Why Not Fund SETI With a Lottery Bond? 191
KentuckyFC writes "The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence or SETI is one of the highest profile projects in science. And yet its biggest challenge is in generating the funds required to scour the skies for signs of intelligent life. Government funding agencies generally ignore SETI so most funding comes from wealthy patrons such as Paul Allen who has donated $30 million for the construction of a radio interferometer designed to scour the skies for signs of ET. But the lack of other donors means this facility is still incomplete and only partially operational. But one astrobiologist has a solution. Why not create a lottery bond that allows investors to buy shares that yield a fixed rate of interest but also generates enough cash to fund ongoing SETI projects? To add an element of spice, this bond is also a lottery: when the search finally succeeds, a subset of the shareholders will receive a payout from the kitty. This is a fund that is likely to have global appeal but will need a financial institution willing and capable of taking it on. Any suggestions?"
Re:Well (Score:0, Informative)
Astronomically low odds * astronomically low odds = 0 (within round off error)
OR
A tax on local stupid to try and find distant smarts
BUT
I think both ideas are a waste of time.
Re:Why make it that complicated? (Score:4, Informative)
Don't confuse winning with highest payout.
If maximizing payout is your goal* the yes pick all you numbers over 31.
*cause winning 100 million is worth my time, but splitting 100 million? bah
Re:Well (Score:3, Informative)
That was in the "The '37's" episode of the 2nd season of Voyager if I am not mistaken. What they found was evidence of rust in space (which by ST logic should not exist) and when they tracked it down they came across an old 1930's Ford pickup truck floating in space. After they pull the truck onto the ship they start messing around with it, get it started (though I doubt it wold have started the gas would have long evaporated through the fuel system especially in the vacuum of space, or if it was somehow hermetically sealed inside the gas tank would have gone bad and had terrible varnish issues if it wouldn't have been frozen solid by the cold of space) then turn the radio on and find a signal on the AM band and trace it to a nearby planet and find a 1930's era plane sending out a SOS signal (though with a "modern" power source powering it).