Abstract
Supposedly one of the strengths of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) community “is its imaginative capacity to take seriously things that most people dismiss out of hand.” That phrase, as we will see, was prompted, not by a speculative proposal, but by rash action that outraged some. It was followed by an editorial call for discussion and assessment as to how to proceed in the particular matter. As related to SETI, this chapter will broadly consider the question “How seriously should imaginative proposals be taken?” It shall provide guidelines for evaluating them and deciding “When does imaginative become outrageous?”
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Cook, S.P. (2012). SETI: Assessing Imaginative Proposals. In: Hanslmeier, A., Kempe, S., Seckbach, J. (eds) Life on Earth and other Planetary Bodies. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 24. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4966-5_5
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