Did SETI@home ever find aliens?

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Profile Matt Lebofsky
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Message 1738283 - Posted: 30 Oct 2015, 16:13:45 UTC
Last modified: 30 Oct 2015, 16:13:56 UTC

While still working our way through a lot of data, this article asks the question: Did SETI@home ever find aliens?
-- BOINC/SETI@home network/web/science/development person
-- "Any idiot can have a good idea. What is hard is to do it." - Jeanne-Claude
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Message 1738495 - Posted: 31 Oct 2015, 12:31:14 UTC - in response to Message 1738283.  

Thanks for the post! i will read it all
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Message 1738520 - Posted: 31 Oct 2015, 14:03:22 UTC

LOL, something that just isn't translatable into plain text:
“Since then, we’ve spun off a project called the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, which is pronounced ‘BOINC.’ It is being used by about 60 projects currently, doing everything from simulating evolution, investigating the structure of the galaxy, as well as developing code for protein folding to try and develop new cures for diseases.”

There are still many ways now how to actually pronounce that 'BOINC.' :)
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Message 1738643 - Posted: 31 Oct 2015, 21:39:45 UTC

I'm kinda guessing it would have made the news for a day or two if it had.
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Message 1738996 - Posted: 2 Nov 2015, 7:31:28 UTC - in response to Message 1738283.  

I think the question we must ask, is the following: if SETI @ home was or has already found alien signals will be able to reveal it.
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Message 1739361 - Posted: 3 Nov 2015, 14:10:22 UTC - in response to Message 1738996.  

I think the question we must ask, is the following: if SETI @ home was or has already found alien signals will they be able to reveal it.


On that theory...
I have always believed that if the signal was found, some governments (if not all and especially organizations like UN) would attempt to keep it a secret. Trying to prevent world hysteria and global chaos.
Because, yes, we SETI enthusiasts will probably be overwhelmed and overjoyed by such a discovery, but the rest of the world may be frightened to a whole new level knowing that some other (possibly more evolved) beings are out there.
And this idea will bring chaos and disaster.

If you look at human history and how in the past couple of millenia we've waged wars against people that were technologically inferior, I can understand that some will think that it could mean the end of humankind should we discover that we're not alone.

However, light takes a long time to reach us, as do radio waves. And a while back I found a video on YouTube that had somebody explain that if aliens would look at us with a massive telescope at a distance of several light years, they would probably see a planet with dinosaurs. And therefore not find our planet interesting to investigate.
Looking at how we scout the skies for signals, probably any signal that we find will be centuries old and the civilization that had send it might already be extinct. It would probably be a scream for help as they knew their planet was doomed.

Now, if you look at how aliens have been portrayed in novels and movies over the last century our imagination runs wild. We've imagined them as being friendly weird looking creatures curious to learn (as in E.T.), or technologically superior, human looking beings trying to make new friends (Vulcans in Star Trek). We've seen them as killing machines that don't need technology to kill (Aliens). And we've seen them as pilots of massive machines that can kill dozens in a single blast (War of the Worlds).

The question you ask may be "Will SETI (or any government) reveal what they find if they find anything?"
The question I ask is "What will the aliens do once they've discovered we've been listening to them?"

Here on earth, if you stumble upon a secret encrypted mail from some government agency you may risk jailtime.
But what if aliens thought you might have been eavesdropping on them, will they annihilate the entire human population?

I would love to see the day that SETI finds something, that the world rejoices and all of humankind will come together and make peace knowing that we're not alone. That we send a "hello" back and be visited by friendly beings that will teach us how to better ourselves.
I would love a scenario like the movie "Contact" to become a reality.

But I think that governments would intervene the second that SETI says "We've got one!".

Only time will tell.
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Message 1739394 - Posted: 3 Nov 2015, 16:11:31 UTC

Even if we grant the possibility that governments might prefer to keep the existence of technologically advanced extraterrestrials secret, this would probably not be possible.
There have been several instances in which possible evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life was detected and discussed openly in the scientific community, and even the news media.
We need look no further than the current situation with a putative civilization around the star KIC 8462852, which might be causing the dimming of their star, from our point of view, with its orbiting megastructures.

In none of these instances did any government swoop in and conceal the evidence, or further work bearing on it.
They could not have known if any of the previous discoveries would turn out to be true SETI discoveries. If governments wait until extraterrestrial intelligence is scientifically determined to exist, it will be too late to do any concealing. The announcement will have been made.
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Message 1739396 - Posted: 3 Nov 2015, 16:12:56 UTC - in response to Message 1739361.  

