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?
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.
1 response
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.