From: rsw@therandymon.com   
      
   On 2015-09-11, JAB  wrote:   
   > Boffins reveal intention to send message into outer space via   
   > competition with $1m prize   
   >   
   > UK scientists announced their intention to design a message to send to   
   > outer space as part of the Breakthrough Message Initiative, a public   
   > competition with a $1 million prize fund.   
   >   
   > “We’re possibly already spamming the universe with cat videos and   
   > Keeping up with the Kardashians because we don’t know the limits of TV   
   > and radio transmission, so it makes sense to design a more considered   
   > message. What’s intriguing is whether we can decide on what’s   
   > important to us as a species and how to communicate that,” explained   
   > Dr Anders Sandberg of Oxford University.   
   >   
   > Scientists and philosophers involved in the search for   
   > extra-terrestrial life were split between those who believe we should   
   > make attempts to contact aliens and those who believe it would be like   
   > “shouting in a forest full of tigers” when voting on the issue on the   
   > closing day of the British Science Festival, he said.   
   >   
   > http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/designing-postcards-for   
   aliens-wish-you-were-here-1.2347690   
      
   How does anyone have funding for something like this?  And how would any   
   alien be able to sort the signal from the noise?  This might be a nice   
   postcard, but it's going to be transmitted in a wash of other EMR   
   garbage already being transmitted normally.  Good luck, aliens.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)