I'm a Postal Letter Carrier in Edmonds, WA. My interest in science was triggered by reading Carl Sagan's "The Dragons Of Eden". I've been hooked ever since. I now regularly read science magazines and books and would give anything if my small contibution with SETI were to help in a major discovery. I plan to do other distibuted computing projects. I'm also active in my union, the National Assoc. of Letter Carriers and serve as treasurer and shop steward in branch 791.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
I definitly think there is life on other planets. The distances are so vast that radio remains the best means of communication. The benefits of such communication are incalcuable. Just to know that we are not alone and that there are other evolutionery experiences would make any effort worthwhile. I suggest we have such a beacon, and have it transmit something mathematical yet simple such as Pi. A universal truth that nature would never broadcast and must come from a higher intelligence. If such an intelligence were found I suggest we send the contents of our libraries in a non-stop stream and request they do the same. I hope SETI remains a private concern. Just as war is too important to leave to generals SETI is too important to leave to beaurocrats. Since I am not a trained scientist I hope that my simple contribution of running the SETI screensaver will help the trained scientists in this quest. With the exception of ending disease; I can think of no scientific project more important to our species in the long run.
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.
