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| Personal background |
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I'm a 23 year old student at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, doing my BA in Political Science. My main interests within my field lie in International Political Economy and International Relations. After I complete my undergraduate degree, I plan to do my MA in Journalism at Concordia University in Montreal.
Outside of school, I work for Blockbuster Canada as a manager. What are my favourite movies? Naturally, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey tops the list; Run Lola Run, True Romance, The Rocketeer, and A Thin Red Line are a few of my other top flicks.
When I'm not working or going to school (which often seems like all I do), I like to watch movies and play video games, go out for drinks, do any sort of outdoorsy activity, and, work on my creative writing. I hope to eventually write something of exceptional quality and substance that will get published, maybe even become a famous SF writer...
When I eventually have to take a real job, I hope to be able to make a contribution to the human race, such as help solve a problem that will make some aspect of people's lives better; I have so many ideas that I would love to explore and refine. I would also like to travel and learn more about my fellow man and the beautiful world we inhabit.
If anyone is interested, my computer that is crunching SETI data is a stacked Dell Inspiron 8200, running a P4 at 2GHz with 512 MB of RAM, 100GB hard drive, and a GeForce 3 graphics card, so I damn well hope it mows throught that data fast enough to be worth its price tag!
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| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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I've always been the kind of person to look up at the sky in wonder. We live in a fragile little ecosphere on a tiny rock whipping around a star that is hurtling through space in a spinning galaxy headed to no-one-knows-where. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our little insignificant lives that we lose perspective of the sheer wonder that our civilization hasn't destroyed itself, and, in fact, that it even exists.
Of course there's got to be something, someone else, out there in the sheer enormity that is the universe. I instinctively and unquestionably knew it as a child looking up at the wonder of the night sky in the interior of British Columbia, and I rationally saw no other option in my first year astronomy class, examining the Drake Equation and its cold mathematical calculation on the probability of extraterrestrial life.
Are we ready to discover life beyond this world? A difficult question indeed. I know that we're ready to start looking, but I hope that we will mature as a species before we initiate contact - What a poor role model we would make for a less developed civilization with our irresponsible use of our planet and our increasing social chaos. If, as is more likely, we discover a more developed extraterrestrial intelligence, I fear that they may decide to exterminate our species to prevent our violent and destructive habits from growing in scope and power. We must strive to reconcile our technological advances with our social development, strike an equilibrium with our environment, and unify ourselves for the betterment of all.
While our civilization has its faults and problems (as most probably any other one we encounter will), optimism must still take the day. SETI is a incredible example of the sheer power and resolve that the human race is capable of, a true testament to our creativity and adaptability. Extraterrestrial intelligence is out there and we will find it. |
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