum entanglement to communicate

ELI5 to a non-physicist why not? I thought this was possible, if Alice and Bob share an entangled pair of a set of particles (i.e. each has a clique of particles entangled with the other), and they pre-arrange an algorithm for determining the meaning of different states of their particles.

IIRC wasn't this the gist of the "wormhole" paper that went viral last year (which was criticized for being improperly named, but nonetheless demonstrated a method of "communication" between two locations given a prearranged algorithm for assigning meanings to different states of entanglement)?

Post reply on HN