--- title: "20 Most Quotes By Seth Shostak" description: "20 Most quotes by Seth Shostak. Plus more from Seth Shostak and more Most sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/seth-shostak-2047_argument_most-of-the-intelligence-out-there-must_2217329.jpg" --- > [Most of the intelligence out there must be artificial intelligence. We keep looking for critters like us living on a planet like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/most-of-the-intelligence-out-there-must-be-artificial-intelligence-we/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/seth-shostak-2047_argument_most-of-the-intelligence-out-there-must_2217329.jpg) > [Judging by informal observation, most young Americans burn up their spare time buffing their emotional IQ and self-esteem with social media and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/judging-by-informal-observation-most-young-americans-burn-up-their/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bac/seth-shostak-2047_about_judging-by-informal-observation-most-you_366055.jpg) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the…](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/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/seth-shostak-2047_alien_in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have_66008.png) > [Our computers double in capability on time scales of only a few years. It's hardly outrageous to believe that we will successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/our-computers-double-in-capability-on-time-scales-of-only-a-few-years/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64e/seth-shostak-2047_artificial_our-computers-double-in-capability-on-ti_248626.png) > [Typically, only about 2 percent of the American populace tunes in to PBS's 'Nova' series - the most successful science show on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/typically-only-about-2-percent-of-the-american-populace-tunes-in-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/seth-shostak-2047_about_typically-only-about-2-percent-of-the-am_3125590.jpg) > [I you look at the drawings of aliens made by people who believe that Earth is under saucer attack, you'll quickly note…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-you-look-at-the-drawings-of-aliens-made-by-people-who-believe-that/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/seth-shostak-2047_admit_i-you-look-at-the-drawings-of-aliens-mad_606328.png) > [The usual metric for whether a planet is habitable or not is to ascertain whether liquid water could exist on its surface.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-usual-metric-for-whether-a-planet-is-habitable-or-not-is-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/seth-shostak-2047_ascertain_the-usual-metric-for-whether-a-planet-is_3066973.jpg) > [Mountains aren't eternal: even the most imposing massifs are smoothed away by weathering in a few hundred million years or less. Plate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-imposing-massifs-are-smoothed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/seth-shostak-2047_away_mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-i_1533754.png) > [It's the default premise in science: If you observe something in nature only once, you assume that what you've seen is typical.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-you-observe-something-in/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/seth-shostak-2047_another_it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-y_2019667.png) > [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) > [By 2020, most home computers will have the computing power of a human brain. That doesn't mean that they are brains, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/by-2020-most-home-computers-will-have-the-computing-power-of-a-human/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2a/seth-shostak-2047_behind_by-2020-most-home-computers-will-have-th_323160.jpg) > [The strongest signals leaking off our planet are radar transmissions, not television or radio. The most powerful radars, such as the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-strongest-signals-leaking-off-our-planet-are-radar-transmissions/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/seth-shostak-2047_could_the-strongest-signals-leaking-off-our-pl_2803087.png) > ['Dating Game' wasn't social commentary, political analysis, Shakespearean-level drama or even blunt-force comedy. It was just the televised equivalent of meeting someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/dating-game-wasn-t-social-commentary-political-analysis-shakespearean/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/seth-shostak-2047_analysis_dating-game-wasn-t-social-commentary-pol_1882958.png) > [The cosmos is three times as old as Earth. During most of creation's 14 billion year history, our solar system wasn't around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-cosmos-is-three-times-as-old-as-earth-during-most-of-creation-s/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/seth-shostak-2047_around_the-cosmos-is-three-times-as-old-as-eart_2825916.png) > [The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of energy - for example black holes, or…](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/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/seth-shostak-2047_attractive_the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthet_164989.png) > [Here's a news flash: scientists can be wrong. That's no big deal (unless the scientist is you), since research is self-correcting. Consequently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/here-s-a-news-flash-scientists-can-be-wrong-that-s-no-big-deal-unless/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/seth-shostak-2047_become_here-s-a-news-flash-scientists-can-be-wr_312481.jpg) > [Of course there is still unexplored terrestrial territory, but most of it is waterlogged. Submersed secret places, such as the Challenger Deep,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/of-course-there-is-still-unexplored-terrestrial-territory-but-most-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/seth-shostak-2047_cameron_of-course-there-is-still-unexplored-terr_1054591.jpg) > [We're not just any star stuff, most of which is humdrum hydrogen and listless helium. Our bodies include fancier ingredients like carbon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/we-re-not-just-any-star-stuff-most-of-which-is-humdrum-hydrogen-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/seth-shostak-2047_any_we-re-not-just-any-star-stuff-most-of-wh_785922.png) > [The