"The fact that the new radio signal has been detected by SETI three times indicates it could be an intentional transmission. This is the first indication of ET contact during the six years of the SETI@home project, which uses programs running as screensavers on millions of personal computers worldwide to sift through signals picked up by the Arecibo telescope."
The mainstream news blackout regarding the possible alien signal is a phenomenon in its own right. And I'm haunted by the prospect that SETI researchers will elect not to delve into this for fear of tarnishing their academic image with a potential false alarm.
False alarms are, of course, the stuff of science. But standards shift in interesting ways when the evidence is a potential communication from an extraterrestrial civilization.
Even if this turns out to be the real thing, can we hope to partake in the process of discovery during an "election" year? Back when fossilized life was arguably discovered in a Martian meteorite, Dole and Kemp (remember them?) made magazine covers. Life on Mars took a backseat.
I fear something nauseatingly similar is about to happen. But what should I expect from this thoroughly fucked-up society?
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