[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.04,0:00:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is E.T. out there?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.04,0:00:04.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I work at the SETI Institute.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.02,0:00:05.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's almost my name. SETI:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.25,0:00:07.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.66,0:00:09.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, I look for aliens,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.28,0:00:12.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when I tell people that at a cocktail party, they usually
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.94,0:00:15.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,look at me with a mildly incredulous look on their face.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.71,0:00:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to keep my own face somewhat dispassionate.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.04,0:00:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, a lot of people think that this is kind of idealistic,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.80,0:00:23.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ridiculous, maybe even hopeless,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.05,0:00:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I just want to talk to you a little bit about why I think
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.75,0:00:30.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the job I have is actually a privilege, okay,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.57,0:00:32.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and give you a little bit of the motivation for my getting into
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.67,0:00:35.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this line of work, if that's what you call it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.02,0:00:38.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This thing — whoops, can we go back?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.03,0:00:40.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hello, come in, Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.73,0:00:42.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There we go. All right.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.08,0:00:44.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the Owens Valley Radio Observatory
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.07,0:00:47.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,behind the Sierra Nevadas, and in 1968,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.51,0:00:50.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was working there collecting data for my thesis.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.42,0:00:53.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, it's kinda lonely, it's kinda tedious, just collecting data,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.76,0:00:56.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I would amuse myself by taking photos at night
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.29,0:00:59.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the telescopes or even of myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.05,0:01:04.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because, you know, at night, I would be the only hominid
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.29,0:01:06.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,within about 30 miles.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.03,0:01:08.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So here are pictures of myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.04,0:01:11.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The observatory had just acquired a new book,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.63,0:01:13.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written by a Russian cosmologist
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.38,0:01:16.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the name of Joseph Shklovsky, and then expanded
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.100,0:01:19.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and translated and edited by a little-known
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.45,0:01:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cornell astronomer by the name of Carl Sagan.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.06,0:01:24.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I remember reading that book,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.06,0:01:26.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and at 3 in the morning I was reading this book
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.07,0:01:28.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was explaining how the antennas I was using
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.76,0:01:33.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to measure the spins of galaxies could also be used
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.71,0:01:36.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to communicate, to send bits of information
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.02,0:01:38.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from one star system to another.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.61,0:01:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, at 3 o'clock in the morning when you're all alone,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.08,0:01:43.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,haven't had much sleep, that was a very romantic idea,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.01,0:01:46.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it was that idea -- the fact that you could in fact
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.90,0:01:48.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prove that there's somebody out there
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.38,0:01:51.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just using this same technology --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.10,0:01:53.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that appealed to me so much that 20 years later I took a job
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.33,0:01:55.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the SETI Institute. Now, I have to say
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.30,0:01:59.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that my memory is notoriously porous, and I've often
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.75,0:02:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wondered whether there was any truth in this story,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.58,0:02:03.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or I was just, you know, misremembering something,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.09,0:02:05.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I recently just blew up this old negative of mine,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.84,0:02:07.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sure enough, there you can see
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.44,0:02:09.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Shklovsky and Sagan book underneath that
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.55,0:02:12.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,analog calculating device.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.02,0:02:12.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it was true.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.93,0:02:15.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right. Now, the idea for doing this, it wasn't very old
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.37,0:02:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the time that I made that photo.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.03,0:02:20.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The idea dates from 1960, when a young astronomer
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.51,0:02:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the name of Frank Drake used this antenna
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.00,0:02:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in West Virginia, pointed it at a couple of nearby stars
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.62,0:02:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the hopes of eavesdropping on E.T.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:31.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, Frank didn't hear anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.60,0:02:34.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually he did, but it turned out to be the U.S. Air Force,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.01,0:02:36.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which doesn't count as extraterrestrial intelligence.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.97,0:02:39.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Drake's idea here became very popular
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.74,0:02:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it was very appealing — and I'll get back to that —
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.20,0:02:45.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and on the basis of this experiment, which didn't succeed,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.61,0:02:47.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have been doing SETI ever since,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.47,0:02:49.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not continuously, but ever since.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.50,0:02:51.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We still haven't heard anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.39,0:02:53.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We still haven't heard anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.07,0:02:54.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, we don't know about any life beyond Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.86,0:02:57.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I'm going to suggest to you that that's going to change
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.66,0:03:00.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather soon, and part of the reason, in fact,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.03,0:03:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the majority of the reason why I think that's going to change