But I think that governments would intervene the second that SETI says "We've got one!".


I'm just not that cynical. I'm a realist, but I'm also an optimist, plus the truth would leak out one way or another.

the world may be frightened to a whole new level knowing that some other (possibly more evolved) beings are out there.
And this idea will bring chaos and disaster.


I think there are enough sane intelligent people around the world that chaos would not ensue. I also think most religions would adapt to the notion of life on other worlds.
The mind is a weird and mysterious place
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Message 1739904 - Posted: 5 Nov 2015, 15:57:39 UTC - in response to Message 1739876.  



3. Most religions would be seriously dented to the point of collapse, unless their leaders could convince their followers that the Aliens probably also worshipped the same God.[/list]
I'm just not that cynical. I'm a realist, but I'm also an optimist, plus the truth would leak out one way or another.

I am not cynical, I am a practical realist which in turn means being quite pragmatic.


I also think most religions would adapt to the notion of life on other worlds.

Again, sorry, I have to disagree, unless they manage to advocate No.3 above. People get indoctrinated into religion, or have a belief set that seems to lose the ability to be open to modifications or alternatives.



Hmmm... Well, I wonder what the Pope would do? ;~)
The mind is a weird and mysterious place
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Message 1739906 - Posted: 5 Nov 2015, 16:15:09 UTC
Last modified: 5 Nov 2015, 16:26:29 UTC

Do governments, through their security services, maintain clandestine channels of information from radio astronomy observatories and/or the institutions that support them?

Do SETI institutions have 'moles' or do they have their communications listened to and analyzed on a 'real time' basis? Do security agencies have the ability to judge when to intervene in the confirmation process, just before an announcement of a conformed SETI signal? Could they predict and forestall pre-announcement 'leaks' of the facts, which are likely to occur?

They would also have to avoid acting too soon, lest they reveal their intentions in the case of a plausible signal that turned out to be a false alarm. This all seems to give these security agencies a good deal of credit, which we know from history, often misinterpret matters, or are taken by surprise by much more mundane happenings.

The 'War of the Worlds' broadcast described a military invasion by extraterrestrials, not the simple discovery of a radio signal from space. Given the realistic approach of the play, in effect simulating news broadcasts, it's not surprising that some people who didn't listen carefully, and missed the disclaimers before during and after the show, were upset. It's a myth that there was widespread panic. The show was over in an hour, anxious people settled down, and society obviously did not collapse.
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Message 1742824 - Posted: 17 Nov 2015, 12:03:29 UTC - in response to Message 1739906.  
Last modified: 17 Nov 2015, 12:41:49 UTC

Quite good comment from you here regarding this subject, Mr. Watson.

I guess you happen to be just as curious as myself when it comes to these things.

As time passes by, some people are coming while some people choose to be leaving.

For now I choose to stay.

Where are you supposed to find relevant information about the subject of possible extraterrestrial intelligence?

Some people choose to make it entertainment only while others are more likely to believe in the possible horror stories that may be around.

Who are we supposed to believe in all of this?

Perhaps those people who had foreign elements removed from their bodies which later were found to be elements of silicon.

That is the possible physical explanation when it comes to this subject.

When asleep in our beds, we are not supposed to be noticing any possible visitors entering the room and the whole thing, if possibly being experienced, rather becomes an issue related to a loss of memory which eventually may be remembered by means of either a memory recall when awake, perhaps in a dream, or possibly by means of hypnotic surrection.

An alien visitor might well by invisible, or it may be paying a visit by means of a craft or even a force field of sorts.

Here we again are only speculating, but most likely a technical civilization more advanced than ourselves should be better at controlling or harnessing the forces of energy for a given purpose other than only creating energy for pure consumption or use.

Angels and daemons possibly being found in the celestial sky are supposed to be part of our imagination and dreams.

We happen to be looking into the sky because we think that there may be something there to be found that we do not already happen to know about.

While our civilization is filled with noises everywhere, space is noiseless and having no air or water floating around.

Also space is a place where radiation is likely to destroy any living forms based on the principle of biology.

There should always be made a separation between those environments which are too hostile for anything to be living and those places which could be a place to stay.

There are not many eskimos living here on this earth anymore. Those who happen to be so are hunting whales and seals by means of scooters and not by means of skiing.

