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Seth Shostak Quotes
It's hardly a secret that I'm skeptical of declarations that the aliens are out and about on our planet. Still, I try to answer every one of these mails and phone calls because, after all, it's not a violation of physics to travel from one star system to another.
~ Seth Shostak
About
After
Alien
Another
Answer
Because
Calls
Every
Hardly
Our
Our Planet
Out
Phone
Phone Calls
Physics
Planet
Secret
Skeptical
Star
Still
System
Travel
Try
Violation
design
copy
It's the default premise in science: If you observe something in nature only once, you assume that what you've seen is typical. That's because 'typical' is just another way of saying 'most probable.'
~ Seth Shostak
Another
Another Way
Assume
Because
Default
Just
Most
Nature
Observe
Once
Only
Premise
Probable
Saying
Science
Seen
Something
Typical
Way
You
design
copy
It's worth noting that invoking God as the entity who set our universe in motion isn't contradicted by the data. Of course, scientists would say the supreme being hypothesis is faith, and outside the realm of science - that it's not amenable to experiment. But we currently have the same problem with the notion of parallel universes.
~ Seth Shostak
Being
Course
Currently
Data
Entity
Experiment
Faith
God
Hypothesis
Motion
Noting
Notion
Our
Outside
Parallel
Problem
Realm
Same
Say
Science
Scientists
Set
Supreme
Supreme Being
Universe
Universes
Who
Worth
Would
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I've often fantasized about visiting the Bahamian beach where Columbus first stumbled ashore in 1492. Sadly, no one knows where that beach is. In fact, no one's even sure which island Columbus first encountered (there are three candidates). It's a pity, a disappointment, and a lost revenue source for the Bahamians.
~ Seth Shostak
About
Ashore
Beach
Candidates
Columbus
Disappointment
Encountered
Even
Fact
First
In Fact
Island
Knows
Lost
No-One
Often
Pity
Revenue
Sadly
Source
Stumbled
Sure
Three
Visiting
Where
Which
design
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Judging by informal observation, most young Americans burn up their spare time buffing their emotional IQ and self-esteem with social media and non-stop texting. That's great for eye-thumb coordination, but what about the satisfaction of actually making something?
~ Seth Shostak
About
Actually
American
Burn
Coordination
Emotional
Great
Informal
IQ
Judging
Making
Media
Most
Non-Stop
Observation
Satisfaction
Self-Esteem
Social
Social Media
Something
Spare
Spare Time
Texting
Time
Up
Young
Young Americans
design
copy
Junk, redundancy, and inefficiency characterize astrophysical signals. It seems they characterize cells and sea lions, too. These biological constructions have lots of superfluous and redundant parts, and are a long way from being optimally built or operated.
~ Seth Shostak
Being
Biological
Built
Cells
Characterize
Inefficiency
Junk
Lions
Long
Long Way
Lots
Operated
Parts
Redundant
Sea
Seems
Signals
Superfluous
Too
Way
design
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Jupiter, a world far larger than Earth, is so warm that it currently radiates more internal heat than it receives from the Sun.
~ Seth Shostak
Currently
Earth
Far
Heat
Internal
Jupiter
Larger
More
Receives
Sun
Than
Warm
World
design
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Just knowing that there's somebody else out there - that what's happened on this planet has also happened in many other places - that might change our lives in a very subtle way, but it's interesting to know and worth looking for.
~ Seth Shostak
Also
Change
Else
Happened
Interesting
Just
Know
Knowing
Lives
Looking
Many
Might
Other
Our
Our Lives
Out
Places
Planet
Somebody
Subtle
Very
Way
Worth
design
copy
Lamentably, alien audiences may be frustrated by the switch to digital television. That's because the transmitter power for DTV is fairly evenly spread across the spectrum. The spikiness is gone, and from afar, the attention-grabbing squeals of analog television's carriers have been replaced by DTV's smooth, low hiss.
~ Seth Shostak
Across
Afar
Alien
Analog
Audiences
Because
Been
Digital
Fairly
Frustrated
Gone
Low
May
Power
Replaced
Smooth
Spectrum
Spread
Switch
Television
design
copy
Like prospecting in the 19th century, reconnaissance of the asteroids would of necessity take place in an arena where trouble is likely and help is distant. Heroic stories of individual triumph and failure, set on landscapes never seen by humankind, are in the cards.
~ Seth Shostak
19th Century
Arena
Cards
Century
Distant
Failure
Help
Heroic
Humankind
Individual
Landscapes
Like
Likely
Necessity
Never
Place
Seen
Set
Stories
Take
Triumph
Trouble
Where
Would
design
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Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400 years of science, right? I mean, in the 18th century, in the 18th century you could become an expert on any field of science in an afternoon by going to a library, if you could find the library, right?