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.80,0:03:04.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that the equipment's getting better.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.07,0:03:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the Allen Telescope Array, about 350 miles
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.00,0:03:09.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from whatever seat you're in right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.02,0:03:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is something that we're using today
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.03,0:03:13.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to search for E.T., and the electronics have gotten
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.03,0:03:14.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very much better too.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.50,0:03:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Frank Drake's electronics in 1960.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.03,0:03:19.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the Allen Telescope Array electronics today.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.05,0:03:22.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some pundit with too much time on his hands
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.54,0:03:25.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has reckoned that the new experiments are approximately
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.54,0:03:30.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,100 trillion times better than they were in 1960,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.04,0:03:31.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,100 trillion times better.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.53,0:03:33.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a degree of an improvement that would look good
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.62,0:03:36.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on your report card, okay?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.03,0:03:38.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But something that's not appreciated by the public is,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.66,0:03:41.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in fact, that the experiment continues to get better,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.39,0:03:44.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, consequently, tends to get faster.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.04,0:03:45.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a little plot, and every time you show a plot,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.73,0:03:47.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you lose 10 percent of the audience.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.36,0:03:49.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have 12 of these. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.67,0:03:54.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what I plotted here is just some metric
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.09,0:03:56.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that shows how fast we're searching.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.65,0:03:58.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, we're looking for a needle in a haystack.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.76,0:04:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know how big the haystack is. It's the galaxy.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.04,0:04:03.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we're going through the haystack no longer
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.75,0:04:06.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a teaspoon but with a skip loader,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.04,0:04:08.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of this increase in speed.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.02,0:04:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, those of you who are still conscious
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.45,0:04:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and mathematically competent,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.01,0:04:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will note that this is a semi-log plot.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.09,0:04:18.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, the rate of increase is exponential.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.48,0:04:21.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's exponentially improving. Now, exponential is an
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.21,0:04:23.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,overworked word. You hear it on the media all the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.53,0:04:25.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don't really know what exponential means,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.07,0:04:27.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but this is exponential.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.08,0:04:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it's doubling every 18 months, and, of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.00,0:04:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every card-carrying member of the digerati knows
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.00,0:04:33.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that that's Moore's Law.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.50,0:04:36.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this means that over the course of the next
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.10,0:04:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two dozen years, we'll be able to look at a million star systems,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.01,0:04:42.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a million star systems, looking for signals
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.04,0:04:43.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would prove somebody's out there.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.55,0:04:46.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, a million star systems, is that interesting?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.04,0:04:49.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, how many of those star systems have planets?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.06,0:04:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the facts are, we didn't know the answer to that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.20,0:04:53.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even as recently as 15 years ago, and in fact, we really
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.98,0:04:56.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't know it even as recently as six months ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.50,0:04:59.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But now we do. Recent results suggest
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.38,0:05:03.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that virtually every star has planets, and more than one.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.02,0:05:06.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're like, you know, kittens. You get a litter.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.34,0:05:08.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You don't get one kitten. You get a bunch.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.08,0:05:11.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in fact, this is a pretty accurate estimate
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.02,0:05:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the number of planets in our galaxy,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.01,0:05:17.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just in our galaxy, by the way,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.04,0:05:19.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I remind the non-astronomy majors among you
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.81,0:05:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that our galaxy is only one of 100 billion
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.06,0:05:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we can see with our telescopes.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.04,0:05:25.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a lot of real estate, but of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.56,0:05:27.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of these planets are going to be kind of worthless,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.47,0:05:29.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like, you know, Mercury, or Neptune.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.56,0:05:31.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Neptune's probably not very big in your life.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.65,0:05:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the question is, what fraction of these planets
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.00,0:05:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are actually suitable for life?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.68,0:05:39.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don't know the answer to that either,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.09,0:05:41.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we will learn that answer this year, thanks to
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.33,0:05:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NASA's Kepler Space Telescope,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.08,0:05:47.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in fact, the smart money, which is to say the people who work on this project,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.10,0:05:50.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the smart money is suggesting that the fraction of planets
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.53,0:05:54.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that might be suitable for life is maybe one in a thousand,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.57,0:05:57.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one in a hundred, something like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.88,0:06:00.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, even taking the pessimistic estimate, that it's
