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| Personal background |
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I was born in Ohio in 1950, and am currently employed as an environmental laboratory assessor for the State of Louisiana. Before that I taught chemistry at Southeastern Louisiana University. The closest thing I have to a hobby is working on my c-band satellite dish system. When I was a boy, my family couldn't afford an erector set, so now that I'm too old for toys, this is my substitute. I probably should have been an auto mechanic, but I listened to my guidance counselor and got a PhD instead. Never listen to your guidance counselor.
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| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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I am not optimistic about the prosepects for contacting an alien civilization, in part because I know that if an alien civilization had been scanning our system for signals 100 years ago, they would have gotten nothing. We not only have to hope that an alien civilization is within earshot, but that they are at least as technologically advanced as we are. Nevertheless, I think it is a useful thing to do because of the profound philosophical implications that a successful outcome for this project would bring.
I think the boinc project is a great idea, and am inclined to be patient with the various hiccups that have accompanied its development. I can forsee a time when most of the world's PCs are tied into various projects threough something like boinc or its descendants.
My one suggestion about seti@home is that incentives to the participants should not be neglected. People get a feeling of accomplishment from seeing their credits accumulate, and from seeing that they have completed more work units that XX% of the participants. From reading the message boards and newsgroups, I get the feeling that some people have soured on the boinc version because they're not getting that feedback that tells them that they are making a significant contribution. |
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