Profile: Brian Stevens

Personal background
Just recently left the IT profession after 26 years in many capacities. I still enjoy programming and continue to build shareware for the Macintosh.

Currently, I'm studying to take the National Home Inspector's Examination (aka ASHI exam). Hopefully, I'll pass and be able to join a former co-worker in his home inspection business.

My hobbies are computer programming, reading sci-fi fantasy by Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, playing chess/bridge, swimming in the pool during the summer and visiting my nephews and nieces.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
Extraterrestrial life almost certainly exists. I suspect the intelligence of any encountered would be different from our own. They are likely to be either much less or much more intelligent than humans. To me it seems less likely to find humanoid life comparable to our own.

I suspect we won't find it until we improve our own ability to venture further out in our own Milky Way. Travel will be key to finding other life because there is probably life that is unable to respond to the signals we currently send into space. Most people don't think about the future, especially the future of the Earth and its future inhabitants. Having a long-long-term plan to find another planet for human habitation has to be one of these goals. Why? Because the sun won't last forever. Also, it might supernova before we expect it. After all, our scientist were wrong about gamma rays for years, so being wrong about the projected life of the sun seems within the realm of possibility.

I'm not convinced that contacting other intelligent (or more intelligent) life forms than ours would be beneficial to Earth and humans. Intelligent life doesn't make it civilized or fair. It is possible that contact with other intelligence could start our demise as a species. But, yes, I think we should take the risk and search because the positive benefits outweigh the negatives.

I started running SETI when a co-worker showed me the site back in June of 2000. The idea of collaborative computing where anyone could make a contribution is a great idea that seems to have many applications beyond SETI. I am happy to be able to make a small contribution
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