If we receive a signal from deep space, what do you think it is most likely to be?

[Sharkman Briton]

Star fart.

[Aethon]

first we are moving away from high power unidirectional broadcast

Very true. This is one of the main criticisms of SETI, but there are many other ways to detect ETI, some that we have yet to discover.

Fusion research has created lasers on Earth with the ability to briefly outshine our sun, and effort is now being made to detect nanosecond laser pulses from ETI.

If a civ has spread to worlds other than their planet of origin, we may be able to intercept line of site transmissions between the various domains of their civ. or perhaps they have a significant Dyson swarm. No antenna is 100% efficient, so if they beam a gigawatt of microwave power back to their world and their antenna is 99% efficient, they're still reflecting 10 million watts back into space that we may be able to detect*. Furthermore, the energy from the Dyson swarm must go somewhere after it has done its' work. There is no physical way around this, and it should show up as thermal radiation around 300K.

quantum entanglement

I'm sorry I have to say this again, but there is no way that quantum entanglement can send information. If you could violate all we know about physics and somehow encode one bit on a photon, that photon still has to travel to the place/entity that you want to want to communicate with, and photons travel at the speed of light- no faster.

* I should mention that both of these signals would be very difficult to decode. The former because it was made by a genome that we share zero similarity to, and it wasn't intended for us to understand, and the latter because there is no message.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Aethon

[LABHOUSE]

If aliens are like Americans: You guys need to get more guns, and gamma ray guns, and laser weapons, or you will kill each other.

If aliens are like China: Here, want to buy some cheap, badly made by slaves, items?

If aliens are like people in general: You are not as smart as we are, so you cannot think, have emotion, or feel pain; so prepare to become farmed in horrible conditions and killed.

If aliens are steryotypical: Greetings, may we have permission to go to your galaxy? or Prepare to be incinerated! or May the force be with you.

If aliens are nice and friendly: (Insert how to on advanced tech, complete with a spoiler alert)

If aliens are like nasa: (Insert location, greetings in every alien language, and a picture of the species)

If aliens are like me: Help us!!! We are surrounded by idiots!

What is most likely:

1. May the force be with you 6EQUJ5

2. TV, radio, phones, war messages

3. Hello, please reply with your location, or come to us if you are able to travel to (insert location) within a tenth of your specie's average life span

[PB666]

Lets hope so.

However, I contend that the smartest animals here on Earth ( our only data point ) are predators (gpisic and I have discussed this extensively in Steam chat as well, so I know he debates the idea that humans are predators. I say : Eyes in the front of the head. He says : Our eye placement is for jumping from tree to tree.). The predator prey relationship increases the intelligence of both. I think we are most likely to meet a fellow predator who clawed it's way to the top of a far off food chain.

Now whether predatory aggression designed to facilitate f'ing and fighting on a primitive grassland is a survivable trait remains a mystery, which is precisely why an intelligent signal from 'the other' is so important for us to find. Much of our territorial aggression has faded away, and will probably continue to do so. Human males are one of the few animals that can peacefully(?) exist in large groups (try putting 40 male animals of most any other species in a room together for a few days and see what happens).

Further, technology itself can be seen as aggressive. It treats nature as an enemy and attempts to force the chaos of the environment into unnatural forms, a rebellion against the natural order. To flourish in a hostile environment, intelligence needs powerful (dangerous) tools and large empires. I contend it is folly for a young technology to shout blindly into a jungle that holds unknown hazards.

If you have the ability to build a ship that can survive in space for the light years needed to travel between two goldilocks planets, if you have the ability to bring world destroying weapons along for the ride, to land afterwards and do anything. You probably don't need the planet to begin with, you can collect more resources in space, and you essentially can use space as your colony.

I think humans would be nothing more like an amusement, like chimpanzees in a zoo. "Gee aren't they clever little aliens"

[Nothalogh]

[h=1]If we receive a signal from deep space, what do you think it is most likely to be?[/h]

It is most likely to be bait

[Bioman222]

I would send aliens a message along the terms of "1... 2... 3..." and so on. A simple binary signal that would be universally recognizable.

[magnemoe]

Very true. This is one of the main criticisms of SETI, but there are many other ways to detect ETI, some that we have yet to discover.

Fusion research has created lasers on Earth with the ability to briefly outshine our sun, and effort is now being made to detect nanosecond laser pulses from ETI.

If a civ has spread to worlds other than their planet of origin, we may be able to intercept line of site transmissions between the various domains of their civ. or perhaps they have a significant Dyson swarm. No antenna is 100% efficient, so if they beam a gigawatt of microwave power back to their world and their antenna is 99% efficient, they're still reflecting 10 million watts back into space that we may be able to detect*. Furthermore, the energy from the Dyson swarm must go somewhere after it has done its' work. There is no physical way around this, and it should show up as thermal radiation around 300K.

I'm sorry I have to say this again, but there is no way that quantum entanglement can send information. If you could violate all we know about physics and somehow encode one bit on a photon, that photon still has to travel to the place/entity that you want to want to communicate with, and photons travel at the speed of light- no faster.

* I should mention that both of these signals would be very difficult to decode. The former because it was made by a genome that we share zero similarity to, and it wasn't intended for us to understand, and the latter because there is no message.

I agree that some signals might be picked up, the WOW signal might be something like this "help kraken attacks or Jeb what are you doing" Also leaks from power transfer is another one.

However this will be rare its also not something we can get any information out from.

Agree on content, the message would either be short or strongly compressed.

Then we are ale to detect if planets has an oxygen atmosphere it might be an idea to keep watch over them to see if we can pick up something.

[legoclone09]

No one got this? C'mon, you guys need to read more.

I think it'll just be complete nonsense.I mean, how do we even know what they meant?

I got it, isn't it from that South Park episode where Earth is a TV show or something?

[Perry Apsis]

"Pardon me... Do you have any Grey Poupon?"

[Mikki]

An extraterrestrial signal might have following content/ sense/ intention:

"We are here." (...more likely... "We have been here...")

Given the direction and distance calculated to the source, any "intelligent" receiver capable of "receiving" a definetly intelligent amplifiyed signal would come to this solution. Chances of submitting a valuable information (aside source/ signalstrenght) would be utter luck.

If transmitting such signals can be considered "intelligent" is another question.

In our situation its not definetly answered if there are options to travel interstellar distances as an organic beeing, or, more likely, having the need to do so.

Further developed civilisations whatever kind might have solved the problems we actually have on earth, which does make interplanetary travel needless in any economical sense.

Except "they" make sience just for fun.

[genericeventhandler]

Other Non:

TV signals don't have much power and will be lost in background noise before they get too far out our solar system.

The most likely, we will never receive a message from outer space. The reason is because you don't know who you are shouting at, the people hearing your call for Help / Greeting could already Warp technology and will be eating you and planting flags on your planet before you wonder how long you will have to wait.

The only way is to go out there and observe the culture you want to meet to see if they are stable and don't have nukes.

[Darnok]

I would send aliens a message along the terms of "1... 2... 3..." and so on. A simple binary signal that would be universally recognizable.

Doubt it would be binary... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numeral_systems I would pick "Golden ratio base" or "Base À "Pi-nary""

[magnemoe]

Doubt it would be binary... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numeral_systems I would pick "Golden ratio base" or "Base À "Pi-nary""

binary makes some sense as digital computers will use it, naturally they will probably do 8-12.