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.02,0:06:03.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one in a thousand, that means that there are
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.13,0:06:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at least a billion cousins of the Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.66,0:06:07.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just in our own galaxy.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.38,0:06:09.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, now I've given you a lot of numbers here,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.64,0:06:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they're mostly big numbers, okay, so, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.56,0:06:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,keep that in mind. There's plenty of real estate,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.04,0:06:18.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,plenty of real estate in the universe,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.05,0:06:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if we're the only bit of real estate in which there's
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.00,0:06:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some interesting occupants, that makes you a miracle,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.04,0:06:26.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I know you like to think you're a miracle,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.72,0:06:28.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but if you do science, you learn rather quickly that
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.63,0:06:30.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every time you think you're a miracle, you're wrong,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.51,0:06:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so probably not the case.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.04,0:06:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right, so the bottom line is this:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.09,0:06:38.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because of the increase in speed, and because of the
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.05,0:06:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,vast amount of habitable real estate in the cosmos, I figure
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.00,0:06:45.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're going to pick up a signal within two dozen years.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.05,0:06:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I feel strongly enough about that to make a bet with you:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.02,0:06:50.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Either we're going to find E.T. in the next two dozen years,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.46,0:06:54.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.08,0:06:56.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's not so bad. I mean, even with two dozen years,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.71,0:06:58.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you open up your browser and there's news of a signal,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.57,0:07:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you get a cup of coffee.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.32,0:07:04.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, let me tell you about some aspect of this that
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.29,0:07:06.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people don't think about, and that is,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.33,0:07:10.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what happens? Suppose that what I say is true.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.04,0:07:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, who knows, but suppose it happens.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.40,0:07:13.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Suppose some time in the next two dozen years
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.89,0:07:16.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we pick up a faint line that tells us
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.07,0:07:17.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have some cosmic company.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.76,0:07:20.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is the effect? What's the consequence?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.05,0:07:22.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I might be at ground zero for this.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.02,0:07:23.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I happen to know what the consequence for me would be,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.84,0:07:26.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we've had false alarms. This is 1997,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.76,0:07:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is a photo I made at about 3 o'clock in the morning
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.04,0:07:31.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Mountain View here, when we were watching
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.05,0:07:33.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the computer monitors because we had picked up a signal
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.37,0:07:36.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we thought, "This is the real deal." All right?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.45,0:07:39.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I kept waiting for the Men in Black to show up. Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.81,0:07:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I kept waiting for -- I kept waiting for my mom to call,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.02,0:07:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,somebody to call, the government to call. Nobody called.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.02,0:07:50.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody called. I was so nervous
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.19,0:07:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I couldn't sit down. I just wandered around
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.02,0:07:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,taking photos like this one, just for something to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.00,0:07:57.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, at 9:30 in the morning, with my head down
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.04,0:07:59.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on my desk because I obviously hadn't slept all night,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.07,0:08:01.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the phone rings and it's The New York Times.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.41,0:08:04.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think there's a lesson in that, and that lesson is
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.03,0:08:07.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that if we pick up a signal, the media, the media will be on it
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.01,0:08:11.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,faster than a weasel on ball bearings. It's going to be fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.35,0:08:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can be sure of that. No secrecy.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.02,0:08:16.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what happens to me. It kind of ruins my whole week,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.01,0:08:18.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because whatever I've got planned that week is kind of out the window.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.63,0:08:21.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what about you? What's it going to do to you?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.05,0:08:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the answer is that we don't know the answer.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.06,0:08:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don't know what that's going to do to you,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.94,0:08:27.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not in the long term, and not even very much in the short term.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.07,0:08:29.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, that would be a bit like
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.89,0:08:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,asking Chris Columbus in 1491, "Hey Chris,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.00,0:08:35.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, what happens if it turns out that there's a
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.01,0:08:38.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,continent between here and Japan, where you're sailing to,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.55,0:08:41.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what will be the consequences for humanity
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.32,0:08:43.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if that turns out to be the case?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.07,0:08:45.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think Chris would probably offer you some answer
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.30,0:08:48.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you might not have understood, but it probably
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.01,0:08:50.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wouldn't have been right, and I think that to predict
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.85,0:08:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what finding E.T.'s going to mean,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.60,0:08:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can't predict that either.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.68,0:08:55.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But here are a couple things I can say.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.31,0:08:59.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To begin with, it's going to be a society that's way in advance of our own.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.46,0:09:01.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're not going to hear from alien Neanderthals.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.09,0:09:02.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're not building transmitters.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.38,0:09:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're going to be ahead of us, maybe by a few thousand
