| Personal background |
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| Hello to anyone with enough interest or boredom to read this page. My name is Alex McCarthy, I am 35 and live in Southern California although I am originally from the United Kingdom. I work in IT in a technical management capacity, although computers are also hobby. I am passionate about many things in life especially those that stimulate my mind and body. I am very physically active and love the outdoors, with a paricular focus on surfing and scuab diving. |
| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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I believe extraterrestrial life HAS to exist. With the seemingly infinite number of variations that thrive and evolve on our own planet I fail to see how a similar process could not happen on many other planets. It is merely a matter of time and technology before some form of contact occurs. An interesting side note here though...will WE be intelligent enough to recognize that contact when it is made?
The benefits to such contact will be numerous. As an example look to contact made between children of different cultures during an exchange program for example. As a product of numerous cultural exchanges myself I can personally attest their positive influence.
The dangers with such contact lie in our general response to the unknown e.g. unknown = fear = aggression. I am troubled by our ability as a species to consistently resolve differences without the use of force. Along a similar line I hope that any extraterrestrial contact is found to be without religious belief since religion seems to be the single underlying cause for most conflict (both historically and in current events).
A transmitting beacon would be a fantastic idea and should probably include radio signals and also perhaps a visual marker (perhaps a laser), after all who knows if extraterrestrial beings will be able to hear or receive
radio signals alone. We should include information such as the human genome, information about what humans look like, and details of the diversity of life that covers the planet outside Homo Sapiens.
Seti@home offers a free and scientifically valid approach to gather information that is user friendly and interactive. It's value being that it brings science to every one in terms that the lay person can understand and enjoy. Please keep up the great work!!
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