From SETI...

[CharleyH]

Is there any intelligent life out here?

 

[cloudy]

Is there any intelligent life out here?

semi-intelligent do?

 

[Guest]

guess it depends what intelligent means to you

 

[kendo1]

You called?

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Is there any intelligent life out here?

Really rather doubtful. But as long as there is sex, who cares

 

[TheEarl]

I was intelligent. Then I consumed vigorous amounts of alcohol to make it something of a moot point.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

Really rather doubtful. But as long as there is sex, who cares

and chocolate

must have chocolate

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

from wiki:
The Drake equation (also known as the Green Bank equation or the Sagan equation) is a famous result in the speculative fields of xenobiology, astrosociobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

This equation was devised by Dr. Frank Drake (a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz) in the 1960s in an attempt to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy with which we might come in contact. The main purpose of the equation is to allow scientists to quantify the uncertainty of the factors which determine the number of extraterrestrial civilizations. In recent years, the Rare Earth hypothesis, which posits that conditions for intelligent life are quite rare in the universe has been seen as a possible refutation of the equation.

The Drake equation is closely related to the Fermi paradox. It was cited by Gene Roddenberry as supporting the multiplicity of starfaring civilizations shown in Star Trek, the television show he created.

The Drake equation states that:

where:

N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which we might expect to be able to communicate at any given time
and

R* is the rate of star formation in our galaxy
fp is the fraction of those stars that have planets
ne is average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
fl is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life
fi is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life
fc is the fraction of the above that are willing and able to communicate
L is the expected lifetime of such a civilization


Current estimates of the Drake equation parameters

This section attempts to list best current estimates for the parameters of the Drake equation.

R* = the rate of star creation in our galaxy

Estimated by Drake as 10/year. Latest calculations from NASA and the European Space Agency indicates that the current rate of star formation in our galaxy is about 6 per year. The Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany notes, however, that our galaxy is not the biggest producer of stars and supernovae in the universe. [1]
fp = the fraction of those stars which have planets

Estimated by Drake as 0.5.
ne = the average number of planets (or rather satellites; moons may perhaps sometimes be just as good candidates) which can potentially support life per star that has planets

Estimated by Drake as 2.
fl = the fraction of the above which actually go on to develop life

Estimated by Drake as 1.
In 2002, Charles H. Lineweaver and Tamara M. Davis (at the University of New South Wales and the Australian Centre for Astrobiology) estimated fl as > 0.13 on planets that have existed for at least one billion years using a statistical argument based on the length of time life took to evolve on Earth. Lineweaver has also determined that about 10% of star systems in the Galaxy are hospitable to life, by having heavy elements, being far from supernovae and being stable themselves for sufficient time. [2]
fi = the fraction of the above which actually go on to develop intelligent life

Estimated by Drake as 0.01.
Some estimate that solar systems in galactic orbits with radiation exposure as low as Earth's solar system may be more than 100,000 times rarer, however, giving a value of fi = 1×10-7.
fc = the fraction of the above which are willing and able to communicate

Estimated by Drake as 0.01.
L = the expected lifetime of such a civilization

Estimated by Drake as 10,000 years.
The value of L can be estimated from the lifetime of our current civilization from the advent of radio astronomy in 1938 (dated from Grote Reber's parabolic dish radio telescope) to the current date. In 2006, this gives an L of 68 years.
In an article in Scientific American, Michael Shermer estimated L as 420 years, based on compiling the durations of sixty historical civilizations. Using twenty-eight civilizations more recent than the Roman Empire he calculates a figure of 304 years for "modern" civilizations. Note, however, that the fall of most of these civilizations did not destroy their technology, and they were succeeded by later civilizations which carried on those technologies, so Shermer's estimates should be regarded as pessimistic.
The equation based on current lower estimates, therefore, is thus:

R* = 6/year, fp = 0.5, ne = 2, fl = 0.33, fi = 1×10-7, fc = 0.01, and L = 420 years
N = 6 × 0.5 × 2 × 0.33 × 1×10-7 × 0.01 × 420 = 8.316×10-7 = 0.0000008
It is worth noting that the order of magnitude in the revised equation is determined primarily by the new estimate for fi. Going back to the number estimated by Drake (1×10-2) the result also changes to 0.08.

 

[kendo1]

and chocolate

must have chocolate

Cadbury's is going cheap.

 

[TheEarl]

Cadbury's is going cheap.

<snort>

The Earl

 

[rgraham666]

Is there any intelligent life out here?

Define 'intelligent'.

 

[NoJo]

Define 'intelligent'.

It's a fancy name for "smarts", Rob

 

[Guest]

.....

 

[Guest]

from wiki:
The Drake equation (also known as the Green Bank equation or the Sagan equation) is a famous result in the speculative fields of xenobiology, astrosociobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

This equation was devised by Dr. Frank Drake (a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz) in the 1960s in an attempt to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy with which we might come in contact. The main purpose of the equation is to allow scientists to quantify the uncertainty of the factors which determine the number of extraterrestrial civilizations. In recent years, the Rare Earth hypothesis, which posits that conditions for intelligent life are quite rare in the universe has been seen as a possible refutation of the equation.

The Drake equation is closely related to the Fermi paradox. It was cited by Gene Roddenberry as supporting the multiplicity of starfaring civilizations shown in Star Trek, the television show he created.

