[i]let’s hope they don’t find us…[/i]
Contact - BBC News item
Meh. While I have the utmost respect for Steven Hawking, his rational behind this is severely lacking, and he apparently doesn’t listen to himself. He assigned human traits to aliens. You can’t do that. We are a product of our world; biologically, environmentally, and culturally. Aliens will be the same, but since we don’t know what that world is like, then we can’t make any assumption on the alien’s motives. He states later on that we should be attempting to discover what alien life would be like. I find that contradictory to his reasoning behind his proposal we lay low.
In the grand scheme of things I wonder why it is that we consider ourselves intelligent? We live on a spaceship with finite resources, one of which is oxygen, yet seem determined to chop down a forest that delivers possibly in excess of 40% of that commodity for a $. Hardly the act of an intelligent species.
If you want a giggle, have a look over to
Team Picard. I’ve put my comments on a SETI article, and my answer to life, the universe and everything, which, by the way is 27, not 42. 
We are intelligent because we are aware of these issues and some have taken steps in the corrective direction. Summing up humanity in the negative is only part of the equation. The whole of humanity must be considered. Hence my theory that 50% of humanity are idiots and the rest are intelligent.
BTW, nice theory of history on the Picard forums 
However, I can’t add to your rep since you made that blasphemous statement regarding the sacred number 42. :lol:
^ I partially agree with what you say, 50% are idiots and the remainder haven’t got the sense they were born with. Personally, I believe we still have a long, long way to go where intelligence is concerned. As I said, ‘in the grand scheme of things’ where does our intelligence quotient place us? Our batting average might be considered by some to be extremely poor?
Doesn’t anyone else find it weird that a guy called “Lonely” started a topic called “There’s life out there”?
Now that you mention it… 