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SETI and other nonsense...

Started by Nicole Morgan55 · May 12, 2003 · 👁 5 views · 101 replies

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Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#1 · May 12, 2003

Saw a thread where slycrane94 was bragging(😉) about running SETI on their rig, which got me thinking—why shouldn't I put my beast of a PC to some actual good for once...
Since I don't buy into aliens (or Santa Claus), is there anything out there similar to SETI? Maybe some drug research or other science projects where I can donate my processing power?

slycrane94 Active Member

58 messages
joined Dec 2002

#2 · May 12, 2003

You’ve got plenty of those kinds of jokes.

Now, here comes my political manifesto on the whole thing.

Why choose SETI over some other nonsense?

First off, all medical research and everything else is basically done FOR corporations. You end up with nothing if your company makes a breakthrough. Of course, it wouldn't be such a disaster if that same corporation didn't just patent it and sell the drugs at astronomical prices.
Well, they do. My company works for them, and then they reap the rewards. If the contract actually stated that nothing discovered could be patented, maybe I'd give it a second thought.

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#3 · May 12, 2003

So what’s the payoff for helping out at SETI? A tiny little alien? 😉 😁

slycrane94 Active Member

58 messages
joined Dec 2002

#4 · May 12, 2003

Nicole Morgan55 said:And what’s my payoff for helping out at SETI? A little alien souvenir? 😉 😁

Nothing, unless you happen to discover the signal of the century. But the real kicker is that the data remains public domain, so nobody actually gets rich off it.

I'm really not a fan of the idea of some massive corporation getting even wealthier off the back of my free labor.

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#5 · May 12, 2003

slycrane94 said:It honestly bugs me when some massive corporation gets even richer just by profiting off my grind.

I feel you, but look... if it means someone actually gets help (or we find a cure for cancer), who cares?

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#6 · May 12, 2003

Alright, I finally set up that famous SETI software (at least until I find something actually useful to do with my time 😉)
1% in 6 minutes!!! Not bad for a guy like Durončić... 😉

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#7 · May 12, 2003

Nicole Morgan55 said:I get where you're coming from, but still... if someone could actually help people—or even save lives by finding a new drug—why wouldn't they?

Yeah, but let's be real—you might just end up saving the life of some big pharma CEO... 😁

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#8 · May 12, 2003

The only thing I can actually save here is my wallet... 😉

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#9 · May 12, 2003

Man, he just slips and lands right on a wallet full of soft cash—not exactly the kind of impact that breaks anything! 😉

slycrane94 Active Member

58 messages
joined Dec 2002

#10 · May 13, 2003

Nicole Morgan55 said:I get where you're coming from, but still... If this could actually help someone—or even save a life by finding a new cure—why wouldn't we...?

It’s just like the race for an HIV cure. Of course, some massive corporation is going to patent it, and the price tag will be astronomical. And who needs it most? Affrika, obviously. So look at the "benefits." You line your pockets, and it’s not even enough that people are suffering; they have to live knowing a cure exists but is completely out of reach because some corporate suit owns the patent.

Whatever. As soon as they declare it public knowledge, I'm downloading SETI and getting to work. Until then, let them deal with their own mess.

Larry Castillo66 Newcomer

1 message
joined Jun 2005

#11 · May 13, 2003

Way to go, slycrane94. You're speaking sense. 🙏 🙏 I'm right there with you on this one. This greed is everywhere.

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#12 · May 13, 2003

The Dilemma:
1. Stop using sketchy software that’s just lining someone else's pockets.
2. Stop using software to hunt for alien intelligence (since I don't buy into that nonsense anyway).
Or maybe I should just go back to the Matrix screensaver? 😁

Anyway, hey slycrane94, how many data packets have you actually crunched so far? And what's your turnaround time per packet?

slycrane94 Active Member

58 messages
joined Dec 2002

#13 · May 13, 2003

1424 units processed so far. My average is sitting at 22 hours and 26 minutes. Honestly, looking at this machine, it seems like it could knock them out in under 5 hours.

Robin Lee3 Newcomer

1 message
joined Jan 2003

#14 · May 13, 2003

What exactly does SETI actually do? Please don't just throw links at me. If anyone knows, can you just give me a quick rundown? Thanks.

slycrane94 Active Member

58 messages
joined Dec 2002

#15 · May 13, 2003

In principle, they’re scanning signals specifically looking for anything that might suggest extraterrestrial origins.

A more detailed breakdown would require diving into the math—Fourier analysis, basically. (It’s all on their website if you’re actually interested).

Eric Jackson43 Active Member

73 messages
joined Dec 2006

#16 · May 13, 2003

In a way, even SETI is patented now. I mean, if your rig actually manages to pick up some signal from deep space, you really think they’re just gonna broadcast it to the public? They’ll probably just grab that data, bury it where nobody can see it, and you’ll be left wondering if you ever actually found anything at all. You likely won't even realize something was discovered.
🙄

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#17 · May 13, 2003

slycrane94 said:Basically, they're scanning signals to see if anything looks like it actually came from outer space.

Sure, if you actually believe in aliens. 😛 Basically, they beam the data collected by their antenna over to your computer, and then you just sit there running analyses hoping to spot some kind of pattern in the signal.

Eric Jackson43 says it, and Nicole Morgan55 is totally on board:
SETI might actually end up being patented one day. If your rig actually picks up some signal from deep space, you really think they’re gonna broadcast that to the public? Nah. They’ll probably just grab that data, lock it behind a vault, and keep it far away from our eyes. You won't even know if you actually found something. You'll be left totally in the dark.

👍

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#18 · May 13, 2003

Setting

slycrane94 Active Member

58 messages
joined Dec 2002

#19 · May 13, 2003

Slime said:SETI actually holds patents. If your computer actually picked up a signal from deep space, do you really think they’d just broadcast it to the public? They’d likely grab that data, lock it away in some vault, and you’d never even know if you’d stumbled onto something massive. You'd be left wondering if you actually found anything at all.
🙄

But what would be the point? A global conspiracy? The protocols for confirming a signal are pretty clear—you report it to the UN. Besides, verifying a discovery requires multiple independent groups to confirm it, which makes keeping it under wraps virtually impossible.

There's no real way to profit from it either way. Not to mention, your name gets attached to the discovery.

Nicole Morgan55, don't be so cynical. Just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean it isn't there. That's exactly why we look. 😛

Nicole Morgan55 MemberOP

10 messages
joined Dec 2014

#20 · May 13, 2003

AxMi-24 said:...And besides, your name would end up on there too...

If it turns out those guys are actually evil aliens planning to take over the US, I highly doubt anyone wants their name on that list... 🙄 😛 😁

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