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Seth Shostak Quotes Quotes
A century ago, scientists believed there was only one obvious stomping ground for alien biology in our solar system: Mars. Because it was reminiscent of Earth, Mars was assumed to be chock-a-block with animate beings, and its putative inhabitants got a lot of column inches and screen time.
~ Seth Shostak
Alien
Animate
Assumed
Because
Beings
Believed
Biology
Century
Column
Earth
Got
Ground
Inches
Inhabitants
Lot
Mars
Obvious
Only
Our
Scientists
Screen
Solar
Solar System
System
Time
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A factory that can turn carbon nanotubes into a sheet a yard wide and long enough to stretch one-fourth of the way to the moon is not something you'll find at your local industrial park. That's the show-stopper for the space elevator. The ribbon.
~ Seth Shostak
Carbon
Elevator
Enough
Factory
Find
Industrial
Local
Long
Moon
Park
Ribbon
Sheet
Something
Space
Stretch
To The Moon
Turn
Way
Wide
Yard
You
Your
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A practical way to travel between the stars is a must-have for space opera, and a sine qua non for our frequently vaunted future as a galactic society.
~ Seth Shostak
Between
Frequently
Future
Opera
Our
Practical
Sine
Society
Space
Stars
Travel
Way
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About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be either biologists or music fans. Neither one has much reason to antagonize our armed forces.
~ Seth Shostak
About
Alien
Armed
Armed Forces
Biologists
Come
Culture
Earth
Either
Ever
Fans
Forces
Here
Likely
Most
Much
Music
Music Fans
Neither
Only
Our
Reason
Things
Unique
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According to 'Star Trek' mythos, Starfleet Command - operational headquarters for a flotilla of craft that keep the cosmic peace - is located in San Francisco's Presidio, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge (still carrying traffic, even in the 23rd century).
~ Seth Shostak
According
Bridge
Carrying
Century
Command
Cosmic
Craft
Even
Francisco
Gate
Golden
Headquarters
Keep
Located
Operational
Peace
San
Shadow
Star
Star Trek
Still
Traffic
Trek
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Admittedly, it would take industrial-grade chutzpah and a massive dose of malevolence for anyone to bulldoze the spot where Neil Armstrong stepped off the Eagle lander. But even innocent visits could be damaging.
~ Seth Shostak
Admittedly
Anyone
Armstrong
Could
Damaging
Dose
Eagle
Even
Innocent
Massive
Neil
Off
Spot
Stepped
Take
Visits
Where
Would
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America's popular heroes have seldom been its great thinkers, and even less its scientists. The success of TV's 'Big Bang Theory,' which seems to give the lie to this claim, is more the exception that proves the rule.
~ Seth Shostak
America
Bang
Been
Big
Big Bang
Claim
Even
Exception
Give
Great
Heroes
Less
Lie
More
Popular
Proves
Rule
Scientists
Seems
Seldom
Success
Theory
Thinkers
TV
Which
design
copy
Any beings advanced enough to traverse interstellar distances are at least a thousand years beyond our technical level. Spending gobs of time examining our missiles is equivalent to sending the Air Force back to the Middle Ages and insisting they examine the chain mail factories.
~ Seth Shostak
Advanced
Ages
Air
Air Force
Any
Back
Beings
Beyond
Chain
Distances
Enough
Equivalent
Examine
Examining
Factories
Force
Insisting
Least
Level
Mail
Middle
Middle Ages
Missiles
Our
Sending
Spending
Technical
Thousand
Thousand Years
Time
Years
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Any society that could come here could pick up the lights from New York. What should we do about that? Should we darken New York from now until the last human expires? Would we want to turn off all the radars at JFK airport?
~ Seth Shostak
About
Airport
Any
Come
Could
Here
Human
JFK
Last
Lights
New
New York
Now
Off
Pick
Should
Society
Turn
Turn-Off
Until
Up
Want
Would
York
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Are two eyes, four appendages and an upright posture really essential for any creature that can ace the galactic SAT's? Maybe not. In fact, I'd venture that any aliens we ever detect or (less likely) encounter will look quite different than this self-referential stereotype.
~ Seth Shostak
Ace
Alien
Any
Creature
Detect
Different
Encounter
Essential
Ever
Eyes
Fact
Four
In Fact
Less
Likely
Look
Maybe
Posture
Quite
Really
Sat
Stereotype
Than
Two
Upright
Venture
Will
design
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Are we the only members of the Galaxy that can actually understand what a galaxy is? Could Homo sapiens really be the pinnacle of Creation - the cleverest critters in the cosmos? If we learn the answer is 'no,' that would affect our philosophies forever.
