Ah Carl;
Glad you're back !
I get a smile 'on me face' with some of your posts !
I'll have to exclude myself from sharing your views on other people (like the scientists you mention in you previous posts), however … because of my new Science Forum catch-cry (which is pending ratification, of course
).
You must be a fan of the X-Files, man .. Fox Mulder, Scully, the Smoking Man, Spender, AD Skinner, conspiracies everywhere … if you haven't ever gotten into it .. ya gotta, man! Its right down that same alleyway !
Ok .. whilst you were away, I took a bold stand on all this and somehow (thanks to bartman, I think), I've become known as 'the Fence-Sitter'. My contention is that it is certainly not 'fence-sitting'. The only scientifically supportable position in all of these debates, is the one of asserting that the possibilities of exo-life are inherently unpredictable. This statement can be made with the assurance of 100% mathematical certainty. Sounds highly arrogant to many, (its not intended that way), but we are talking about mathematical certainty, here.
And I agree, that with the benefit of such assurance/confidence, that exploration is
totally justified because of this, and I'm
totally in support of exploration, with everything and every bit of technology we can muster !
My 2 cents worth.
Cheers & Rgds