Comments on: Nothing's gonna change my world?

Nothing's gonna change my world?

monospace — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:05:21 -0800

Fears that malevolent aliens will tune into this week's broadcast of The Beatles' song "Across the Universe" have been voiced by scientists.

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:11:34 -0800

Our Fearless Leader says "Bring it on!"

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:12:12 -0800

This is exactly why the Canadians have been pushing to open diplomatic relations.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:16:43 -0800

What if every intelligent species in the universe thought this way? Perhaps the universe is filled with intelligent life, it's just that everyone's too paranoid to talk to each other.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:18:21 -0800

*****MESSAGE RECEIVED. RESPONSORY TRANSMISSION AS FOLLOWS: DANGER STRANGER YOU BETTER PAINT YOUR FACE NO ELVIS BEATLES OR THE ROLLING STONES MESSAGE ENDS.***********

By: Jofus

Jofus — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:18:46 -0800

Really? Across the Universe? Isn't that like celebrating the Infinte Wonders of our Bodies by having everyone shit into a bucket. Or am I just a bit grumpy-wumpy today?

By: DU

DU — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:19:14 -0800

Time travellers from the future 'could be here in weeks' How naive. Time travellers are already here and always have been. Invest in tinfoil.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:20:17 -0800

They have a point. It is a pretty crappy song.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:25:24 -0800

Jai guru deva. Om.

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:27:05 -0800

In 862 years after the song finally reaches the North Star and the aliens race back at light speed, then we worry.

By: steef

steef — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:27:41 -0800

***IF YOU DON'T HAVE MOJO NIXON THEN YOUR SOLAR SYSTEM COULD USE SOME FIXIN'***

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:30:13 -0800

It'll be fine, just don't point it at Omicron Persei 8.

By: quin

quin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:30:18 -0800

who has persuaded space agency NASA to kick off the party and now hopes to convert alien life forms to The Beatles. So let me get this straight... we have the technology to convert aliens into bugs? Because, and I'll be perfectly honest here, some of my greatest fears about aliens are that they are already bugs. This seems like a technology that we shouldn't have developed, let alone deployed.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:31:49 -0800

Jai guru deva om? Them's fightin' words!

By: The World Famous

The World Famous — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:32:24 -0800

Hmm. I've been beaming Motorhead songs into outer space for years, with no apparent ill effects.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:33:42 -0800

I did some early pioneering work in beaming Black Sabbath into space. There were concerns voiced at that time as well.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:36:21 -0800

Meat The Beatles is a COOKBOOK!

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:43:08 -0800

The only danger here is this: When the aliens hear the Beatles and begin to love their music, they will come here to see them live and in person. At that point, when they discover that not only have they disbanded but two of them are dead, one has been rumored to be dead for many years, and the one that's definitely still alive is Ringo - well, that's when the shit will hit the fan, my friends.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:43:30 -0800

[NOT RINGOIST]

By: PlusDistance

PlusDistance — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:44:40 -0800

So we're showing the aliens how much we enjoyed the British invasion? Is that really the right message to send them?

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:57:26 -0800

Uh, kinda a misleading headline if you read the article.

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:58:02 -0800

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

By: Legomancer

Legomancer — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:00:03 -0800

I thought it was discovered that such transmissions dissipate long before they even reach Alpha Centauri. But I don't know where I heard that. I could have been drunk at the time, as I am now.

By: mikepop

mikepop — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:00:27 -0800

While it makes for a less interesting post, no fear has been shown by any scientists. A lone scientist in the first link talks about caution/information in general but then says: "I have no fear that NASA's latest transmission exposes Earth to any danger from aliens," While the other scientist is also not spooked: fellow Seti Institute researcher Seth Shostak is not worried and writes off the fears as paranoid

By: Guy_Inamonkeysuit

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:00:54 -0800

Not exactly the Beatles Flying Saucer, but close...

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:03:23 -0800

WE WERE JUST GOING TO KEEP EUROPA SWITCHING TO PLAN 9

By: Navelgazer

Navelgazer — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:06:31 -0800

Wow... I was just thinking about the huge cultural phenomena (such as NASCAR) that don't affect my life in any way, and how I don't affect them in any way, and how little one person's life can be like another's, but it never even would have occurred to me before now that someone's day at a legitimate job could be spent on an official report raising concerns that a Beatles transmission might angry up the aliens.

