I thought it was quite thought provoking to think about how astronomical signals work. Throughout the interview with Jill Tarter, it was interesting to question the intersection between the natural and “unnatural” world because signaling technology is now so readily available for use compared to centuries ago; while we cannot be 100% certain about what is being caught on such signals, due to our limitations in engineering the systems, we've developed greater flexibility and understanding as the years pass by. Furthermore, the conversation about science fiction sparked my curiosity because I generally associate actual science to be quite separate from science fiction. However, hearing an expert consider that these fantasy worlds “help us conceive what we can’t conceive of”, brought a refreshing perspective towards my perspective on space (22:05).
I would ask Jill Tarter to please elaborate on the process of looking for extraterrestrial life. At 24:17, she mentions that “it’s easier to make up other solar systems than to make up other life forms”, and I’m curious to hear more about her thoughts concerning the interdisciplinary ways to combine and develop these ideas. (For example, how can we merge “social science simulations” and “computer simulations”, models mentioned in 28:36.)