central region of the Milky Way, known as the bulge, is stuffed with literally tens of billions of stars. And most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-central-region-of-the-milky-way-known-as-the-bulge-is-stuffed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/seth-shostak-2047_astronomy_the-central-region-of-the-milky-way-know_2851998.jpg) > [Most of the things at the zoo don't look like us. We're one design that works. Our chimp pals sort of look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look-like-us-we-re-one-design/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/seth-shostak-2047_basic_most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look_2225056.png) ## Other authors on Most ## 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/most/seth-shostak/#itemlist", "name": "20 Most Quotes By Seth Shostak", "numberOfItems": 20, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most of the intelligence out there must be artificial intelligence. We keep looking for critters like us living on a planet like ours, where in fact the majority of the intelligence out there is not biological. 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'Survivor' and 'X Factor' get twice the ratings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/typically-only-about-2-percent-of-the-american-populace-tunes-in-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/seth-shostak-2047_about_typically-only-about-2-percent-of-the-am_3125590.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/seth-shostak-2047_about_typically-only-about-2-percent-of-the-am_3125590.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/seth-shostak-2047_about_typically-only-about-2-percent-of-the-am_3125590.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Typically, only about 2 percent of the American populace tunes in to PBS's 'Nova' series - the most…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I you look at the drawings of aliens made by people who believe that Earth is under saucer attack, you'll quickly note that most of these invaders fit the Tinseltown mold. But you have to admit: the grays are highly anthropomorphic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-you-look-at-the-drawings-of-aliens-made-by-people-who-believe-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/seth-shostak-2047_admit_i-you-look-at-the-drawings-of-aliens-mad_606328.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/seth-shostak-2047_admit_i-you-look-at-the-drawings-of-aliens-mad_606328.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/seth-shostak-2047_admit_i-you-look-at-the-drawings-of-aliens-mad_606328.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I you look at the drawings of aliens made by people who believe that Earth is under saucer attack, you'll…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The usual metric for whether a planet is habitable or not is to ascertain whether liquid water could exist on its surface. Most worlds will either be too cold, too hot or of a type (like Jupiter) that may have no solid surface and be swaddled in noxious gases.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-usual-metric-for-whether-a-planet-is-habitable-or-not-is-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/seth-shostak-2047_ascertain_the-usual-metric-for-whether-a-planet-is_3066973.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/seth-shostak-2047_ascertain_the-usual-metric-for-whether-a-planet-is_3066973.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/seth-shostak-2047_ascertain_the-usual-metric-for-whether-a-planet-is_3066973.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The usual metric for whether a planet is habitable or not is to ascertain whether liquid water could exist…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mountains aren't eternal: even the most imposing massifs are smoothed away by weathering in a few hundred million years or less. Plate tectonics makes new ones, and without it, our future would be flat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-imposing-massifs-are-smoothed/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/seth-shostak-2047_away_mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-i_1533754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/seth-shostak-2047_away_mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-i_1533754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/seth-shostak-2047_away_mountains-aren-t-eternal-even-the-most-i_1533754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mountains aren't eternal: even the most imposing massifs are smoothed away by weathering in a few hundred…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's the default premise in science: If you observe something in nature only once, you assume that what you've seen is typical. That's because 'typical' is just another way of saying 'most probable.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-you-observe-something-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/seth-shostak-2047_another_it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-y_2019667.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/seth-shostak-2047_another_it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-y_2019667.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/seth-shostak-2047_another_it-s-the-default-premise-in-science-if-y_2019667.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's the default premise in science: If you observe something in nature only once, you assume that what…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "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": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By 2020, most home computers will have the computing power of a human brain. That doesn't mean that they are brains, but it means that in terms of raw processing, they can process bits as fast as a brain can. So the question is, how far behind that is the development of a machine that's as smart as we are?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/by-2020-most-home-computers-will-have-the-computing-power-of-a-human/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2a/seth-shostak-2047_behind_by-2020-most-home-computers-will-have-th_323160.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2a/seth-shostak-2047_behind_by-2020-most-home-computers-will-have-th_323160.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2a/seth-shostak-2047_behind_by-2020-most-home-computers-will-have-th_323160.