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.30,0:09:07.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,years, maybe by a few millions years, but substantially
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.37,0:09:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ahead of us, and that means, if you can understand
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.60,0:09:13.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anything that they're going to say, then you might be able
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.39,0:09:16.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to short-circuit history by getting information from a society
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.48,0:09:18.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's way beyond our own.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.05,0:09:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you might find that a bit hyperbolic, and maybe it is,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.00,0:09:23.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but nonetheless, it's conceivable that this will happen,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.65,0:09:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, you know, you could consider this like, I don't know,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.03,0:09:28.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,giving Julius Caesar English lessons and the key
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.50,0:09:29.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the library of Congress.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.60,0:09:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It would change his day, all right?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.06,0:09:34.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's one thing. Another thing that's for sure
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.05,0:09:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going to happen is that it will calibrate us.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.55,0:09:41.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We will know that we're not that miracle, right,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.49,0:09:43.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we're just another duck in a row,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.05,0:09:45.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're not the only kids on the block, and I think that that's
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.05,0:09:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,philosophically a very profound thing to learn.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.00,0:09:51.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're not a miracle, okay?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.10,0:09:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third thing that it might tell you is somewhat vague,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.40,0:09:56.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think interesting and important,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.52,0:09:58.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that is, if you find a signal coming from a more
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.63,0:10:00.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,advanced society, because they will be,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:00.86,0:10:03.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will tell you something about our own possibilities,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.51,0:10:08.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we're not inevitably doomed to self-destruction.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.30,0:10:10.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because they survived their technology,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.09,0:10:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we could do it too.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.20,0:10:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Normally when you look out into the universe,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.09,0:10:15.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're looking back in time. All right?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.56,0:10:17.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's interesting to cosmologists.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.59,0:10:21.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in this sense, you actually can look into the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.04,0:10:23.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hazily, but you can look into the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.05,0:10:28.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So those are all the sorts of things that would come from a detection.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.59,0:10:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, let me talk a little bit about something that happens
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.02,0:10:35.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even in the meantime, and that is,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.23,0:10:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,SETI, I think, is important, because it's exploration, and
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.01,0:10:42.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's not only exploration, it's comprehensible exploration.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.46,0:10:45.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I gotta tell you, I'm always reading books about
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.33,0:10:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,explorers. I find exploration very interesting,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.04,0:10:51.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Arctic exploration, you know, people like Magellan,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.02,0:10:54.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Amundsen, Shackleton, you see Franklin down there,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.02,0:10:57.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Scott, all these guys. It's really nifty, exploration.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.34,0:10:59.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they're just doing it because they want to explore,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.58,0:11:01.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you might say, "Oh, that's kind of a frivolous opportunity,"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.70,0:11:05.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that's not frivolous. That's not a frivolous activity,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.03,0:11:07.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because, I mean, think of ants.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.06,0:11:09.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, most ants are programmed to follow one another
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.06,0:11:11.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along in a long line, but there are a couple of ants,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.30,0:11:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe one percent of those ants, that are what they call
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.00,0:11:16.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pioneer ants, and they're the ones that wander off.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.18,0:11:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're the ones you find on the kitchen countertop.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.08,0:11:20.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You gotta get them with your thumb before they
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.07,0:11:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find the sugar or something.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.66,0:11:24.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But those ants, even though most of them get wiped out,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.06,0:11:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those ants are the ones that are essential to the survival
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.36,0:11:30.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the hive. So exploration is important.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.93,0:11:34.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also think that exploration is important in terms of
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.31,0:11:39.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being able to address what I think is a critical
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.18,0:11:42.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lack in our society, and that is the lack of science literacy,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.38,0:11:46.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lack of the ability to even understand science.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.02,0:11:48.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, look, a lot has been written about the
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.06,0:11:51.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deplorable state of science literacy in this country.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.46,0:11:54.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've heard about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.02,0:11:56.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, here's one example, in fact.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:56.07,0:11:58.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Polls taken, this poll was taken 10 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.39,0:12:00.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It shows like roughly one third of the public thinks
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.52,0:12:02.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that aliens are not only out there, we're looking for them
