S.E.T.I.@Home

[Faggot the Hutt]

I've been running S.E.T.I.@Home for some time now, and was wondering if anyone with spare CPU cycles would like to join me in creating a S.E.T.I.@Home group of fencers? Anyone with a 1.4GHz (or faster) CPU is invited to join. I'm not trying to exclude people based on CPU type, but anything less than a 1.4Ghz CPU simply takes too long to process signal packets.

Most people can install the S.E.T.I. screensaver and be done with it, but for those of you who want to put in a little more effort, use the command line version for more speed. I'll be creating a website where you can post a pic, bio, and system specs. Since this is going to be a fencing group, if you want to contribute any fencing links or team sites, I'll will post them on the group site as well. (The team site will not be in any way related to my personal site, and their addresses will be different.)

If you're interested, send an e-mail to fa ggot_the_hutt@yahoo.com (remove the spaces between the "fa" and the "ggot," obviously.)

[Faggot the Hutt]

C'mon... Not one person is a S.E.T.I. fan? Unbelievable.

[scrapinpeg]

Of course, SETI is operating on the premise that any intelligent life is beaming radio signals (or similar EM radiation) into the void to announce their presence.

There are three major problems with that premise.

1) Radio signals lose their strength geometrically over distance, as they spread out and run into interference. A signal from even the nearest stars would have to have been tremendous, requiring a significant expenditure of energy to reach us, presuming it was pointed in the right direction.

2) Radio signals are not permanent -- they must be continually broadcast without interruption, otherwise if you blink you miss them. The song you listened to on the radio this morning is not just hanging around waiting to be intercepted by your antenna again - it's on its way to Mars.

3) Radio signals travel at about the speed of light. So any signal sent from 100 million light years away would have been sent 100 million years ago. The probability of intelligent life existing increases with distance, but as distance increases you get closer to the big bang, and the farther back in time you go the less likely intelligent life is to have evolved. In other words, the probability of intelligent life existing at a time when it could have sent a signal that we could intercept at this moment is the sum of two contrary probabilities that essentially cancel each other out. In other words, zero.

And of course, all this presumes that the intelligent life out there did come up with radio broadcasting ability and used it to announce its presence in the first place.

There's probably better things to look for.

[Faggot the Hutt]

This is turning into such a bad day.

If you've no intention of helping, don't be an ***- just go away.

[gulebukser]

Sorry, I run with the Folding@home people.

[scrapinpeg]

Actually was trying to be helpful. The SETI project is a fun and awe-inspiring example of the potential of the internet community, but is also not likely to get any results. You seem to me from your posts to be impatient with things that, when scrutinized, don't live up to the hype.

[Sarah]

I believe in extraterrestrials.... the multiverse is too big for there not to be, I'd be extremely surprised if we were the only ones.

[Faggot the Hutt]

Originally Posted by scrapinpeg

Actually was trying to be helpful. The SETI project is a fun and awe-inspiring example of the potential of the internet community, but is also not likely to get any results. You seem to me from your posts to be impatient with things that, when scrutinized, don't live up to the hype.

If you were trying to helpful, then that's fine. But, your post came across as very condescending. There's seem to be a lot of that going around lately and it's beginning to get on nerves.

*edit*

Look, there is some bad energy going around. So, I'm saying peace to you Scrapinpeg. Let me know if you'd like to join my team.

[Faggot the Hutt]

Originally Posted by Sarah

I believe in extraterrestrials.... the multiverse is too big for there not to be, I'd be extremely surprised if we were the only ones.

Join my team! I know you've got spare CPU cycles! Gimme, gimme, gimme!

[telkanuru]

If I was at home, I'd have a 6 computer beowulf cluster (go, Knoppix linux!), but I'm not, so I don't. Or rather, I can't access it. Not like they're impressive computers, either.

[Event Horizon]

One was created allready by Wizardly, here's the thread:http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthr...highlight=seti

Instead of creating your own, why not join the one already created?

[lochinvar]

What is SETI?

I ask because, unlike some on this board, I have a life and can't keep up with the Latest and Greatest Acronym Fad. This is obviously one I've missed, though I--just as obvioulsy--don't seem to have felt the lack.

[dunastor]

It is the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence

[xcr]

I would happily join, but my pc is a mere 1.1ghz... sorry

[Event Horizon]

Originally Posted by lochinvar

What is SETI?

I ask because, unlike some on this board, I have a life and can't keep up with the Latest and Greatest Acronym Fad. This is obviously one I've missed, though I--just as obvioulsy--don't seem to have felt the lack.

Then why do u care what it is?

[lochinvar]

Originally Posted by Event Horizon

Then why do u care what it is?

Actually, I don't. Thanks for reminding me. Have fun with whatever-it-is.

[mrbiggs]

It's the Search for Extraterrestrial (sp?) Intelligence. In short, we're receiving tons and tons of data from space, but one computer can't sort through it all to find the aliens because it's coming in continuously-it has to sort out data before new data comes in, on and on forever.

So someone had a truly genius idea. The thought about the internet, and the MILLIONS of computers out there which don't do anything 90% of the time. And they thought "why don't we just use their power?"

So your home computer can become a part of SETI-when you're not using it, it processes radio signals from space (over the internet) to see if there's any aliens. A truly cool idea, and something worth being part of.

I can't do it because I'm not the only one who uses this computer, and I AM the only one who is interested in putting SETI on it.

[Max]

What if we all tapped all our compuers together? So that when computer is doing mostly nothing, another one in like Bangladesh can run faster off that power? Probably a dumb questoin, but what the heck.

[dunastor]

Originally Posted by Max

So that when computer is doing mostly nothing, another one in like Bangladesh can run faster off that power?

They have computers in Bangladesh?

[Faggot the Hutt]

Originally Posted by Event Horizon

Instead of creating your own, why not join the one already created?

I didn't know there was one, and I've already created a team:

http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/s...am_190092.html