Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Marduk · 01-21-2002, 03:16 PM

"If intelligent life is so close-in that they can visit, why is it we've never heard theirradio waves?"

I asked this question a while ago in the SETI thread, got some very technical answers from a NASA guy, you would need a very powerful receiver indeed to listen to TV or radio shows from a planet even 40 LY away, our SETI receivers can't do it, they only listen on a certain frquency that WE think aliens might use to transmit an strong intentional greeting type signal, we may have missed it, not gotten it yet or they have other ideas about communication. Anyway I was bummed to hear that SETI can not pick up alien versions of I Love Lucy.

David Gould · 01-21-2002, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marduck:
"There is no reason for them to hide unless they do not want to alarm us. And yet, they are failing to hide from many people, demonstrating stupidity on a grand scale."

Let's not get into their possible motives, (my favourite is that they are concerned about us in the same manner a farmer is concerned with his herd) this could go on forever. Hard enough to make even the possibility of their existence seem plausible to some.

But there are only two possibilities - either they want to hide and are failing or they do not want to hide and are failing.

Either way, regardless of why they want to hide or not want to hide, they are obviously bad at whichever they have chosen.

This to me is a huge point against them being here, as a technologically advanced civilisation would be

1.) able to hide if they wanted to; and
2.) able to work out how to reveal themselves if they wanted to.

As the supposed aliens have demonstrated an inability to do either, the most likely explanation is that they do not exist.

David Gould · 01-21-2002, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marduck:
"If intelligent life is so close-in that they can visit, why is it we've never heard theirradio waves?"

I asked this question a while ago in the SETI thread, got some very technical answers from a NASA guy, you would need a very powerful receiver indeed to listen to TV or radio shows from a planet even 40 LY away, our SETI receivers can't do it, they only listen on a certain frquency that WE think aliens might use to transmit an strong intentional greeting type signal, we may have missed it, not gotten it yet or they have other ideas about communication. Anyway I was bummed to hear that SETI can not pick up alien versions of I Love Lucy.

But if they are here on Earth (or very near to it - flying around it and so on) then the distance factor does not count. In that case, we should easily be able to detect them. (Unless they are hiding, which it is clear they are bad at doing as we have apparantly picked them up on radar and visually).

The incompetent aliens that UFOlogists argue for seem pathetic when compared to the Daleks...

Marduk · 01-21-2002, 03:33 PM

"1.) able to hide if they wanted to; and
2.) able to work out how to reveal themselves if they wanted to."

Oh alright, they hide well enough for many, apparently, the others, the few that see them, maybe they figure so what, they have no concrete evidence to give those dullard Earth scientists, all they have is a mystery, as Capt. Kirk said in the episode where the Enterprise goes back to 1968 and gets spotted as a UFO.

David Gould · 01-21-2002, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marduck:
"1.) able to hide if they wanted to; and
2.) able to work out how to reveal themselves if they wanted to."

Oh alright, they hide well enough for many, apparently, the others, the few that see them, maybe they figure so what, they have no concrete evidence to give those dullard Earth scientists, all they have is a mystery, as Capt. Kirk said in the episode where the Enterprise goes back to 1968 and gets spotted as a UFO.

I think the far more likely explanation is that they do not exist. However, I could be wrong. I would call myself a weak aUFOist - I have no belief in them but they might exist.

GunnerJ · 01-21-2002, 04:25 PM

Quote:

But there are only two possibilities - either they want to hide and are failing or they do not want to hide and are failing.

Either way, regardless of why they want to hide or not want to hide, they are obviously bad at whichever they have chosen.

This to me is a huge point against them being here, as a technologically advanced civilisation would be

1.) able to hide if they wanted to; and
2.) able to work out how to reveal themselves if they wanted to.

As the supposed aliens have demonstrated an inability to do either, the most likely explanation is that they do not exist.

Of course, they could be Teasers...

David Gould · 01-21-2002, 05:03 PM

I wonder if we are considered 'Mostly Harmless'?

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01-21-2002, 03:16 PM	#51
Marduk Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: the 10th planet Posts: 5,065	"If intelligent life is so close-in that they can visit, why is it we've never heard theirradio waves?" I asked this question a while ago in the SETI thread, got some very technical answers from a NASA guy, you would need a very powerful receiver indeed to listen to TV or radio shows from a planet even 40 LY away, our SETI receivers can't do it, they only listen on a certain frquency that WE think aliens might use to transmit an strong intentional greeting type signal, we may have missed it, not gotten it yet or they have other ideas about communication. Anyway I was bummed to hear that SETI can not pick up alien versions of I Love Lucy.

01-21-2002, 03:33 PM	#54
Marduk Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: the 10th planet Posts: 5,065	"1.) able to hide if they wanted to; and 2.) able to work out how to reveal themselves if they wanted to." Oh alright, they hide well enough for many, apparently, the others, the few that see them, maybe they figure so what, they have no concrete evidence to give those dullard Earth scientists, all they have is a mystery, as Capt. Kirk said in the episode where the Enterprise goes back to 1968 and gets spotted as a UFO.

01-21-2002, 05:03 PM	#57
David Gould Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 759	I wonder if we are considered 'Mostly Harmless'?

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