The true story behind Carl Sagan’s cult classic, Contact | Jill Tarter for Big Think
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- Опубликовано: 15 авг 2022
- Do aliens dream about meeting us, too?
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When we first started exploring space, we only knew about the eight planets in our Solar System. Today, we know that in the Milky Way galaxy, there are more planets than there are stars.
Additionally, there are organisms on Earth called "extremophiles" that thrive in extreme or hostile environments, similar to those found on many exoplanets.
With so much potentially habitable real estate in the Universe, it is natural to wonder if it actually is inhabited. SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is trying to find out.
Read the video transcript ► bigthink.com/videos/searching...
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About Jill Tarter:
Jill Tarter is Director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. She served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program, the High Resolution Microwave Survey, and has conducted numerous observational programs at radio observatories worldwide. Since the termination of funding for NASA’s SETI program in 1993, she has served in a leadership role to secure private funding to continue the exploratory science. Her astronomical work was illustrated in Carl Sagan's 1985 novel "Contact." The character largely based on Tarter, "Ellie Arroway," was portrayed by Jodie Foster in the 1997 film version of "Contact."
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Read more of our stories on extraterrestrial life:
My UFO experience
► bigthink.com/13-8/navy-ufo-my...
If we do find alien life, what kind will it be?
► bigthink.com/13-8/what-will-a...
Alien life: What would constitute “smoking gun” evidence?
► bigthink.com/hard-science/ali...
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Do you think we will eventually find evidence of alien technology?
No cult
Nope! If anything is out there, it's way too far away for them or us to detect each other.
I think the thing that many forget to consider is the chance of being within the same timescale as another civilisation and the sheer staggering scale of the Universe.
Not really sure, for me chances are very low.
Lol good question
Carl Sagan was a big influence on me as a kid. He made me see that there was a level of human intelligence that was based in fact, not superstition. My parents opposed a career in science and they saw science and art as play things, not real life. So I wasted my life working for others, a cog in the industrial machine. Now I’m old, regretting the fact that I did not ignore my parents.
Pretty sad ways of thinking yeah.
At least we can indulge in interesting things when older even if doesn't earn you any.
There are tonnes of free science events offered by universities and lunch and learns etc opened to the public. I often attend these events even if I'm not an astronomist, or a biologist etc..In Islam we are taught to keep on seeking knowledge until we reach the grave. So don't feel disheartened. The fact you are here on this channel is a great sign of you satisfying your yearning for knowledge :)
@@foodiez true
@@jacquesjtheripper5922 I set time aside for education. I'm even learning Python to see if I can create my own AI machine.
@@foodiez I sometimes make time to attend those type of events. Its a great way to stimulate the old grey matter. Thanks for the reminder.
My father had not long died when I saw Contact for the first time. I remember crying for hours afterwards, but then feeling a sense of calm that never left me.
I felt emotional about this movie too. It was very moving.
The holy ghost, the entity takes the form of your father.
Its the story of Christ being retold in a sci fi movie.
Sorry to hear that your father has passed away, it’s a fabulous film I could watch over and over
@@michaelbrownlee9497 What? No it isn't.
@@robf1801 i am a man just like you....JC
and god said, let there be light.
and christ said i am the light.
omg that's me at 8:52 and 8:56!! I was still a freshman then and it was such an honor to have met her and hear her talk at the Berkeley Forum, it was so so inspiring 😭 I'm a senior now, I'll soon graduate with an Astrophysics degree, and I hope that I can contribute to this field as much as she does and continue the exploration far into the future 💖
I’m 59 and a techie.
When she said “I’m mad to be old”, I jumped up “Exactly!”
I’m not old, that old, but there are so many leaps and bounds I wish I had more time to witness it all. Those people who feel “Those were the days” turn me off. To me it has always been “These are the days”.
I love this. ❤️
I'm 75 and have witnessed all sorts of things in my lifetime. I also hope to live another 20-30 years to see the radical changes in science and biological beings from other star systems - if we don't destroy ourselves in the meantime. I'm fond of throwing the quote "I eagerly await the arrival of our insect overlords" around.
I just told my youngest,19, this same thing the other day. I can't wait to see what the world will be like in 20 years.
That's because you've been conditioned since childhood
It's a great movie and it was a counterpoint to most other sci-fi films because the aliens were trying to help humanity, not enslave or destroy. Close Encounters was the same in this regard.
The book is better. A lot more detail and the plot expend a lot further than a sci-fi movie. It has geopolitical, religion, interpersonal, faith and even sexism.