~ Seth Shostak
Actually
Affect
Answer
Cosmos
Could
Creation
Forever
Galaxy
Homo
Homo Sapiens
Learn
Members
Only
Our
Philosophies
Pinnacle
Really
Understand
Would
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As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been a nonstop torrent of TV specials. So if you're one of the many who believe the aliens are here, you really do have to admit this: They're the best houseguests ever.
~ Seth Shostak
Admit
Alien
Another
As Far As
Been
Beings
Believe
Best
Claimed
Consequence
Earth
Ever
Far
Has-Been
Here
I Can
Invasion
Many
Nonstop
Only
Really
Star
System
Tell
TV
Who
You
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copy
Astronomers still can't decide what the shape of our universe is. Is it closed and finite, which is to say, is there a countable tally of all the galaxies that exist, even beyond the ones we can see? Or is it infinite? The latter possibility is still on the table.
~ Seth Shostak
Beyond
Closed
Decide
Even
Exist
Finite
Galaxies
Infinite
Latter
Our
Possibility
Say
See
Shape
Still
Table
Universe
Which
design
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'Battleship' is not a film that Francois Truffaut would have made. Nor would any of those other namby-pamby European directors. Nope, this picture eschews that Continental obsession with small stories, set in quaint towns filled with pockmarked folk doing their banal things.
~ Seth Shostak
Any
Banal
Continental
Directors
Doing
European
Filled
Film
Folk
Made
Nor
Obsession
Other
Picture
Set
Small
Stories
Things
Those
Towns
Would
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copy
Buying insurance is no one's idea of fun. And it's especially easy to berate something as funky-sounding as writing checks to defend our neighborhoods against apartment-size rocks from space. But this is one insurance pitch that makes perfect sense. Ask the dinos.
~ Seth Shostak
Against
Ask
Buying
Checks
Defend
Easy
Fun
Idea
Insurance
Makes
Neighborhoods
Our
Perfect
Pitch
Rocks
Sense
Something
Space
Writing
design
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By 2020, most home computers will have the computing power of a human brain. That doesn't mean that they are brains, but it means that in terms of raw processing, they can process bits as fast as a brain can. So the question is, how far behind that is the development of a machine that's as smart as we are?
~ Seth Shostak
Behind
Bits
Brain
Brains
Computers
Computing
Development
Far
Fast
Home
How
How Far
Human
Human Brain
Machine
Mean
Means
Most
Power
Process
Processing
Question
Raw
Smart
Terms
Will
design
copy
Certainly the history of astronomy shows that every time we thought we were special, we were wrong.
~ Seth Shostak
Astronomy
Certainly
Every
Every Time
History
Shows
Special
The History Of
Thought
Time
Were
Wrong
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Charles Darwin sailed around the world for two years on the 'Beagle,' and he had quite a bit of interest in things like the iguanas of the Galapagos, even though they were primitive compared to your average Englishman.
~ Seth Shostak
Around
Average
Bit
Charles
Compared
Darwin
Englishman
Even
Had
He
Interest
Like
Primitive
Quite
Quite A Bit
Sailed
Things
Though
Two
Were
World
Years
Your
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Clearly, enriching the cosmos with heavy elements takes a while. So there's inevitably an interval between the sterile aftermath of the Big Bang and a time when the cosmic chemistry set had enough ingredients to make rocky planets (and squishy biology).
~ Seth Shostak
Aftermath
Bang
Between
Big
Big Bang
Biology
Chemistry
Clearly
Cosmic
Cosmos
Elements
Enough
Enriching
Had
Had Enough
Heavy
Inevitably
Ingredients
Interval
Make
Planets
Rocky
Set
Sterile
Takes
Time
While
design
copy
Clearly, unless thinking beings inevitably wipe themselves out soon after developing technology, extraterrestrial intelligence could often be millions or billions of years in advance of us. We're the galaxy's noodling newbies.
~ Seth Shostak
Advance
After
Beings
Billions
Clearly
Could
Developing
Extraterrestrial
Galaxy
Inevitably
Intelligence
Millions
Often
Out
Soon
Technology
Themselves
Thinking
Unless
Us
Wipe
Years
design
copy
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