Coming August 11th, 2025

"Are SETI scientists fools? Or are they heroic, like the motley Percival the Fool, who became the greatest of the Grail questors? I think of SETI scientists as modern-day alchemists. How so? Aristotle (384-322 BCE), a student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, was perhaps the greatest thinker of his era and certainly the most influential. A true polymath, he made contributions to astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and ethics, among many other fields. His naturally inquisitive mind was the wonder of the ancient world, and his views would dominate thought for the next 2000 years. Among Aristotle’s most important discoveries in physics was that matter derived from a formless pre-material known as prima materia. The prima materia gave birth to the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water, which were themselves colored by the four qualities of hot, cold, moist, and dry. Mix and match, add a little more of this and a little less of that, and anything might be transmuted into something else, like, for instance, lead into gold. Does something sound wrong here?

SETI, is a proto-science. Like alchemists, SETI scientists grope in the dark, knowing next to nothing about the object of their study, extraterrestrials. As with the alchemists, there is a tendency for SETI scientists to project all of their hopes, fears, and fantasies upon their mysterious subject. There are SETI scientists who are practical, hands-on types. They run the radio and optical telescopes. And then there are SETI theorists, such as myself. (There is, of course, some overlap between the two). In general, we theorists are lonely creatures. We might attend meetings or collegial parties, but when we ponder the mysteries of aliens, we do so alone.

All SETI scientists hope for a successful detection within their own lifetimes. Aging SETI scientists, not to mention those of the first generation who have already passed, sometimes strike pathetic poses. The bottle of champagne they keep on ice to celebrate First Contact went bad years ago. Frank Drake, the founder of modern SETI, aged gracefully with an irascible smile. Others, not so much. Some flail about assuring us that a detection is well-nigh imminent, like lost conquistadors rushing ever forward in the belief that just over the next hill they will find the Fountain of Youth. Some plead that if we are the ones to initiate signaling (rather than passively listening) then ET will surely transmit in return infinite and benign wisdom, ushering in a utopian era. This is known as active SETI, or messaging-to-extraterrestrial-intelligence (METI). METI is quasi-religious messianism cloaked in a patina of science. We will examine this cult-like belief in ET’s benevolence in Chapter Five. And then, sadly, there are known or suspected cases of SETI scientists having become insane, though at this time it is not known whether SETI causes or attracts madness." 

John Gertz, Reinventing SETI: New Directions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Oxford University Press 2025