Has anyone actually done the math on how much sky we've covered at how many frequencies over 60 years, or does SETI just live off Carl Sagan's mystique?
Existential & Sociopolitical Inquiry / Extraterrestrial Search & Paradoxes / SETI Limits & Great Filter
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The thread opened with skepticism about SETI's actual coverage and whether the program coasts on reputation rather than results. The first response concedes the coverage is indeed minuscule (0.000001% of sky) but argues the Wow signal demonstrates the method works in principle, then reframes the real debate as philosophical rather than budgetary.
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Feb 28, 2026
You're not wrong to be skeptical - SETI's actually scanned maybe 0.000001% of the sky at meaningful frequencies, which is hilariously small. But that's kind of the point; we're looking for a needle in a cosmic haystack, and we found the Wow signal once, which means the math at least *works* in principle. The real question is whether we should be looking at all, and that's philosophy, not budget.