Flaming_Maniac wrote:
OrangeHound wrote:
Flaming_Maniac wrote:
It's interesting, just like most of our high sciences.
cosmology
mathematics
archeology
physics
etc. etc.
But, in each of those, I can see some benefit. Physics and mathematics have practical benefit ... archeology satisfies curiosity, and either helps us to demystify our origins or prove/disprove understandings of the past ... cosmology used to be beneficial, but is less so these days.
The search for life outside of Earth? Why?
Wait. It's the Mormons. They want to provide evidence for their religion ... hmmm ... maybe that is it.
In the basics any of those are useful, but in the extreme they are carried to today, nothing. I mean, proving Fermat's last theorem? Really?
These are mankind's last frontiers, and we need an unknown to explore as a race.
If it weren't for the recent advances in information theory, we would be missing a lot of current technology ... there are a lot of development paths of mathematics, and not all are beneficial, but there's enough new development to warrant the ongoing research.
But, OK ... if curiosity is the main driver for searching for ET, then fine. Perhaps it is just not something that I find a personal challenge. I mean, (a) I assume that there is life in many different places in the Universe and (b) it is developed in very rare environments ... thus, I believe that the search for such life is like trying to find a penny in the ocean.