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this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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We probably wouldn't know the signals when we see them.
It assumes that alien civilizations would be broadcasting regular repeating signals at high power. In my lifetime we've moved from high power repetitious analog signals to much lower power digitally encrypted and compressed signals.
Encrypted and compressed signals look random to an observer who doesn't know the keys/algorithms. On top of that, we've moved from individual huge transmitters (e.g. TV stations) to a plethora of tiny transmitters (e.g. cell phones). In a single human lifetime.
If we don't scorch our civilization out of existence, we'll adopt even lower power communication systems: point to point lasers, CPU-intensive encoding systems, and probably even more exotic stuff. Our signals will disappear into the background noise of space.
We don't know what to look for.
I'm in full agreement with this one.
We have higher and higher output signals. Your assuming the WiFi signals in homes now represent all the signals humans output, this isn't the case by far.
An encoded signal still appears as a manmade signal and not the result of a natural phenomenon.
Any alien civilization that travels between planets or solar systems would have multiple high gain networks.
Even if they used lasers, that would make detection easier. Lasers are not a natural phenomenon. If we observed one in nature that would be a new mechanism or evidence of alien life.
Not at all. We're still spewing out commercial radio, and TV. But we're slowly converting them from analog to digital, which uses much less power.
Many of our digital signals are spread spectrum, hopping across a wider spectrum than analog. Distinguishing our own frequency hopping signals from noise is difficult, and an active area of research. If aliens use a similar technology, it seems unlikely that we would notice them.
The sky is huge. It seems highly unlikely that we would happen to have a compatible detector pointed in the right direction at the right time. Even if we did, the signal would probably be compressed (meaning that its modulation would look like noise) and the lowest possible output, meaning it would probably blend into the background.