The Drake equation states that:

where:

N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which we might expect to be able to communicate at any given time
and

R* is the rate of star formation in our galaxy
fp is the fraction of those stars that have planets
ne is average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
fl is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life
fi is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life
fc is the fraction of the above that are willing and able to communicate
L is the expected lifetime of such a civilization


Current estimates of the Drake equation parameters

This section attempts to list best current estimates for the parameters of the Drake equation.

R* = the rate of star creation in our galaxy

Estimated by Drake as 10/year. Latest calculations from NASA and the European Space Agency indicates that the current rate of star formation in our galaxy is about 6 per year. The Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany notes, however, that our galaxy is not the biggest producer of stars and supernovae in the universe. [1]
fp = the fraction of those stars which have planets

Estimated by Drake as 0.5.
ne = the average number of planets (or rather satellites; moons may perhaps sometimes be just as good candidates) which can potentially support life per star that has planets

Estimated by Drake as 2.
fl = the fraction of the above which actually go on to develop life

Estimated by Drake as 1.
In 2002, Charles H. Lineweaver and Tamara M. Davis (at the University of New South Wales and the Australian Centre for Astrobiology) estimated fl as > 0.13 on planets that have existed for at least one billion years using a statistical argument based on the length of time life took to evolve on Earth. Lineweaver has also determined that about 10% of star systems in the Galaxy are hospitable to life, by having heavy elements, being far from supernovae and being stable themselves for sufficient time. [2]
fi = the fraction of the above which actually go on to develop intelligent life

Estimated by Drake as 0.01.
Some estimate that solar systems in galactic orbits with radiation exposure as low as Earth's solar system may be more than 100,000 times rarer, however, giving a value of fi = 1×10-7.
fc = the fraction of the above which are willing and able to communicate

Estimated by Drake as 0.01.
L = the expected lifetime of such a civilization

Estimated by Drake as 10,000 years.
The value of L can be estimated from the lifetime of our current civilization from the advent of radio astronomy in 1938 (dated from Grote Reber's parabolic dish radio telescope) to the current date. In 2006, this gives an L of 68 years.
In an article in Scientific American, Michael Shermer estimated L as 420 years, based on compiling the durations of sixty historical civilizations. Using twenty-eight civilizations more recent than the Roman Empire he calculates a figure of 304 years for "modern" civilizations. Note, however, that the fall of most of these civilizations did not destroy their technology, and they were succeeded by later civilizations which carried on those technologies, so Shermer's estimates should be regarded as pessimistic.
The equation based on current lower estimates, therefore, is thus:

R* = 6/year, fp = 0.5, ne = 2, fl = 0.33, fi = 1×10-7, fc = 0.01, and L = 420 years
N = 6 × 0.5 × 2 × 0.33 × 1×10-7 × 0.01 × 420 = 8.316×10-7 = 0.0000008
It is worth noting that the order of magnitude in the revised equation is determined primarily by the new estimate for fi. Going back to the number estimated by Drake (1×10-2) the result also changes to 0.08.

So are we gonna fuck or what?

 

[NoJo]

So are we gonna fuck or what?

It was the bit about Grote Reber's parabolic dish radio telescope that did it, wasn't it?

 

[Guest]

It was the bit about Grote Reber's parabolic dish radio telescope that did it, wasn't it?

nah

or rather satellites; moons may perhaps sometimes be just as good candidates) which can potentially support life per star that has planets

 

[rgraham666]

It's a fancy name for "smarts", Rob

Well, that lets me out.

 

[AchtungNight]

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."

- Calvin and Hobbes.

 

[CharleyH]

Good god - so much intelligence here!

 

[ChilledVodka]

Is there any intelligent life out here?

There was. But then you showed up.

 

[Oblimo]

The good news is that we've received our first transmission from Alpha Centauri star system.

The best news, however, is the translation of its content:

a/s/l? want 2 cyber?

 

[R. Richard]

Is there any intelligent life out here?

Hell, is there any intelligent life down here?

 

[R. Richard]

Some years back there was a government project set up to broadcast to the universe at large that:
1) There is intelligent life on Earth. [As previously noted this may be a fraud.]
2) Talk to us.

The idiots who set up the project were congratulaing themselves on "One giant step for mankind." Then, some people with scientific training found out about the project. The scientifically trained people then made projections based upon the number of civilizations that might receive our transmissons, the reception they might give us and possible outcomes.

There were several civilizations that might receive our message. Some of the civilizations who received our message would want to destroy/enslave us. Some of the civilizations who received our message and would want to destroy/enslave us would have the capability to do so.

The project was shut down. There have been at least two subsequent classified government projects with the same name, but not the same aim.

The conclusions:
1) Learn to recognize fire.
2) Don't play with fire.
3) "We come in peace." may be translated by an alien civilization as "Enslave us"

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

The aliens arrive with a manual to guide their interactions with us.

They tell us the title is, "To Serve Man."

After they gain control we learn - it's a cookbook.








(credit to "The Outer Limits.")

 

[R. Richard]

The aliens arrive with a manual to guide their interactions with us.

They tell us the title is, "To Serve Man."

After they gain control we learn - it's a cookbook.

The real problem is that it might not be a joke.

The story I presented is not something I culled from an "I was abducted by aliens" magazine. It is for real.