--- title: "20 Than Quotes By Seth Shostak" description: "20 Than quotes by Seth Shostak. Plus more from Seth Shostak and more Than sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/seth-shostak-2047_better_we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-ha_531170.jpg" --- > [We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-happening-on-the-moon-500-years/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b6/seth-shostak-2047_better_we-can-no-better-imagine-what-will-be-ha_531170.jpg) > [Data from orbiting telescopes like NASA's Kepler Mission hint that the tally of habitable planets in our galaxy is many billion. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/data-from-orbiting-telescopes-like-nasa-s-kepler-mission-hint-that/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/seth-shostak-2047_billion_data-from-orbiting-telescopes-like-nasa_1990949.png) > [In 1908, there was a persuasive demonstration of the power of high-speed, low-mass asteroids in rural Siberia. The Tunguska impactor iced millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-1908-there-was-a-persuasive-demonstration-of-the-power-of-high/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/seth-shostak-2047_about_in-1908-there-was-a-persuasive-demonstra_851775.png) > [Once typecast as the indispensable altarpiece of a well-appointed living room, TVs have infected every human environment. The average American household has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/once-typecast-as-the-indispensable-altarpiece-of-a-well-appointed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/seth-shostak-2047_american_once-typecast-as-the-indispensable-altar_2018822.png) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio…](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/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1f/seth-shostak-2047_alien_give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alie_49116.png) > [Jupiter, a world far larger than Earth, is so warm that it currently radiates more internal heat than it receives from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/jupiter-a-world-far-larger-than-earth-is-so-warm-that-it-currently/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c00/seth-shostak-2047_currently_jupiter-a-world-far-larger-than-earth-is_1683988.png) > [Humans have existed only for the last 0.001 percent of cosmic time. All of which says that - unless the Homo sapiens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/humans-have-existed-only-for-the-last-0-001-percent-of-cosmic-time/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/seth-shostak-2047_beyond_humans-have-existed-only-for-the-last-0_2205316.png) > [Since the Renaissance, a concept called 'progress' has been baked into our society. Progress - founded on an accumulation of knowledge through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/since-the-renaissance-a-concept-called-progress-has-been-baked-into/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49f/seth-shostak-2047_accumulate_since-the-renaissance-a-concept-called-p_2214352.jpg) > [The principal reason for the universe's poker face is that its constituents are far away. Stars careen through space, and galaxies spin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-principal-reason-for-the-universe-s-poker-face-is-that-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/seth-shostak-2047_appearance_the-principal-reason-for-the-universe-s_839802.png) > [When it comes to brains, size matters. It's not all that matters, of course. Whales and dolphins have brains that are larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/when-it-comes-to-brains-size-matters-it-s-not-all-that-matters-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/seth-shostak-2047_also_when-it-comes-to-brains-size-matters-it_726010.png) > [It's hard to imagine anything more interesting than learning how we're woven into the enormous tapestry of existence. Where did our universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/it-s-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-interesting-than-learning-how-we/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/seth-shostak-2047_academia_it-s-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-inter_1969935.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) > [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) > [The Moon is a ball of left-over debris from a cosmic collision that took place more than four billion years ago. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-moon-is-a-ball-of-left-over-debris-from-a-cosmic-collision-that/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67a/seth-shostak-2047_asteroid_the-moon-is-a-ball-of-left-over-debris-f_2729068.jpg) > [Nine out of 10 Hollywood aliens look like us. Oh, sure, they might be short, big-eyed and hairless - decked out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/nine-out-of-10-hollywood-aliens-look-like-us-oh-sure-they-might-be/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/seth-shostak-2047_afar_nine-out-of-10-hollywood-aliens-look-lik_1361724.jpg) > [Estimates are that at least 70 per cent of all stars are accompanied by planets, and since the latter can occur in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/estimates-are-that-at-least-70-per-cent-of-all-stars-are-accompanied/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/seth-shostak-2047_accompanied_estimates-are-that-at-least-70-per-cent_635953.