Had I conducted the interview with Jill Tarter, I would ask if there were any consistent processes being set up for communicating with other members of their team in different locations. Tarter discusses two false positive signals, the second of which they failed to mention to their colleagues in California. This struck me as signals are so rare that they forgot to follow a previously established process to contact relevant teams, which seems disparate with the hope that ETs do indeed exist. Does she believe that she will see a true signal within her lifetime?
https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:HarvardX:68789c56:lx_simulation:1?fullscreen=true
Hi Sophia! I also found it very interesting to think about trying to discern natural signals from ones that could have been produced by extraterrestrials. I wonder to what extent the types of signals we are looking for could possibly be produced by non living processes in space that we do not yet know about. This could lead to lots of uncertainty in judging whether we are receiving some signal from intelligent beings. With the vast distances of space, we will probably find signals of life from far away long before we make any contact with aliens. However, as humanity continues to improve our understanding of space through our telescopes, simulations, and continued progress of physics we will be able to reduce this uncertainty and find reliable ways to find proof of life outside of Earth
Hi Sophia, what an interesting question. What was interesting to me was that she seemed to be relatively optimistic about the existence of ETs (for example, that it it is a possibility that they exist in our own solar system). I believe that my additional question goes along well with yours-- I was curious to know whether she hoped to be able to communicate with ETs, or if that may be too dangerous.
Hi Sophia! I also discussed the two false positives in my discussion post. I wonder how she is able to determine which signals are special and are potentially ETs. I am curious to see if she believes that she will see a true signal. For me, personally, I do not think so, but I also have low hope that ETs do exist.