“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

However I find that the only one I really, truly, totally want to cut as an alternative to cutting SETI is the last one. Not just the Citi exec though. All of them!

Not a rational response you understand. We’re talking visceral emotion here. In fact I can think of hundreds of more deserving causes than the finance executives, starting with people who do their jobs and do not destroy their countries.

How about giving me 2.r million per year? Why, Because you should and I want it. IS that good enough? I promise I’ll pump most of it right back into the economy, so it is really no loss.

Damn, that’s only half the price of a Phoenix air-to-air missile! I had no idea a cruise missile would be so cheap. Your average well-off suburbanite could buy one for himself just by selling his house!

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_%282009_film%29
“It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion”
Ditto

I believe Phil does think that; in fact he writes a blog, “Bad Astronomy”, based on that idea. You should try reading it sometime.

Oh, I do obviously, but I have an interest in what happens out there. The people who don’t are watching American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, or playing golf. I don’t think the good doctor is reaching them.

That seems too easy an explanation for me but maybe he’s right.

One should also note: the worlds (2009) GDP was 56 TRILLION dollars. What’s a lousy 2.5 million compared to that?

Maybe some rich person will pick up SETIs slack.

Gary 7

What really amazes me is how self-professed skeptics are frequently the ones most blind to their own biases. It’s as though having declared themselves skeptics, everything they do or believe must be true. They apply skepticism in a superficial way, but will not apply it to their own beliefs or values.

That quite a few (including the author) on this thread cannot seem to imagine that other people can have other sets of values is rather apparent. The concept that if a person believes something is not worth doing means that any amount of money above zero is too much seems absent.

No amount of pleading or diagrams is going to change a person’s mind if they do not share your values in the first place. To do that, you have to show how it is worthwhile under their own value system.

For the record, I support looking for alien intelligence, but think the probabilities are far too low to make radio SETI worthwhile at this time. Once we have a way of narrowing the search, I will reassess.

MrQ

Ask people if they would be willing to spend $1 on SETI. Not $1 per month. Not $1 per year. But $1. Period.

I’d like to think that at least half the people in this country would say “sure, why not”. (And some will put in much more than $1.) If you find resistance, then simply say “make it $10, and I’ll give you a large cup at Starbucks — your choice — absolutely free”.

You now have $150M. Put $2.5M to the first year’s budget, and invest the remaining $147.5M.

Even with inflation, and the cost of running SETI going up each year, you have all the funding you need for centuries to come.

Problem solved, thank you very much.

Just send your check or money order to…Ken(&+-_*^&%&^ #*&^+*&
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