Great film because the main character was mostly unlike Tarter.
I didn't get that impression from the movie ending at all. To me they implied that the whole experience was in her head because she was sloshing about in the gyroscope.
I believe they have been ( and are ). Probably not to save humanity , but the earth. We are an interesting experiment. The prime directive , NO interference. Seems like sensible policy considering our so called "leadership".
@@jublywubly True… until they revealed that there was 18 hours of a blank recording.
Someone once said: The most compelling proof that there is intelligent life out there is the fact we have not been contacted yet
I'd hate to hear your proof of God lol.
Well that's a really dumb statement.
@@scottslotterbeck3796 Why would intelligent life want to communicate with this nut house of a planet.
and yet Congress has had special briefing sessions about aerial craft that the US military admits it has no explanation for but are exceedingly well documented as to their actuality
Can’t blame them, the smartest species on this planet can’t figure out which bathroom to use.
“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” - Arthur C. Clarke.
"There exist two possibilities: either we are alone in the Universe, or we are not. Neither is the least bit terrifying." -- Padres de Norte
We are not alone .................there is God, he is the only one you need
@@Blabheinn Twist. Huge space ship shows up calling itself God.
@@Blabheinn Oh, grow up!
@@Blabheinn God sure has murdered a lot of people over the years. You ok with that? I don't need a god, my faith is in family & friends.
With respect, “cult” classic? It’s simply a classic. I remember seeing it in the theater in ‘97, and then walking out of the theater that night and just staring up at the stars in silent wonder. It’s what introduced me to Carl Sagan.
This was the first movie I went to see in theaters multiple times. After that opening sequence, I was hooked.
Steve Allen, something like - I used to lie on my back at night, looking up at the stars, wondering, are there any beings up there, lying on their bellies looking down at me?
@@majorskepticism7836 That’s it right there.
Why do you cwer behind a fake name?
@@BogoEN I don’t remember who the other guy was, but Steve Allen conducted a fake interview with Sagan:
How many stars are there?
Billions and billions.
How many planets are there?
Billions and billions.
How many galaxies are there?
Billions and billions.
How much did it cost to produce Cosmos?
Billions and billions.
Contact was a great movie but the book is one of my favourites. Everything Carl Sagan wrote was mesmerising. Cosmos is one of the most important tv programme's ever made. Great video. Really interesting video. What an inspiring lady
I,should look up the book
@@jacquesjtheripper5922 it's recommended. I think he only wrote one novel but its based on the science and really well written
@@jacquesjtheripper5922 His other books are inspirational too. I'd read cosmos first. Sagan truly was a genius.
I thought both masterpieces, but the book by far the better of the two, avoiding the obligatory romance line, which while charming and very well done, just distracted from the point of the story, and having a marvelous and inventive denouement.
Yes, the book is almost always better than movie (except for jaws of course). I enjoyed the movie but it always felt a tad hollow compared to the book. of course they always have to leave out so much in a movie.
the one thing that stood out the most to me from the science of that story was the secret code hiding in the calculation of pi. to this day that still freaks me the heck out.
Thank you Dr Tarter! I have treasured the story and movie "Contact" and am humbled to find out it was YOU Carl Sagan was inspired by to create the character. I understand the part about being old and geez if we could only get rid of all the fussing and fighting just think how much time there would be to ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING!
And by do something you mean work your whole life and accomplish absolutely nothing, yeah that is good for society.
@@tjtennisicmroll2k If that's what you've accomplished then I'm sorry. I meant as a species - feeding us, power with no waste, peace, discover all the things WE DON"T KNOW and haven't even conceived , raise generations with a determination TO DO SOMETHING for each other and just to do good cayuse it lifts the soul.
Time is our most valuable asset... and the only thing that we are each endowed with equally.
Unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of it for most of us to actually recognize just how precious it really is... and a fair amount more, to identify all of the things in our lives that are wasting it.
At that point, one could spend “the rest of your life” devising a plan for breaking out of the cycle of foolishness, finding “meaning”, and choosing a path worth following.
That whole “work your whole life to accomplish nothing” path, is a choice... and one that will be CHOSEN FOR YOU by default unless you decide to take steps to choose another.
I was born in 1965... so at a very early age, I was aware of the fact that we had put a man on the moon. For a time... I believed that we would be doing “Star Trek sh!+” within my lifetime. Little did I know That the achievement was politically driven, and once accomplished, there was no “need” to push further. Had those with control over the money felt a “need” to push onward... I have no doubt that we could have accomplished incredible things over the next half a century. But, without the political will, the ball was simply dropped and left there on the field.
