Is Messaging Aliens a Bad Idea?

We listen, but we don't send. Why do we expect aliens to transmit if we don't? Many have voiced concerns about any programs designed to broadcast our presence - afterall, they may not be friendly. Although it may be a popular idea in science fiction, what do scientists say about this scenario? Today we explore the arguments for and against messaging, and what it might imply about the type of civilization that chooses to engage in messaging...

Written and presented by Prof David Kipping. Special thanks to Erik Wernquist for giving us permission to use a clip from his beautiful "Wanderes" short film ()

→ Support our research program

→ Get Stash here!

THANK-YOU to our supporters D. Smith, M. Sloan, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, S. Brownlee, N. Kildal, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zajonc, C. Wolfred, L. Skov, G. Benson, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, S. Hannum, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, S. Roulier, B. Smith, G. Canterbury, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, E. Dessoi, J. Alexander, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, C. Hays, W. Evans, D. Bansal, J. Curtin, J. Sturm, RAND Corp., M. Donovan, N. Corwin, M. Mangione, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, G. Genova, R. Provost, B. Sigurjonsson, G. Fullwood, B. Walford, J. Boyd, N. De Haan, J. Gillmer, R. Williams, E. Garland, A. Leishman & A. Phan Le.

::Music::

Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (), or with permission from the artist

► Sid Acharya - Stories from the Sky (0:00)

► Brad Hill There Is But One Good (0200) []

► Falls - Ripley (05:54)

► Outside The Sky - Come Home (09:11)

► Chris Zabriskie - Cylinder Two (13:07)

► Joachim Heinrich - Y (16:18)

► Chris Zabriskie - Neptune Flux 1 (17:07)

► Brad Hill Loneliness (1830) []

► Chris Zabriskie - Neptune Flux 10 (21:46)

► Brad Hill When It Feels Like The World Is On Your Shoulders (2322) []

► Indive - Trace Correction (25:42)

::Film/TV clips used::

► Cosmos (PBS Television)

► Cosmos: A Space Odyssey (20th Television)

► Star Trek: The Next Generation (Paramount Television)

► Contact (Warner Bros. Pictures)

► War of the Worlds (Paramount Pictures)

► Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (EuropaCorp Distribution)

► Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+)

► Arachnophobia (Buena Vista Pictures Distribution)

► Apocalypto (Buena Vista Pictures Distribution)

► Gladiator (Dreamworks Distribution LLC)

► Star Trek (Paramount Pictures)

► A River Runs Through It (Columbia Pictures)

► Independence Day (20th Century Fox)

► Arrival (Paramount Pictures)

► Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Columbia Pictures)

► The Watcher (Netflix)

► Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

► Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (Looney Tunes)

► Margin Call (Lionsgate)

► Avengers: Infinity War (Walt Disney Studios & Motion Pictures)

► Casino Royale (Sony Pictures Releasing)

► Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+)

► The Hangover (Warner Bros. Pictures)

► Into The Wild (Paramount Vantage)

► Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

► The Bucket List (Warner Bros. Pictures)

► Johnny Cash - Hurt (American Recordings)

► Game of Thrones (HBO)

► Prometheus (20th Century Fox)

► The Expanse (Legendary Television Distribution)

► Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount Pictures)

► Annihilation (Paramount Pictures)

► The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros. Pictures)

► The Grey (Open Road Films)

► Papillon (Columbia Pictures)

::Chapters::

#DarkForest #SETIParadox #CoolWorlds