The Lonely Life of a SETI Enthusiast
Years ago, there were Maytag appliance advertisements focusing on their dependability and the loneliness of the unneeded repairman. Similar but also different for SETI enthusiasts. Initial excitement, hopes, and dreams need constant rekindling — without good reasons.
The Wow! Signal in 1977 kept scientists hoping that they had some kind of signal from intelligent extraterrestrials. It took many years to find out that the so-called signal was just hydrogen acting up. Then there was the time that scientists were fooled about ET signals that were actually from a microwave oven.
Scientists studying space alien, made with Bing AI Image Creator |
Some jobs demand patience. Fire lookouts may spend many months, maybe even years, stationed alone on lonely fire towers waiting for a puff of smoke to rouse them. To pass the time, they may read books or browse their computers (if they have internet access) or engage in activities like exercise before scanning the horizon again. The reward, though, is the payoff of sounding the alarm as early as possible to warn their fellow citizens of a wildfire. Citizens are happy to pay them for this lonely career choice.
To read the rest, see "How SETI Believers Avoid Depression." You may also like "Secularists Make Excuses for No Space Aliens."