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) > [The total number of people that do a job that has the same description as mine in the entire world is fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-total-number-of-people-that-do-a-job-that-has-the-same/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a60/seth-shostak-2047_conversation_the-total-number-of-people-that-do-a-job_646912.png) > [There's no doubt that the Moon is more than a handy night light and a hair restorer for werewolves. It's responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/there-s-no-doubt-that-the-moon-is-more-than-a-handy-night-light-and-a/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/seth-shostak-2047_dig_there-s-no-doubt-that-the-moon-is-more-t_1132634.jpg) > [On Mars, where the air is spare - a hundred times less dense than on Earth - someone could hear you scream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/on-mars-where-the-air-is-spare-a-hundred-times-less-dense-than-on/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/seth-shostak-2047_air_on-mars-where-the-air-is-spare-a-hundred_2439579.png) ## Other authors on Than ## 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/than/seth-shostak/#itemlist", "name": "20 Than Quotes By Seth Shostak", "numberOfItems": 20, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan. 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If E.T.'s not out there, then Earth is more than merely special - it's some sort of miracle.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/data-from-orbiting-telescopes-like-nasa-s-kepler-mission-hint-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/seth-shostak-2047_billion_data-from-orbiting-telescopes-like-nasa_1990949.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/seth-shostak-2047_billion_data-from-orbiting-telescopes-like-nasa_1990949.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/seth-shostak-2047_billion_data-from-orbiting-telescopes-like-nasa_1990949.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Data from orbiting telescopes like NASA's Kepler Mission hint that the tally of habitable planets in our…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 1908, there was a persuasive demonstration of the power of high-speed, low-mass asteroids in rural Siberia. The Tunguska impactor iced millions of pine trees and about a zillion mosquitoes - and was no larger than an office building.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-1908-there-was-a-persuasive-demonstration-of-the-power-of-high/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/seth-shostak-2047_about_in-1908-there-was-a-persuasive-demonstra_851775.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/seth-shostak-2047_about_in-1908-there-was-a-persuasive-demonstra_851775.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/seth-shostak-2047_about_in-1908-there-was-a-persuasive-demonstra_851775.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 1908, there was a persuasive demonstration of the power of high-speed, low-mass asteroids in rural…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once typecast as the indispensable altarpiece of a well-appointed living room, TVs have infected every human environment. The average American household has more television sets than people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/once-typecast-as-the-indispensable-altarpiece-of-a-well-appointed/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/seth-shostak-2047_american_once-typecast-as-the-indispensable-altar_2018822.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/seth-shostak-2047_american_once-typecast-as-the-indispensable-altar_2018822.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/seth-shostak-2047_american_once-typecast-as-the-indispensable-altar_2018822.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once typecast as the indispensable altarpiece of a well-appointed living room, TVs have infected every human…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite the fact that our world is the poster child for habitability.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1f/seth-shostak-2047_alien_give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alie_49116.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1f/seth-shostak-2047_alien_give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alie_49116.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1f/seth-shostak-2047_alien_give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alie_49116.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Jupiter, a world far larger than Earth, is so warm that it currently radiates more internal heat than it receives from the Sun.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/jupiter-a-world-far-larger-than-earth-is-so-warm-that-it-currently/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c00/seth-shostak-2047_currently_jupiter-a-world-far-larger-than-earth-is_1683988.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c00/seth-shostak-2047_currently_jupiter-a-world-far-larger-than-earth-is_1683988.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c00/seth-shostak-2047_currently_jupiter-a-world-far-larger-than-earth-is_1683988.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Jupiter, a world far larger than Earth, is so warm that it currently radiates more internal heat than it…” — Seth Shostak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humans have existed only for the last 0.001 percent of cosmic time. All of which says that - unless the Homo sapiens brain is the one-and-only instance of cogitating machinery - nearly all the intelligence that's out there is beyond our level. And that intelligence is more than just a little bit beyond.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Shostak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/humans-have-existed-only-for-the-last-0-001-percent-of-cosmic-time/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/seth-shostak-2047_beyond_humans-have-existed-only-for-the-last-0_2205316.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/seth-shostak-2047_beyond_humans-have-existed-only-for-the-last-0_2205316.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/seth-shostak-2047_beyond_humans-have-existed-only-for-the-last-0_2205316.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humans have existed only for the last 0.001 percent of cosmic time. 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