--- title: "7 Ever Quotes By Seth Shostak" description: "7 Ever quotes by Seth Shostak. Plus more from Seth Shostak and more Ever sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/seth-shostak-2047_admit_as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguou_35292.jpg" --- > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/seth-shostak-2047_admit_as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguou_35292.jpg) > [About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/seth-shostak-2047_about_about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to_153101.png) > [Ever since the Second World War, television signals (as well as FM radio and radar) have served as Homo sapiens' emissaries into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/ever-since-the-second-world-war-television-signals-as-well-as-fm/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/seth-shostak-2047_bubble_ever-since-the-second-world-war-televisi_215591.png) > [The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matrix-of-established-knowledge/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png) > [Ever since the infamous quiz show scandals of the 1950s, the feds had insisted that TV game shows be honest - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/ever-since-the-infamous-quiz-show-scandals-of-the-1950s-the-feds-had/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/seth-shostak-2047_answers_ever-since-the-infamous-quiz-show-scanda_2246180.png) > [The fact that we can't easily foresee clues that would betray an intelligence a million millennia farther down the road suggests that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-fact-that-we-can-t-easily-foresee-clues-that-would-betray-an/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/seth-shostak-2047_advanced_the-fact-that-we-can-t-easily-foresee-cl_2853329.png) > [Are two eyes, four appendages and an upright posture really essential for any creature that can ace the galactic SAT's? Maybe not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/are-two-eyes-four-appendages-and-an-upright-posture-really-essential/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/seth-shostak-2047_ace_are-two-eyes-four-appendages-and-an-upri_2950292.png) ## Other authors on Ever ## More by Seth Shostak > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. But just about everyone would like to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/sure-nobody-will-make-a-fortune-if-we-figure-out-why-the-big-bang/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If you could drive straight down, into a tunnel bored through the crust of the planet, you'd hit this molten mess in about an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/if-you-could-drive-straight-down-into-a-tunnel-bored-through-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [While I have always thought that the motivation for looking for E.T. was both self-evident and patently worthy, it's possible that I'm a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/while-i-have-always-thought-that-the-motivation-for-looking-for-e-t/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was-reading-stuff-from-cicero/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [This plucky NASA telescope is able to find planets en masse. If you compare planet hunting to prospecting for gold, then Kepler is equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/this-plucky-nasa-telescope-is-able-to-find-planets-en-masse-if-you/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of energy - for example black holes, or even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthetic-sentience-might-be-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Buying insurance is no one's idea of fun. And it's especially easy to berate something as funky-sounding as writing checks to defend our neighborhoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/buying-insurance-is-no-one-s-idea-of-fun-and-it-s-especially-easy-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/#itemlist", "name": "7 Ever Quotes By Seth Shostak", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been a nonstop torrent of TV specials. So if you're one of the many who believe the aliens are here, you really do have to admit this: They're the best houseguests ever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/seth-shostak-2047_admit_as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguou_35292.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/seth-shostak-2047_admit_as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguou_35292.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/seth-shostak-2047_admit_as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguou_35292.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be either biologists or music fans. Neither one has much reason to antagonize our armed forces.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/seth-shostak-2047_about_about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to_153101.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/seth-shostak-2047_about_about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to_153101.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/seth-shostak-2047_about_about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to_153101.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ever since the Second World War, television signals (as well as FM radio and radar) have served as Homo sapiens' emissaries into deep space. High-frequency, high-power broadcasts have filled an Earth-centered bubble more than 60 light-years in radius with signals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/ever-since-the-second-world-war-television-signals-as-well-as-fm/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/seth-shostak-2047_bubble_ever-since-the-second-world-war-televisi_215591.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/seth-shostak-2047_bubble_ever-since-the-second-world-war-televisi_215591.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/seth-shostak-2047_bubble_ever-since-the-second-world-war-televisi_215591.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ever since the Second World War, television signals (as well as FM radio and radar) have served as Homo…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a rarified realm where no researcher has ever gone before.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matrix-of-established-knowledge/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/seth-shostak-2047_before_the-ideas-of-science-germinate-in-a-matr_1378495.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ever since the infamous quiz show scandals of the 1950s, the feds had insisted that TV game shows be honest - or that at least they didn't cheat. So as a 'Dating Game' bachelor, I didn't know what I was going to be asked. The other bachelors and I were required to concoct our answers in real time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/ever-since-the-infamous-quiz-show-scandals-of-the-1950s-the-feds-had/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/seth-shostak-2047_answers_ever-since-the-infamous-quiz-show-scanda_2246180.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/seth-shostak-2047_answers_ever-since-the-infamous-quiz-show-scanda_2246180.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd2/seth-shostak-2047_answers_ever-since-the-infamous-quiz-show-scanda_2246180.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ever since the infamous quiz show scandals of the 1950s, the feds had insisted that TV game shows be honest…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fact that we can't easily foresee clues that would betray an intelligence a million millennia farther down the road suggests that we're like ants trying to discover humans. Ask yourself: Would ants ever recognize houses, cars, or fire hydrants as the work of advanced biology?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-fact-that-we-can-t-easily-foresee-clues-that-would-betray-an/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/seth-shostak-2047_advanced_the-fact-that-we-can-t-easily-foresee-cl_2853329.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/seth-shostak-2047_advanced_the-fact-that-we-can-t-easily-foresee-cl_2853329.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/seth-shostak-2047_advanced_the-fact-that-we-can-t-easily-foresee-cl_2853329.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fact that we can't easily foresee clues that would betray an intelligence a million millennia farther…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Are two eyes, four appendages and an upright posture really essential for any creature that can ace the galactic SAT's? Maybe not. In fact, I'd venture that any aliens we ever detect or (less likely) encounter will look quite different than this self-referential stereotype.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/are-two-eyes-four-appendages-and-an-upright-posture-really-essential/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/seth-shostak-2047_ace_are-two-eyes-four-appendages-and-an-upri_2950292.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/seth-shostak-2047_ace_are-two-eyes-four-appendages-and-an-upri_2950292.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/seth-shostak-2047_ace_are-two-eyes-four-appendages-and-an-upri_2950292.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Are two eyes, four appendages and an upright posture really essential for any creature that can ace the…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/", "name": "Ever Quotes by Seth Shostak", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/seth-shostak-2047_admit_as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguou_35292.jpg" }, "description": "7 Ever quotes by Seth Shostak. Plus more from Seth Shostak and more Ever sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ever", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Seth Shostak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/seth-shostak/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```