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.48,0:12:04.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out there, but they're here, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.10,0:12:06.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sailing the skies in their saucers and occasionally
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.40,0:12:09.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,abducting people for experiments their parents wouldn't approve of.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.51,0:12:12.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, that would be interesting if it was true,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.68,0:12:14.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and job security for me, but I don't think the evidence is
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.56,0:12:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very good. That's more, you know, sad than significant.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.04,0:12:20.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there are other things that people believe
Dialogue: 0,0:12:20.06,0:12:23.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are significant, like the efficacy of homeopathy,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.47,0:12:27.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that evolution is just, you know, sort of a crazy idea
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.02,0:12:30.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by scientists without any legs, or, you know, evolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.05,0:12:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all that sort of thing, or global warming.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.60,0:12:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These sorts of ideas don't really have any validity,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.00,0:12:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you can't trust the scientists.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.08,0:12:40.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we've got to solve that problem, because that's
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.32,0:12:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a critically important problem, and you might say,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.40,0:12:47.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, okay, how are we gonna solve that problem with SETI?"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.03,0:12:49.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, let me suggest to you that SETI obviously can't
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.43,0:12:51.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,solve the problem, but it can address the problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.09,0:12:54.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can address the problem by getting young people
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.04,0:12:57.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interested in science. Look, science is hard, it
Dialogue: 0,0:12:57.03,0:13:00.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.09,0:13:05.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's the result of 400 years of science, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.02,0:13:07.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, in the 18th century, in the 18th century
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.50,0:13:10.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you could become an expert on any field of science
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.09,0:13:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an afternoon by going to a library,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.00,0:13:15.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you could find the library, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.02,0:13:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the 19th century, if you had a basement lab,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.64,0:13:21.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you could make major scientific discoveries
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.39,0:13:23.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in your own home. Right? Because there was all this
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.61,0:13:26.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,science just lying around waiting for somebody to pick it up.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.49,0:13:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that's not true anymore.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.08,0:13:30.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, you've got to spend years in grad school
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.51,0:13:34.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and post-doc positions just to figure out what
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.01,0:13:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the important questions are.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.06,0:13:38.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's hard. There's no doubt about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.06,0:13:40.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact, here's an example: the Higgs boson,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.37,0:13:42.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,finding the Higgs boson.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.28,0:13:44.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ask the next 10 people you see on the streets,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.08,0:13:46.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hey, do you think it's worthwhile to spend billions
Dialogue: 0,0:13:46.41,0:13:49.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Swiss francs looking for the Higgs boson?"
Dialogue: 0,0:13:49.06,0:13:51.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I bet the answer you're going to get, is,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.38,0:13:53.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, I don't know what the Higgs boson is,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.03,0:13:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I don't know if it's important."
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.26,0:13:56.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And probably most of the people wouldn't even know
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.06,0:13:58.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the value of a Swiss franc, okay?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.51,0:14:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet we're spending billions of Swiss francs on this problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.04,0:14:03.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay? So that doesn't get people interested in science
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.19,0:14:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they can't comprehend what it's about.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.07,0:14:06.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,SETI, on the other hand, is really simple.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.69,0:14:08.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're going to use these big antennas and we're going to
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.30,0:14:11.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,try to eavesdrop on signals. Everybody can understand that.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.06,0:14:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, technologically, it's very sophisticated,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.06,0:14:15.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but everybody gets the idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.07,0:14:19.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's one thing. The other thing is, it's exciting science.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:19.01,0:14:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's exciting because we're naturally interested
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.42,0:14:23.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in other intelligent beings, and I think that's
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.65,0:14:25.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of our hardwiring.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.07,0:14:26.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, we're hardwired to be interested
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.63,0:14:29.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in beings that might be, if you will, competitors,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.43,0:14:33.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or if you're the romantic sort, possibly even mates. Okay?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:33.02,0:14:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, this is analogous to our interest in things that
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.03,0:14:37.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have big teeth. Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.05,0:14:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're interested in things that have big teeth, and you
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.52,0:14:41.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can see the evolutionary value of that, and you can also see
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.07,0:14:44.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the practical consequences by watching Animal Planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.75,0:14:47.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You notice they make very few programs about gerbils.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:47.09,0:14:49.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's mostly about things that have big teeth.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.14,0:14:52.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, so we're interested in these sorts of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:52.09,0:14:56.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And not just us. It's also kids.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:56.03,0:14:59.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This allows you to pay it forward by using this subject as a
Dialogue: 0,0:14:59.45,0:15:02.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hook to science, because SETI involves all kinds of science,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.68,0:15:04.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,obviously biology, obviously astronomy,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.68,0:15:08.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also geology, also chemistry, various scientific
