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| Personal background |
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| Since 1969 I've lived at Portland in Oregon, U.S.A. I was born at New York city in 1944. In 1973 I received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Oregon School of Journalism. In 1994 I retired from the profession of journalism -- having spent 20 years working in the media of magazines, newspapers, radio and television. Nowadays I enjoy appreciating the arts -- especially the music of Bjoerk Gudmundsdottir -- and keeping cats, plus reading and writing. |
| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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| Although I believe extra-terrestrial life does in fact exist within the cosmos, I'm not sure humans will discover it. If our species does manage to discover such life, it will surely be via remote analysis of signals. I am at present unable to ascertain with specificity any benefits or dangers which might flow from discovery of extra-terrestrial life. Such a discovery would undoubtedly provide employment for humans in various disciplines, but if knowledge gleaned from those efforts is not applicable to increased health for our planet I would hesitate to consider the results beneficial. Danger-wise, our species has surely devised and put into practice deadly applications which any extra-terrestrial life form would be hard pressed to exceed. I fear what cabals and despots might do should extra-terrestrial life be contacted. It seems ethical and moral, in light of present scientific knowledge, to transmit a beacon of signals into the cosmos so that extra-terrestrial life forms might be thus contacted -- my personal fears regarding human mendacity aside. Due to my limited knowledge of great philosophies and grand schemes, I shall refrain from making assertions about what such a beacon ought to transmit. I run SETI@Home because I wish to help, no matter how indirectly, our search for extra-terrestrial life. I believe this project, indeed the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence altogether, to be an extremely vital and worthwhile endeavor. My only suggestion would be this: The academic and scientific community worldwide must make a maximum effort to convince our planet's power elites there is merit in reaching out into the cosmos via both active and passive protocols of exploration. I doubt, however, those who wield real power in society would employ ethics and morals in dealings with extra-terrestrial life forms -- given the history of society's behavior in regard to our own planet's inhabitants. |
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