By: Nick Verstayne

Nick Verstayne — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:08:09 -0800

What with the Jai Guru Dev line, it's a little odd that his disciple, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi popped his clogs around the same time, eh?

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:08:10 -0800

[RINGOIST]

By: Mr_Zero

Mr_Zero — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:12:43 -0800

By: kozad

kozad — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:14:52 -0800

I played the song Sunday morning. Nobody in the brunch crowd attacked me, so I'm feeling OK about the whole thing. (BTW, I also played Sexy Sadie to give time to the other side.)

By: chillmost

chillmost — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:22:05 -0800

What if we are simple food for borg-like alien civilizations? What if we are seeds that have been planted in various places in the universe? When if when they start to get our radio signals, that means we are ripe for harvest.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:27:56 -0800

It'll be fine, just don't point it at Omicron Persei 8. Honestly, we should be more worried that Omicron Persei 8 is going to catch a rerun of My Super Sweet Sixteen.

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:28:22 -0800

Meat The Beatles is a COOKBOOK! ...and all this time I thought it was Sgt. Pepper...

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:28:46 -0800

*** EARTH PEOPLE
NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA
EARTH PEOPLE
I WAS BORN ON JUPITER ***

By: Mr_Zero

Mr_Zero — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:29:33 -0800

What if we are simple food for borg-like alien civilizations? What if we are seeds that have been planted in various places in the universe? When if when they start to get our radio signals, that means we are ripe for harvest. I was wondering why we have so many fat people walking around now. It's just part of a alien plot.

By: fungible

fungible — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:30:51 -0800

Thank God they didn't decide to broadcast the movie from last year. That would drive any alien to genocide.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:30:57 -0800

it never even would have occurred to me before now that someone's day at a legitimate job could be spent on an official report raising concerns that a Beatles transmission might angry up the aliens. You see, there's your problem right there. Is a job like that really a legitimate one?

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:36:42 -0800

I'd never actually bothered to sit and listen to that song before. It's really quite arrogant.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:39:31 -0800

Jai guru deva. Om. Turns out to be Xyrkian for "I touch myself while killing your children."

By: never used baby shoes

never used baby shoes — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:40:47 -0800

If this is going to piss the aliens off, I say to them: Let Live and Let Die. No, wait, that was Wings. Let it Be. That's better.

By: never used baby shoes

never used baby shoes — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:40:57 -0800

If this is going to piss the aliens off, I say to them: Let Live and Let Die. No, wait, that was Wings. Let it Be. That's better.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:50:42 -0800

Haha! DOUBLE! Haha! DOUBLE!

By: Pater Aletheias

Pater Aletheias — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:51:47 -0800

If this is going to piss the aliens off, I say to them: Let Live and Let Die. Hearing "this everchanging world in which we live in" might just annoying enough to decide to change that world in a big way, once and for all.

By: Pater Aletheias

Pater Aletheias — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:52:13 -0800

*be annoying enough

By: potsmokinghippieoverlord

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:00:12 -0800

Man -- this news is going to send Cliff Richards right over the edge!

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:03:47 -0800

Burhanistan, you're right. It is arrogant and flaky as well. (Alien hears Nothing's gonna change my world and responds: "Let's see if that includes the mega-death ray...")

By: Senator

Senator — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:07:15 -0800

Set phasers to decimate.

By: kowalski

kowalski — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:09:17 -0800

Well, the good news, if it can be considered good news, is that a) it appears the energy lifespan of a civilization with our level of complexity is too short to make it likely that we'll be intercepted by another one in time for them to do anything about it, and b) the energy cost of engaging in interstellar warfare is probably beyond what's practical for lifeforms similar enough to ours to be recognizeable to us as sentient life. So scientists who grew up reading about Cold War-tinged relativistic apocalypses can probably rest easy. For the bad news, well, see above.

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:16:38 -0800

PS: why are the aliens using Teletype machines from the '80s?

