I jumped on the SETI@home project as soon as I heard about it, for a number of reasons.
First of all, I'm a sci-fi nut, and I love the idea of someone actually finding extra-terrestrial signals.
Secondly, the idea of using my computer to actually do some useful scientific work gives me a great deal of satisfaction; it appeals to the engineer in me, as does the distributed nature of the work. What an elegant solution!
Lastly, I'd be proud to be part of a project that would possibly answer what I think is one of the most important questions we're currently pondering. I'm confident that there is other life of some kind in our galaxy. However, I'm not as confident that, due to the distances involved, or their (lack of) technology (amoebas, perhaps?), we're going to be able to detect their radio emissions. But it's certainly worth a try. I hope we do - I'd be so excited I'd have a hard time sleeping. |
