Depth of field.

The human entity is the comedy of the universe. Life and its surroundings supply us with a stage, lights, props, sounds, colours, effects, scripts and other actors to play off.

The 'Wow!' signal
The Wow! signal was a strong narrowband radio signal detected by Dr. Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977, while working on a SETI project at The Big Ear radio telescope of Ohio State University. The signal bore expected hallmarks of potential non-terrestrial and non-solar system origin. It lasted for 72 seconds, the full duration Big Ear observed it, but has not been detected again. Much attention has been focused on it in the media when talking about SETI results.

Amazed at how closely the signal matched the expected signature of an interstellar signal in the antenna used, Ehman circled the signal on the computer printout and wrote the comment "Wow!" on its side. This comment became the name of the signal. (Wikipedia)


Is this message from the stars caused by a moving object that coincidentally came across our message while on its journey and then projected its reply back to us? Or is it a static being that sent back a reply, and simply switched off or became invisible, disguising itself amongst the stellar backdrop of the universe? Or has it no meaning at all? Is it simply an elaborate hoax to bring fame to the acclaimed Dr. Ehman?

Such is the Fermi paradox: "The apparent contradiction between the high probability extraterrestrial civilizations' existence and the lack of contact with such civilizations."

The Great Silence: "Even if travel is hard, if life is common, why don't we detect their radio transmissions?"

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