Our greatest accomplishments of this past half century, have literally only begun to happen in the past decade (with a push from the private sector) , rather than as a steady progression from that first step onto another world all those years ago.
I fully understand the comment about wishing to be younger, so that I might live long enough to witness our next small steps, or maybe even our next giant leap... but alas, I was mostly here to watch as we squandered half a century.
I do hope that the private sector continues to “push”... that pressure is exactly what will rekindle the fire, the pride, and the desire to not be outdone,, which the government agencies needed to get them moving in the right direction.
I believe that humanity will expand outward... and that future generations will speak as casually of moving to the Oort Cloud for their new job... as I spoke of moving from New York to Washington state... but at this point in my life, I feel certain that I won’t be here to actually watch it unfold.
I may never be a bold explorer of the “new frontier”... but I have a little time left to see what I can accomplish here on earth... and I am certain that at the very least, it will be more than “nothing”.
@@bobinthewest8559 Thanks so much, Bob for your thoughts. I was born in 1953 so I, too saw the space adventure first hand. Go make those adventures out "in the West"
@@jeffsaginaw1769 : Nicola Tesla was trying to give us unlimited energy by tapping the earth’s supply but the Greedy Banker’s pockets were in the way! When the Elites say humanitarian they mean how can we control you more!
How refreshing to listen to plain and honest language. This must be one of my favorite BT presentations. Bravo!
My friend and I saw a UFO- classic "saucer" shape, almost silent, coloured lights around the perimeter, one winter night in 1979. We spotted it hovering over some power lines while driving down a secluded road through the woods which ran parallel to the lines. Managed to get within 30 yards of it before it just went "whoosh!" straight up into the sky. I remember turning to my friend and saying, "Well, that's not something you see everyday!" We told our parents, but you can imagine how it sounded.
My sister saw one like that in Mexico and my scouting buddy saw one at scout camp. He was observing an acre each day for the ecology merit badge. I wonder if he put that in his daily log book.
I was there at camp and that night there was a helicopter searching for a possible downed plane. They camp guys said there was no plane with a flight plan but the Chimayo radar station saw something that disappeared suddenly from the screen.
A friend and I saw a classic flying saucer-shaped object hovering over the hills, back in about 1984. I've seen several other UFOs and related oddities over the years.
I saw the same ship as you described, about 1984. Shiny silver, colored lights around perimeter. Ship didn’t seem to labor, as if the atmosphere supported it effortlessly
I saw one
I drive up to it on a 2 lane road
and got out about 50 feet from it
It was a black shaped triangle with hieroglyphics all over the sides.
Not the first time I have seen a ufo but this time it was up close
Made only in the U.S.A.
I worked in a remote camp in the north, just me and one other guy, on a quiet unoccupied lake surrounded by mountains and glaciers. This camp was old and infested with bushrats. Among the items left behind was Carl Sagans Contact novel, untouched. I read it and it quickly became one of my favorite books. Reading something like that in such a place really enhances the mystery, and awe of the universe. I'll never forget that place.
I'm a big admirer of Carl Sagan and have seen Contact several times. Learning of the real woman who inspired Sagan's Dr. Arroway character is fascinating and inspiring.
I am fascinated that they have worked their entire lives to detect communications from other intelligences and have never been able to detect anything of importance. Really amazing that these people don't feel their work has been an awful waste.
TJ it’s especially strange when you read here,how many swear they’ve seen UFO craft……
@@tjtennisicmroll2k Do you know how vast the universe is? It's a needle in a big haystack.
@@tjtennisicmroll2k Seems like the dozens of military (and other) whistleblowers Steven Greer has interviewed and put on the record, as well as the tens of thousands of sightings and photographs, would be enough evidence. It surely would be enough in a court of law if it was any other subject. In my view, we're way past the 'Disclosure' criteria, now it's a matter of getting an ignorant, religion-based populace to realize something they've been trained to believe is silly to understand as truth.
@@tjtennisicmroll2k What if there are people like Kitz in the government who don't want us to know the success of the programme?? Who want to keep everything a secret?? Maybe they have already found intelligent life through radio signals.... Who knows?
The Mirror scene in Contact is the best scene I've ever seen in any movie.
There is a piece in youtube that explains how they did that.
