Identify and explain the most surprising or memorable bit of information you learned.
I was really intrigued by the conversation around how the government would handle publicizing proof of alien life. It was fascinating to me that there are people who actually study how such an announcement would be received and the psychological effect it would have on the public. It makes sense that such shocking news could cause people to panic, but it’s interesting to me that the government sees such a discovery as likely enough that they’ve already started planning a formalized process for how it should be announced to avoid hysteria.
2. If you had conducted the interview, what unasked and/or unanswered question would you have asked, and
why?
If I was conducting the interview, I would have followed up on Jill Tarter’s comments on responsible space exploration and cross-contamination. I’m curious to know more about what scientists need to consider in terms of sterilization and contamination (for instance, she mentioned how we dispose of spacecraft) when we’re exploring other planets, and how we can maintain ethical standards as we do so.
Link: https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:HarvardX:68789c56:lx_simulation:1
In response to your first comment, I wonder if the government would announce it at all? I imagine that if we actually found extraterrerstrial life, the government would want to be in contact with them and basically confirm that they aren't a threat before notifying the public. So for this reason maybe its good that a lot of SETI research is more privatized now because individual corporations aren't as much under the government's jurisdiction regarding what information can be shared with the public.