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:26:36 -0800

Huh! I always thought it was jackaroo dave ah - which of course never made any sense whatsoever. The Laiback cover is extremely creepy IMO.

By: PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:28:04 -0800

Most of today's pop music sound alien to me.

By: D.C.

D.C. — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:30:09 -0800

I think the greatest threat is ASCAP suing NASA for broadcast licensing fees.

By: jkaczor

jkaczor — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:32:41 -0800

One thing to ponder - initially our radio-wave broadcast signals were very powerful - but very wasteful in-terms of overall bandwidth. Sixty years ago, we were shouting. As we have discovered computer processing and threw up satellite networks, we have been able to compress and split signals to transmit more information, using less bandwidth. We can't be the only civilization that went through the same radio development phase - so, chances are after all of our signals become "high-bandwidth, spread-spectrum", will we even be listening for old-style radio? Are they?

By: jkaczor

jkaczor — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:36:40 -0800

So - this is the reason I don't think SETI programs are going to work - if signals are split across arbitrary bandwidth frequencies at random/unkown timing intervals - we would never be able to tell, it is essentially "white noise". To work (IMO), SETI monitoring would have to be treated as a decryption excercise. And unfortunately, the more we learn about bandwidth efficiency, spread-spectrum, quantum data manipulation - the harder the overall problem becomes. For all we know, we could be completely awash in high-density communications - but without the key....

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:11:13 -0800

C'mon, everyone knows that Pink Floyd was the first in space.

By: whir

whir — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:15:31 -0800

Was this really the right Beatles song to broadcast? Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup We are a weak species which has barely mastered nuclear fission Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting thorough my open mind Possessing and caressing me Jai guru deva om Nothing's gonna change my world. [..] Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes We have no satellite defenses and our planet is full of rare minerals and elements We are a docile race capable of operating simple machines, yet easily cowed by shows of force It calls me on and on across the universe

By: CCBC

CCBC — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:16:15 -0800

You know, the Telegraph is a lousy paper.

By: wastelands

wastelands — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:20:53 -0800

I thought it was discovered that such transmissions dissipate long before they even reach Alpha Centauri. Yes and no. Normal broadcasts are meant to be heard on Earth, so there is no effort to make it especially detectable outside of our little bubble. So, yes, an ordinary broadcast dissipates really quickly. But a broadcast like this Beatles one would be targeted. A strong "beam" aimed at the star in question. Think of it like the light coming from a light bulb versus a laser.

By: rocket88

rocket88 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:30:40 -0800

Doesn't Michael Jackson still own the rights to that song?

By: never used baby shoes

never used baby shoes — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:21:28 -0800

Doesn't Michael Jackson still own the rights to that song? If anyone can collect royalties from aliens, he's the guy.

By: surfdad

surfdad — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:07:27 -0800

Probably apocryphal story....... Apparently when Voyager was being planned with it's communication plaque for our alien neighbours, someone suggested we should send some music. A scientist suggested maybe some Bach, but Carl Sagan said that would just be showing off.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:21:11 -0800

I love how the argument against the "don't annoy the aliens" camp seems to be "Don't worry, this whole thing is a complete waste of time and effort."

By: flotson

flotson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:22:54 -0800

We should send the aliens, instead, a really wicked playlist. Saturn Space Oddity etc. On a Zune.

By: Tube

Tube — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:05:43 -0800

The distance to the audience is even more than their Shea Stadium concert.

By: Pinback

Pinback — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:28:12 -0800

This'll work as well as it did the first time 'round :

Get them hooked
Reel them in
Subject them to Yoko.

If we keep this up, our species is gonna get a reputation. Nuclear winter, global warming, and rogue asteroids will be the least of our problems.

By: kliuless

kliuless — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:49:17 -0800

they are already here. among us.

By: ArmyOfKittens

ArmyOfKittens — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:54:32 -0800

GCU Big Sexy Beast: Heard this? GCU Arbitrary: Hmm. Bowie's better.

By: klausness

klausness — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:56:42 -0800

Point well taken, whir. You'd think they'd have listened to the lyrics first...