2012: The year we discover proof that we're not alone?

[VioletLake]

What would happen if signals were discovered elsewhere in the galaxy, similar in form and content to the signals we have been inadvertently and purposely transmitting for almost a century?

What if those beings also dominate and kill each other?

Would the public be told about the discovery, or would it be kept secret?

Would you be in favor of saying hi, or leaving well enough alone?

[DiverDave]

1. I read a book awhile back

It's called "The Lure" by Bill Napier.
Its about contact and some reactions that probably would happen...

Oh, and the lights on the water they talk about is a real phenomena.
Check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/79fybgp

[VioletLake]

2. Thanks, DiverDave, for the very interesting link.

From the description, the book would make a good movie.

[Ohio Joe]

3. Off the top of my head...

Assuming said signals were in fact "similar in form and content to the signals we have been inadvertently and purposely transmitting for almost a century", I'm not sure it could be kept secret as far too many would be able to recieve them.

I would also say that, though I do not know the calculations, I expect it could be calculated exactly where the signals came from and how long ago they were sent... Giving a good idea of how long communication would take. I do not think "talking" to them would be very easy to do, it would depend on how old the transmission is we recieved... It could turn out that they were originally broadcast 500 years ago, which would mean ours first transmission would still not reach them for another 400 years.

If it were mine to decide on opening communication or not, I would have us wait for a more effective way (perhaps even work toward it) to do it before trying.

[VioletLake]

4. Good points, Ohio Joe.

I agree with your decision, as well.

[Boojatta]

10. Are you relying on the assumption that faster-than-light signals can be sent?

You wrote:

It could turn out that they were originally broadcast 500 years ago, which would mean ours first transmission would still not reach them for another 400 years.

Is the following controversial? Is there reason to suspect that astronomers are failing to see what is very close?

Discovered in 1994, the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy held the previous record for closest galaxy, at 75,000 light years away.

The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is about 42,000 light years from the galactic center, and a mere 25,000 light years from us (which puts it closer to us than the center of our own galaxy, which is 30,000 light years away from the Solar System).

Link:
http://www.universetoday.com/21914/the-closest-galaxy-to-the-milky-way/

Compare a drop in the record from 75,000 to 25,000 (cutting down by 2/3) to a hypothetical drop from 25,000 to 500 (cutting down by 98%).

[Ohio Joe]

11. No, just taking the OP's premise as stated

"What would happen if signals were discovered elsewhere in the galaxy, similar in form and content to the signals we have been inadvertently and purposely transmitting for almost a century?"

The assumption I make here is that the technology is similar to what we have been using for the last century and that speeds would be comparable.

[jberryhill]

5. As in "those voices in my head are from somewhere else"?

[OnTheOtherHand]

6. naw, take the question straight up

Great big universe, ergo, some possibility that intelligent life has developed elsewhere. Probably not very nearby, so the civilization whose signals we detect could be gone, or else radically transformed, by the time we detect and decode them -- never mind find a way to carry on a conversation. Of course that's why so many science fiction novels stipulate a means of faster-than-light travel or at least communication. At any rate, it's an interesting question. Of course, I would think so, having been raised on Star Trek.

For what it's worth, (1) I think it would be hard to keep extraterrestrial communications secret (although I can imagine a scenario in which it is feasible), and (2) given the premise of the question, I think we should construe that we've been saying "Hi" for a while now.

[VioletLake]

7. Thank you, OnTheOtherHand.

I realize that if not for my limited knowledge of science, the questions would not have needed correction.

By the way, my favorite Star Trek series, over-all, was Voyager. Although I prefer Enterprise's longer story arcs.

[OnTheOtherHand]

8. I'm weak on Star Trek spinoffs

I followed TNG for a couple of seasons and watched bits and pieces of most of the others; I don't think I ever managed to watch Enterprise at all.

I liked Janeway and thought The Doctor was very funny, but I never really bonded with the Voyager ensemble. That could very well be because at that point we had two young children, rather than anything about the show itself.

Anyway -- I don't think your questions needed "correction." I like questions that lead to other questions. This is the Creative Speculation group, after all. I've never really seen the appeal of the arguments that we've had recent contact (not just radio contact!) with extraterrestrials, but it's not because I'm not interested in the idea.

[jberryhill]

9. By the same token

Odds of discovery in any chosen year = mighty low

[fadedrose]

12. Where'd you come up with the year 2012?

The Mayan calandar ending that month or somewhere else.

I'd like to know all of the references to changes occuring in 2012..Dec. 2l, specifically...

Good Reads - http://www.goodreads.com/reader/19138-the-shift-of-the-ages-through-2012-and-beyond?percent=0.16228

Nobody's saying it's the end of the world, just some kind of big change....