Re: The Problem was SETI, now STI

[Peter T Mount <peter@retep.org.uk>]

At 06:36 30/01/2002 -0600, Tom Droege wrote:


>Many of you on this list have the required computer skills to start 
>processing this data.  I suspect that most of you do not (yet) have the 
>skills in astronomy that are required to generate a result that has the 
>best possible calibration.  Those of you with Unix skills are one step 
>ahead of me.  I have to learn Unix skills, then I can start processing 
>data where I will learn calibration skills.

Agreed. Although I have a lot of Astronomy knowledge, compared with most on 
this list it's actually quite small. In fact sometimes some of the 
discussions on here in the past have been way over my head :-) However as 
you have said, most of us do have a lot of Unix skills, and the willingness 
to get in and help out.

[snip]

>OK, I will comment.  It is easy to generate a lot of bad data from the 
>images that have been taken.  Generating a reliable result will take 
>special skill.  I think there are enough of you on this list that one or 
>two will have what it takes.  The way to find out is to have a go at 
>it.  There are lots of examples in the tech notes of how experts go about 
>this type of analysis.  As I keep saying, you will learn a lot if you 
>try.  These days generating a piece of experimental equipment, running it, 
>and analyzing the results are all separate skills.  Not many do all three 
>well.  These days there are teams of hundreds (at Fermilab) doing 
>each.  Somewhat smaller groups at observatories.  With remote operation, I 
>suppose you can get a PhD in astronomy these days without ever having 
>visited a mountain or looked through a telescope.  I suspect most advisors 
>will push you to do it once.

Yes, not all of us can do all three, but one of the benefits is that 
everyone will pick up on the areas they don't know well simply because they 
have to when dealing with those who do. It's a natural learning process.

>OK, seti has been set up so that the processors can do it 
>mindlessly.  That is not the problem here, so I was wrong to refer to 
>seti.  This is a "Search for Terrestrial Intelligence."  STI.  I am 
>looking for a few good data analyzers to start working on this data.

Peter