In the same way we do not find any native Indians having big stomaches anymore living on the island of Hawaii. Like most other people they have become civilized and working for the rest of us for the sake of an income.

More than 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus set sail for what become America in the hope of finding a way to India by means of going to the west instead of rather traveling to the east.

Eventually he became the discoverer of what today is only an island being located in the Atlantic ocean and not the American continent itself.

Space travelers on the other hand could be paying a visit to Earth because they may already know about the resources that might be available and for now left for us to be using.

If this should not be so, any such visitors might well be stumbling across the Earth by means of pure chance only.

They could be traveling through space by the speed of light and for some reason make a short stop on their journey, only to discover that they have come across our own civilization.

Perhaps they may give the thought that they could make themselves known, or in some other way try to blend in or mix with ourselves, next only realizing the fact that they happen to be just too different and therefore should be finding somewhere else to go instead.

Most likely such a thing becomes only science fiction. For now we do not know whether or not such a thing ever happened.

Even a xx+ triplet score is most likely not able to tell the true facts behind such a story.

Possibly I am dreaming right now and should better wake up.
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Message 1743470 - Posted: 20 Nov 2015, 2:47:22 UTC

Should read 2034 or 2035 here.
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Message 1744013 - Posted: 22 Nov 2015, 10:59:47 UTC - in response to Message 1738283.  

Englishâ–º

About: KIC 8462852 Why look intelligent civilizations? What if they are in the prehistoric age, they know nothing technologies are animals, birds or fish ... or trilobites? ...
Send airwaves today, as if Columbus had thrown a stone from Spain in 1492 to see if it fell in America ...

Español►
Sobre: KIC8462852 ¿Porqué buscar civilizaciones inteligentes? ¿Y si están en la edad prehistórica, no conocen tecnologías ni nada, son animales, aves o peces...o trilobites?...
Enviar ondas de radio hoy, es como si Colón hubiera tirado una piedra desde España en 1492 a ver si caía en América...
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Message 1753109 - Posted: 2 Jan 2016, 6:46:55 UTC

There was a news article on the observer a couple of days ago. Check it here http://observer.com/2015/12/astronomer-douglas-vakoch-on-setis-search-for-alien-life/
The proud owner of IGCSE World.
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Message 1753277 - Posted: 2 Jan 2016, 18:15:10 UTC - in response to Message 1738520.  

LOL, something that just isn't translatable into plain text:
“Since then, we’ve spun off a project called the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, which is pronounced ‘BOINC.’ It is being used by about 60 projects currently, doing everything from simulating evolution, investigating the structure of the galaxy, as well as developing code for protein folding to try and develop new cures for diseases.”

There are still many ways now how to actually pronounce that 'BOINC.' :)


I was calling it BI-ON-IC for years until I realised I'd got the letters wrong :)
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Message 1762247 - Posted: 4 Feb 2016, 18:14:05 UTC - in response to Message 1753277.  

I pronounce it "Boink"... the sound the servers make when everyone asks for AP Tasks.
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Message 1762256 - Posted: 4 Feb 2016, 18:41:12 UTC - in response to Message 1762244.  

When I first heard about BOINC in 2007 I was thinking they talked about Boeing ;) (which is pronounced bɔ-ɪnɡ in Bulgarian (not boʊɪŋ nor bɔɪŋ))
 


- ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
 
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Message 1765695 - Posted: 17 Feb 2016, 11:56:01 UTC - in response to Message 1742834.  

Hi Chris,
I suspect it is not a simple tipple but something of a far more potent chemical nature.
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Message 1765696 - Posted: 17 Feb 2016, 11:59:48 UTC - in response to Message 1753277.  

BI-On-IC would have been apt .... but I like BOINC just as much ....

As in;
Well BOINC me!
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Message 1767066 - Posted: 23 Feb 2016, 6:01:19 UTC - in response to Message 1765988.  
Last modified: 23 Feb 2016, 6:10:51 UTC

The Milky Way Galaxy I might add is millions of years old. Should anyone have sent out a signal 1 million years ago within a 1 million year radio radius of this planet, it should be here about now. So why would anyone not expect to see anything in their lifetime. 1 million years covers an awful lot of space. Your thinking solely on a present day time basis, forget all that, we're talking a vast universe, who knows how quick other planets developed. In all possibility the sender of any such message 1 million years ago may possibly not be alive for a chat.
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