Is there anybody out there? Let’s find out

Will Rogers says:

06:03am | 18/12/09

Here’s a couple of ways to look at this, just for fun on a Fri.

Consider the odds.

If they’re there, they’ll be either dumber than us (phew - so they won’t be coming), or smarter than us (in which case they’ve heard our radio & TV for at least 70 years - would *you* come all that way for Big Brother & the set of steak-knives?)

Then again, they’ll either be meaner than we are, or nicer. Lets hope for mean and dumb, or smart and nice, eh.

Nigel says:

06:17am | 18/12/09

Absolutely agree with the author. If the SKA’s contribution to the wealth of human knowledge is considered along with the Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla, then Australia is at the forefront of exploration.  Nice to read a non-partisan piece written by a Federal Polititian too.

watto says:

06:43am | 18/12/09

Most of our good, even great scientists, head overseas because they are not properly valued or looked after here. Let’s not encourage b-grade students to do a b-grade science career - they will earn more money in mining and construction. And given your government is building the Christian Rights internet censorship ‘Large Antiscience Conroy Collider’, why not discuss how a dinosaur like Conroy could repel high-tech/net-based/creative industries from investing here, or suppress innovation in Australia? Is anybody out there in Canberra Richard? Perhaps we only need a bigger telescope to watch you cats in Canberra!

Dave Rock says:

08:19am | 18/12/09

@watto So true! Richard conveniently forgot to mention that top level science only involves a handful of boffins and is of scant economic value to Australia. Global evidence based analysis, shows that Silicon Valley type cutting-edge industries and business people will hardly want to come to a try-hard theocratic censored country. That being the case, my scientific conclusion is, we should play off our national strength$ and concentrate on digging holes in the ground and filling those holes with C02 or global uranium waste. At least under Labor’s policies, Australia may lead the world in lucrative anti-censorship technology’s. We could even sell that tech to our oppressed fellow humans in China and Iran. Massive market - just base the business in NZ.

AT says:

08:31am | 18/12/09

Um… I don’t wanna be a party-pooper or anything, but…

“The data recorded ... will in one week exceed all the information that is currently on the World Wide Web.”

That’s an awful lot of hard drives you’ll be needing.

Andrew Goff says:

09:34am | 18/12/09

Wouldn’t this be a great story, if you hadn’t just announced that you were implementing Conroy’s internet filter. One mis-typed letter on the SKA project and the website might be banned.

Nicole says:

10:44am | 18/12/09

I thought the choice between Australia and South Africa would be a no-brainer, considering crime rates, but Watto and Andrew have made very valid points. How would a crippled internet affect results correlation? As someone who lives in Geraldton, I would love the SKA to go ahead in my backyard! Hopefully the cost of internet here doesn’t outweigh the cost of security in South Africa, or we can kiss this amazing opportunity goodbye.

MF says:

11:28am | 18/12/09

I expect AARNET, the research network in Australia, might be exempt from this internet filter?  At least I’d hope so.  It’d stop a helluva lot of academics from doing their jobs (including me).

But Watto and Andrew make a good point.  Australia does not support their academics appropriately.  And most PhD grads do go overseas.  I expect that when my current contract runs out, that I’ll be another one of them.  Universities here almost actively discourage anybody from staying or coming here, as they almost systematically refuse to offer anybody tenure anymore.  And who’s going to hang around if they know it’s an option that’s never going to be put on the table?  But then that’s another argument for another day.

I hope we get the SKA project.

Chase Stevens says:

12:15pm | 18/12/09

Having this would be the single most awesome thing to happen to Australia. Bugger the world cup, people can go kick a ball in their own time, the government should be pushing this into the Mainstream Media and drumming up some support for it.

stephen says:

04:04pm | 18/12/09

Yes, build the array, and connect the power. Then turn on the switch, and send out the message.
If there’s someone there, they will soon reply.
And when they do, tell’em to come over and bring a water cannon and a fan, cause it’s bloody hot here.
(And tell’em to stop laughing)

PS Of course, if the Array finds nothing and we assume we are alone, we can conclude that we are the first.

Illawarra says:

06:00pm | 18/12/09

Like other posters here, I had strongly hoped that we could win the decision for the SKA.

But why would anybody want to allocate a major project to a country that has just revealed plans for the most imbecilic, immature and authoritarian secret government censorship regime?

I know some members of the Marles family including Richard, and I cannot imagine any of them being complicit in this dictatorial abrogation of democracy.  You may feel you cannot speak publicly, Richard, but for god’s (or somebody’s) sake tell the ALP that this censorship proposal won’t work and is totally unacceptable in a liberal democracy such as Australia.

PS @MF - nothing will be exempt from this stupid filter, including AARNET.

SP says:

08:35pm | 18/12/09

@Dave Rock Dont underestimate the knockon effect of big science to the Australian economy, after all how do you think our miners stay more competitive than those elsewhere in the world, i.e. it is science that has allowed them to efficiency extract the ore without unneccessary overburden and then get the key minerals out - similarly all other successful Australian industries are more dependent on research advances than you might imagine at first sight. However I agree that the current government has done more to destroy innovation in 2 years than all previous governments. Just look at Commercial Ready the only successful Federal funded innovation scheme which they shut down at the same time as spending 20 billion on pink bats. Not even John Howard was that stupid!

6clegs says:

12:07pm | 19/12/09

I didn’t even know about SKA!

and I bet I’m not the only one.

Thanks.

phil says:

07:54am | 20/12/09

They keep it quiet as to not upset the religious fundies so that they can’t organise a protest movement before it’s too late to stop the project.
Science and especially astrophysics has rendered any god thought up by man thus far so inconsequential that those who think they believe in a creator and that man is at the centre of that creation are just deluding themselves. The more science uncovers about out existence the more the religions of the world become obsolete.  The potential hazards that science and the humankind will face in the next few decades will be frightening. Just have a look at forces marshalled by the religious right over AGW, The once great Liberal party is an excellent example of what happens when ignorance rules the roost.