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By 2020, most home computers will have the computing power of a human brain. That doesn't mean that they are…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The strongest signals leaking off our planet are radar transmissions, not television or radio. The most powerful radars, such as the one mounted on the Arecibo telescope (used to study the ionosphere and map asteroids) could be detected with a similarly sized antenna at a distance of nearly 1,000 light-years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-strongest-signals-leaking-off-our-planet-are-radar-transmissions/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/seth-shostak-2047_could_the-strongest-signals-leaking-off-our-pl_2803087.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/seth-shostak-2047_could_the-strongest-signals-leaking-off-our-pl_2803087.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/seth-shostak-2047_could_the-strongest-signals-leaking-off-our-pl_2803087.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The strongest signals leaking off our planet are radar transmissions, not television or radio. The most…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Dating Game' wasn't social commentary, political analysis, Shakespearean-level drama or even blunt-force comedy. It was just the televised equivalent of meeting someone at a bar. But it appealed to our most basic Darwinian instinct: selecting a good mate. You can't go wrong when a show's premise is hard-wired into human DNA.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/dating-game-wasn-t-social-commentary-political-analysis-shakespearean/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/seth-shostak-2047_analysis_dating-game-wasn-t-social-commentary-pol_1882958.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/seth-shostak-2047_analysis_dating-game-wasn-t-social-commentary-pol_1882958.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/seth-shostak-2047_analysis_dating-game-wasn-t-social-commentary-pol_1882958.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'Dating Game' wasn't social commentary, political analysis, Shakespearean-level drama or even blunt-force…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The cosmos is three times as old as Earth. During most of creation's 14 billion year history, our solar system wasn't around. Nonetheless, the early universe still had the right stuff for life, and contained worlds that were just as suitable for spawning biology and intelligence as our own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-cosmos-is-three-times-as-old-as-earth-during-most-of-creation-s/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/seth-shostak-2047_around_the-cosmos-is-three-times-as-old-as-eart_2825916.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/seth-shostak-2047_around_the-cosmos-is-three-times-as-old-as-eart_2825916.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/seth-shostak-2047_around_the-cosmos-is-three-times-as-old-as-eart_2825916.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cosmos is three times as old as Earth. 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These are the destinations they may seek.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthetic-sentience-might-be-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/seth-shostak-2047_attractive_the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthet_164989.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/seth-shostak-2047_attractive_the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthet_164989.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/647/seth-shostak-2047_attractive_the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthet_164989.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here's a news flash: scientists can be wrong. 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Submersed secret places, such as the Challenger Deep, which today lure hi-tech adventurers like Richard Branson and James Cameron, will undoubtedly provide welcome fodder for 'National Geographic.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/of-course-there-is-still-unexplored-terrestrial-territory-but-most-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/seth-shostak-2047_cameron_of-course-there-is-still-unexplored-terr_1054591.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/seth-shostak-2047_cameron_of-course-there-is-still-unexplored-terr_1054591.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/seth-shostak-2047_cameron_of-course-there-is-still-unexplored-terr_1054591.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of course there is still unexplored terrestrial territory, but most of it is waterlogged. 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Our bodies include fancier ingredients like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, and a few other herbs and spices.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/we-re-not-just-any-star-stuff-most-of-which-is-humdrum-hydrogen-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/seth-shostak-2047_any_we-re-not-just-any-star-stuff-most-of-wh_785922.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/seth-shostak-2047_any_we-re-not-just-any-star-stuff-most-of-wh_785922.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c6/seth-shostak-2047_any_we-re-not-just-any-star-stuff-most-of-wh_785922.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're not just any star stuff, most of which is humdrum hydrogen and listless helium. 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We're one design that works. Our chimp pals sort of look like us, so that's a different take on the same basic design. But fish don't look like us, and giraffes don't. They look a little like us, but not too much. And insects certainly don't look like us, and they work just fine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look-like-us-we-re-one-design/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/seth-shostak-2047_basic_most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look_2225056.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/seth-shostak-2047_basic_most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look_2225056.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/seth-shostak-2047_basic_most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look_2225056.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most of the things at the zoo don't look like us. We're one design that works. 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