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News Of SETI Signal Just Bad Reporting
The Bad Astronomer writes "Rumors have been flying in recent days that the SETI project has received a strong signal from space, indicating the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life. Bad Astronomy breaks down the origins of this (false) claim, which mostly amounts to a heaping helping of shoddy journalism. 'I just talked to Dan Wertheimer, the astronomer quoted in the article. He told me that the original interview was about sending signals into space (so-called active SETI) as opposed to just listening for aliens. After the interview, he talked to the reporter about some of the astronomy he does, including looking at what are called radio transients: bursts of radio waves that are seen once and never repeat. These may come from one-off events like colliding neutron stars, exploding stars, and so on. Somehow, in the article the reporter mixed up the observation of the transient signals with detecting a signal from E.T.'"
I had a brief stint as a journalist - I always repeated back to my sources what I understood them to mean.
They often corrected me.
When I did a feature on a person, even a critical piece, I would send a draft to them before I submitted the article - usually there were no corrections - but when there were - they were vital.
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
Mr. Harley: Your impatience is quite understandable.
Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.
Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I'm very sorry... I wish it were otherwise.
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
When I was 16 (I'm 23 now) I did a one year stint in a McDonalds. I don't know if it's the same now as it was then, but when I was working there the boxes that the meat came in were all stamped USDA Grade A Beef. The problem is that for potential lawsuit reasons, McDonalds cooks all it's burgers to well done. When I worked there, for my dinner I would make one medium rare. This will sound crazy, but when they are cooked right (at least back then...again, don't know if this applies now) it made for one of the best burgers I've had anywhere.
The beef is actually very high quality...it just gets cooked into oblivion (and cooked very quickly, at that...from walk-in refrigerator to ready-for-burger in about a minute and a half...not the best of ways to cook meat if taste is of any concern.)
Living With a Nerd
Is that you know the reporter will keep his job. If you're dumb enough to misinterpret by that degree the words that someone spoke to you, then you should have no job reporting on anything.
The article actually contained the sentence "Across the globe, researchers searching for signs of life in space were abuzz this week with word that a mystery signal has been picked up by a giant radio-telescope in Puerto Rico."
This was not just a science neophyte failing to understand big sciency words, this was a reporter blatantly making shit up.
"Choosing to refrain from producing another person demonstrates a profound love for all life" [vhemt.org]
reporters should be made accountable for their actions, so often, when disscussing a particular scientific subject, reporters discuss the mainstream view and for good measure bring in this bearded nutcase to discuss his highly controversial but completely improbable take on the situation. To the layman (or woman), this would appear the such a view point is equally as valid as the mainstream view. Take for example global warming, a touchy subject at the best of times. For many years, the vast majority of the scientific community have agreed with the observations and conclusions with respect to the increasing temperatures and our CO2 pollution. However, news reporters always, and I mean always, included a reference to the lone few individuals who thought otherwise. This might be down to journalistic traditions which seek to examine all view points but when it comes to accurately portraying the true state of the science, it is grossly distorted.
prepare the survey weasels.
This is sometimes extremely difficult because when you are a journalist, if you make mistakes, they end up in print for everyone to see, with your name attached. But it's better to make mistakes, and correct them in humility, than to let your source write your story for you.
I've worked as a journalist for nearly seven years, and I've made some doozie mistakes, and corrected them. But I have never let a source control my story. And you know what? I've never had one refuse to be interviewed again, even if the story was critical of them. The most I will do is read back their quotes to them, and tell them in what light I am presenting them. But giving them editorial control over your story is a bad idea.
One last thing - the SETI reporter made a big, stupid mistake. It's a good thing the summaries around here are always so accurate, isn't it?
I've often wondered what would happen if it somehow get's out to the public that we have received a signal from a alien origin.
If, big if, we can somehow manage to prove without any doubt that some other species in space has sent a signal or message. I think it would/could be very beneficial to the human race.
It could raise the awareness that the individual human is a almost meaningless small part of the universe, it would raise global thinking and consciousness. No more this is my land but this is our world instead. Religions could be tossed away, or at least all the "holy" texts would have to be rewritten thoroughly, God created 'our race'... history!, God created mankind and those other guys out there.
The two biggest reasons for humans to wage war on each other would be almost assimilated.
Of course, this would never happen, religious and political leaders would go mental since that would be the biggest threat to their power ever. Instead they would try to frighten us, OBL was a pussy, Zergia from planet666 is the new enemy.
But hey, a man can still have his dreams right?
Life starts at the end of your comfort zone.