I am 40 years old and work in the banking in Northern California.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
The current body of evidence points to the fact that life must exist elsewhere in the galaxy. I believe we will find evidence of extraterrestrial life during the 21st century, and the proof will be in the form of a deliberate signal of some sort intentionally sent by intelligent life.
Benefits of such a discovery would cause humans to rethink their place in the universe. Other significant benefits would likely not occur for several centuries due to the logistics of exchanging information over immense distances. Any dangers would not constitute an immmediate threat from the outside, but would likely dramatically reshape all aspects of human existence. Areas most significantly impacted would be religion.
We should transmit a beacon for others to find. The benefits of making contact with another intelligent life form would far outweigh any risks associated with making contact.
I run SETI@Home because I feel it allows me to make a small but important contribution to human's quest for knowledge and to further our understanding of who we are.
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.
