The human animal is not very good at understanding probability... or risk. It rarely behaves rationally in the face of risk assessments.

Some folk are too afraid to swim out a ways into the ocean because they fear a shark attack. They are happy to _drive_ to the beach... and then _sunbake_. But they definitely prefer to stay in the shallow water... where its safe.

Most shark attacks happen in shallow water, they are at phenomenally small risk of ever being involved in any attack, the drive to the beach was much more risky..... and the sunbaking is straight out asking for it.... cancer I mean. (btw: I do swim, don't wear sunscreen, drive whenever I want to...)

The risk of shouting that I refer to is unknown... its likely small... but maybe not... and if ever realised then it could be the end of everything for us.

Now I am as bad as the next bloke at ignoring facts and doing dumb things... (like trying to convince you for instance... ) But I reckon that if we ask for a show of hands... those of us here that know how many stars there are, that know of the last decades' changes in perceptions of the goldilocks zone, that understand predation and selection pressures, that understand the enormous lengths of time that this old galaxy has been wheeling around, that are aware of the increasing number of indications of planetary systems, that are aware of the pitifully small zone of search in bandwidth and distance that Seti has so far achieved, that know how little the distance we are visible from so far.... if we ask those folk: "Who here thinks that they are alone... and always have been... and always will be, in the universe?" I reckon few will put their hand up.

Most of us think that there is a chance, at least, that we are not alone. At that point we seem to get all warm and fuzzy and turn off all critical thinking and rationality. (the argument of concurrency of sentience is perhaps germane... but no one knows)

To all those [insult deleted] who say... its no big deal... its not much of a risk... you are worrying about nothing... we are too far away in distance and in time.... I say: Yep you are likely right.

But that doesn't change the fact that a potentially risky behaviour is occasionally being undertaken without consent and without any weight being given to the potential downside.

It has been at least partially acknowledged, by a few so far, that my three points are basic and unassailable... and all the glib 'don't worry about it' statements still don't give anyone the right to shout out to the universe from the same rock that my family (and their descendants) inhabit.

Btw a civilisation could easily go out with a whimper ... not a bang. Haven't any of you folks read _any_ science fiction?? Only the space pirate kind?

Every thing that I have said is self evident... and I will be bombastic enough to say that if you don't accept it then you are not thinking straight. (and some clearly cant...)