"J" == JoeSP  <olegp@telus.net> writes:

J> Author Michael Crichton, in a 2003 lecture at CalTech, stated that
J> "The Drake equation cannot be tested and therefore SETI is not
J> science. SETI is unquestionably a religion."

J> True to form for a religion, the less you know about it, the more
J> interesting it is.  The list of problems with SETI is now so long,
J> I couldn't bring myself to waste the watts of electricity needed to
J> run the SETI software.

It's not clear to me why a fiction author is considered an authority
on either science, religion, or philosophy (other than the fact that
he is a celebrity).

Nonetheless, take his statement at face value.  First, what
predictions does the Drake equation make?  Second, why isn't the
search for ET intelligence---as done in Project Ozma, META, SERENDIP,
Project Phoenix, etc.---considered a test?

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