Foil-hat time! So SETI thinks it's a good idea to advertise our presence to (providing they exist) extraterrestrials. This strikes me, and Stephen Hawking, as rather stupid. Why would we want to be found? The aliens would just show up, take a look at our government shutdown, and fry us with their exhaust as they left the system in disgust. (Okay, they might get along with the Canadians) Examining it from a science fiction point of view, I suppose we might have the good fortune to contact a peaceful race who is actively seeking to advance primitive creatures, but I find it more likely we'd just attract the attention of some sort of space pirate fleet. Assuming that intelligent aliens exist, should we be trying to make contact? Our normal radio waves, such as TV broadcasts, get fuzzed out before they even reach the nearest star, but launching a high powered beam into space is a bit different.