~ Seth Shostak
18th Century
Afternoon
Any
Become
Being
Century
Could
Expert
Facts
Field
Find
Going
Hard
Library
Look
Mean
Reputation
Result
Right
Science
Years
You
design
copy
Many people suggest using mathematics to talk to the aliens, and Dutch computer scientist Alexander Ollongren has developed an entire language (Lincos) based on this idea. But my personal opinion is that mathematics may be a hard way to describe ideas like love or democracy.
~ Seth Shostak
Alexander
Alien
Based
Computer
Democracy
Describe
Developed
Dutch
Entire
Hard
Hard Way
Idea
Ideas
Language
Like
Love
Many
Mathematics
May
Opinion
People
Personal
Scientist
Suggest
Talk
Using
Way
design
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Mars still remains the astrobiology community's number one choice for 'nearest rock with life,' but there are many researchers who argue that the moons of Jupiter are better bets. In particular, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are all thought to hide vast oceans of liquid water beneath their icy, outer skins.
~ Seth Shostak
Argue
Beneath
Bets
Better
Choice
Community
Hide
Icy
Jupiter
Life
Liquid
Many
Mars
Nearest
Number
Oceans
Outer
Particular
Remains
Researchers
Rock
Skins
Still
Thought
Vast
Water
Who
design
copy
Most of the intelligence out there must be artificial intelligence. We keep looking for critters like us living on a planet like ours, where in fact the majority of the intelligence out there is not biological. That would be my argument.
~ Seth Shostak
Argument
Artificial
Artificial Intelligence
Biological
Fact
In Fact
Intelligence
Keep
Like
Living
Looking
Majority
Most
Must
Ours
Out
Planet
Us
Where
Would
Would-Be
design
copy
Most of the things at the zoo don't look like us. We're one design that works. Our chimp pals sort of look like us, so that's a different take on the same basic design. But fish don't look like us, and giraffes don't. They look a little like us, but not too much. And insects certainly don't look like us, and they work just fine.
~ Seth Shostak
Basic
Certainly
Design
Different
Fine
Fish
Giraffes
Insects
Just
Like
Little
Look
Most
Much
Our
Pals
Same
Sort
Take
Things
Too
Too Much
Us
Work
Works
Zoo
design
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Mountains aren't eternal: even the most imposing massifs are smoothed away by weathering in a few hundred million years or less. Plate tectonics makes new ones, and without it, our future would be flat.
~ Seth Shostak
Away
Eternal
Even
Few
Flat
Future
Hundred
Imposing
Less
Makes
Million
Million Years
Most
Mountains
New
New Ones
Our
Plate
Without
Would
Would-Be
Years
design
copy
NASA's Office of Commercial Exploration has been concerned about protecting the landing zones where humans first walked on the Moon, and one of my colleagues, ecologist Margaret Race, has been part of their deliberations.
~ Seth Shostak
About
Been
Colleagues
Commercial
Concerned
Exploration
First
Has-Been
Humans
Landing
Margaret
Moon
NASA
Office
Part
Protecting
Race
Walked
Where
Zone
design
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Neil Armstrong was no Christopher Columbus. In most respects, he was better. Unlike the famous fifteenth century seafarer, Armstrong knew where he landed. He also spent his time in public service, not in jail, and his passing was marked by world-wide encomiums. He ended his days as a celebrated explorer rather than a royal inconvenience.
~ Seth Shostak
Also
Armstrong
Better
Celebrated
Century
Christopher
Columbus
Days
Ended
Explorer
Famous
He
His
Inconvenience
Jail
Knew
Landed
Marked
Most
Neil
Passing
Public
Public Service
Rather
Respects
Royal
Service
Spent
Than
Time
Unlike
Where
design
copy
Note to academics: Aristarchus' track record of astronomical research would probably have guaranteed him tenure somewhere, if tenure had been invented. His stack of reprints included measuring the distances of the Moon and Sun.
~ Seth Shostak
Academics
Been
Distances
Guaranteed
Had
Him
His
Included
Invented
Measuring
Moon
Note
Record
Research
Somewhere
Stack
Sun
Tenure
Track
Track Record
Would
design
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Of course there is still unexplored terrestrial territory, but most of it is waterlogged. Submersed secret places, such as the Challenger Deep, which today lure hi-tech adventurers like Richard Branson and James Cameron, will undoubtedly provide welcome fodder for 'National Geographic.'
~ Seth Shostak
Cameron
Challenger
Course
Deep
Geographic
James
Like
Lure
Most
National
National Geographic
Places
Provide
Richard
Secret
Still
Territory
Today
Undoubtedly
Unexplored
Welcome
Which
Will
design
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