Dialogue: 0,0:15:08.01,0:15:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disciplines all can be presented in the guise of,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:12.01,0:15:13.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We're looking for E.T."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:13.34,0:15:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So to me this is interesting and important, and in fact,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.80,0:15:21.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's my policy, even though I give a lot of talks to adults,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:21.03,0:15:23.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you give talks to adults, and two days later they're back where they were.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.70,0:15:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you give talks to kids, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.62,0:15:30.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one in 50 of them, some light bulb goes off, and they think,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:30.78,0:15:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Gee, I'd never thought of that," and then they go,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:32.58,0:15:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, read a book or a magazine or whatever.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.37,0:15:36.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They get interested in something.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:36.05,0:15:41.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now it's my theory, supported only by anecdotal,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:41.02,0:15:43.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,personal anecdotal evidence, but nonetheless,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:43.05,0:15:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that kids get interested in something between the ages
Dialogue: 0,0:15:45.52,0:15:48.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of eight and 11. You've got to get them there.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.06,0:15:50.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, all right, I give talks to adults, that's fine, but I try
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.68,0:15:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and make 10 percent of the talks that I give,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.00,0:15:55.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try and make those for kids.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:55.08,0:15:58.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember when a guy came to our high school, actually,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.05,0:16:01.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was actually my junior high school. I was in sixth grade.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:01.03,0:16:03.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he gave some talk. All I remember from it
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.51,0:16:05.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was one word: electronics.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.08,0:16:07.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was like Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate," right,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:07.65,0:16:10.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when he said "plastics," whatever that means, plastics.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:10.04,0:16:12.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right, so the guy said electronics. I don't remember
Dialogue: 0,0:16:12.04,0:16:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anything else. In fact, I don't remember anything
Dialogue: 0,0:16:14.04,0:16:16.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that my sixth grade teacher said all year,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.05,0:16:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I remember electronics.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:18.07,0:16:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I got interested in electronics, and you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.72,0:16:23.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I studied to get my ham license. I was wiring up stuff.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:23.04,0:16:26.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here I am at about 15 or something, doing that sort of stuff.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:26.02,0:16:27.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay? That had a big effect on me.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.60,0:16:29.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's my point, that you can have a big effect
Dialogue: 0,0:16:29.32,0:16:32.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on these kids.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:32.03,0:16:35.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, this reminds me, I don't know, a couple years ago
Dialogue: 0,0:16:35.69,0:16:39.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I gave a talk at a school in Palo Alto
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.02,0:16:41.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where there were about a dozen 11-year-olds
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.03,0:16:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that had come to this talk.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.00,0:16:44.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had been brought in to talk to these kids for an hour.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:44.52,0:16:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eleven-year-olds, they're all sitting in a little semi-circle
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.80,0:16:49.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking up at me with big eyes, and I started,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.04,0:16:50.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was a white board behind me, and I started off
Dialogue: 0,0:16:50.70,0:16:53.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by writing a one with 22 zeroes after it, and I said,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.53,0:16:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"All right, now look, this is the number of stars
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.90,0:16:58.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the visible universe, and this number is so big
Dialogue: 0,0:16:58.77,0:17:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's not even a name for it."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:02.12,0:17:04.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one of these kids shot up his hand, and he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.58,0:17:06.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, actually there is a name for it.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.09,0:17:09.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a sextra-quadra-hexa-something or other." Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.02,0:17:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that kid was wrong by four orders of magnitude,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.02,0:17:15.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there was no doubt about it, these kids were smart.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:15.49,0:17:17.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay? So I stopped giving the lecture.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:17.46,0:17:20.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All they wanted to do was ask questions.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:20.04,0:17:24.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, my last comments to these kids, at the end I said,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:24.03,0:17:26.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You know, you kids are smarter
Dialogue: 0,0:17:26.06,0:17:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the people I work with." Now — (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:17:31.00,0:17:32.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They didn't even care about that.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.33,0:17:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What they wanted was my email address
Dialogue: 0,0:17:35.03,0:17:39.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they could ask me more questions. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:17:39.01,0:17:42.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let me just say, look, my job is a privilege
Dialogue: 0,0:17:42.17,0:17:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we're in a special time.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:43.80,0:17:46.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Previous generations couldn't do this experiment at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:46.58,0:17:48.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In another generation down the line,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:48.40,0:17:50.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think we will have succeeded.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:50.02,0:17:53.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So to me, it is a privilege, and when I look in the mirror,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:53.50,0:17:56.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the facts are that I really don't see myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:56.31,0:17:58.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I see is the generation behind me.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.07,0:18:00.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are some kids from the Huff School, fourth graders.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:00.10,0:18:03.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I talked there, what, two weeks ago, something like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:03.04,0:18:07.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that if you can instill some interest in science
Dialogue: 0,0:18:07.65,0:18:10.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how it works, well, that's a payoff
Dialogue: 0,0:18:10.61,0:18:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,beyond easy measure. Thank you very much.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:13.06,0:18:19.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)