The Seti Factor: How the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is Changing Our View of the Universe and Ourselves

In 1992, NASA's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) goes into high gear, with radio telescopes scanning the skies in the hope of detecting signals from an alien civilization. White's ( The Overview Effect ) succinct, speculative report invites readers to consider what the immediate and long-term impact of humanoid contact might be. He uses equations to estimate the number of communicating civilizations in our galaxy. He acknowledges that the first 30 years of the SETI movement were a failure, and that SETI is a search for ETLOs (extraterrestrials like ourselves) who presumably will broadcast over the same electromagnetic spectrum we use. But he remains optimistic and urges us to ``get ready for SETI'' by confronting what it means to become ``citizens of the universe.'' Interviews with Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, anthropologist Ben Finney and others serve as a launchpad for this odyssey. (Aug.)