This video should be in every 6th grade classroom as a science day study.
1) spark interest young
2 ) positive role model
3) a primer on educational gateways
Contact is such a good movie... I keep remembering something from it and realizing how ahead of its time it was. Wild it's based on a story from 1985 too. I've met Jill Tarter irl, she is SO kind and humble. Wish I could have met Sagan too. And Jodie Foster of course did an amazing job as always in the role. Just a concert of amazing people.
I admire Jill Tarter so very much. I'm 72 and I want to at least live long enough to see real ET make contact with us. You have certainly helped put us on the right track. I saw "Cosmos," and I loved it.
I know a lot of people are "out there," I also know they've already been here, because of certain monoliths like Pumo Punka that couldn't have been built without the help of a technologically advanced society. I fear also that our government has long ago established relations with at least one race of beings.
In any case, I just had to post this to tell you I have huge admiration and respect for yourself and the work I know you're still doing.
Put us on the right track by not accomplishing anything after her whole career?
@@tjtennisicmroll2k That's how science works, by eliminating as many dead ends as possible - and yes, entire careers are built around that painstaking, thankless work. That's why science is humble - it shows us what does not work, or mesh with reality, rather than making up fantasies about what we think would be really nice to see or have.
This is the 1st time that I learned about Jill Tarter.
The excitement of Jodie Foster's character in 'Contact' when she got the signal has always hit me deep. Now I have to watch it again! I donated my computer idle time to SETI for many years.
Love the show. And actually took part in a global SETI program years ago using my computer to help scan the recordings to search for signals. God bless
I did that as well, thought it was pretty awesome to be apart of the SETI decipher system and wow my friends lol
Why didn't you just ask your silly god?
I did that too.
What a wonderful surprise. For as long as I can remember, I've avoided Big Think due to the internet drama that it is often a catalyst of. Mind you, the internet is a noisy space. Gently placing that internal brouhaha to the side, this Jill Tarter insightful and igniting talk was a joy to explore. 🌺
What internet drama
L
One of the issues I have with this approach - while recognising that it is probably the only option we have - is that it equates "intelligence" with "Technology". When looking at our own technology one sees that this may be an issue.
It may also be highly unintelligent to advertise the fact that we do exist. Most species in the great game of life are either extremely good at running away, or at hiding and camouflage, or are very aggressive. - We are a pretty limited species in terms of options where we are now: we can't run away, this is our only planet and we aren't interplanetary, let alone interstellar, we certainly aren't trying to hide and the only weapons that would be any good, would likely damage us as much as any alien threat.
Just a thought.
Yes we tend to do that. We also assume intelligence mean language as we know it. This is why one of my favorite science fiction stories was "Solaris" by Stanislaw Lem. Incredible intelligence but no technology as we know it.
Awesome. Contact is one of my favorite movies and gives me hope that whatever else is out there will eventually “contact” us and launch us into a new age of scientific progress and discovery. Hopefully in my lifetime.
They’re everywhere. You just don’t look ⬆️ up enough.
Also, the bit where her boss steals her credit at the Press Conference.
The discovery of radio pulsars was done by a graduate student. Her boss got the FUCKING NOBEL PRIZE! (I rarely swear, so this means I'm really mad.)
Although I've read everyone in Astronomy and Physics knows who did the real work.
Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- "Dame" is the British equivalent of a knighthood for women.
Weve back engineered alien stuff since 1947……
Travis Walton, Ariel school children, Westall 66 school children, Betty and Barney Hill and everyone who witnessed the massive V shaped craft in Phoenix already know there is life. You should do some research of those that have had experience, not just scientists that are hypothesising.
@@voyageruk2002 Relax dude, I’m not forgetting about or saying that isolated contact incidents haven’t happened, I was referring to a more grand scale of “contact” on an internationally broadcasted and public scale.
Contact is my all time favourite Sci-fi movie 💗
Just as we leave footprints! Truth might be closer than we think.
just cause some aren’t aware of it don’t mean it ain’t here
Here's a little story. I travelled to the Philippines this year on 21st of April, 2022. Part of my itinerary was to visit this little island paradise called Kalanggaman, I was there on April 30th. The place was stunning. The water was perfect and clear like glass. We camped out overnight. This island is in the middle of the ocean with no electricity. That night we decided to call it, I dragged a beach chair for sleep to the water's edge and there I lay alone with the sounds of the small waves breaking with a nice cool breeze. This was around 2AM. I looked up to the clear night sky and at first didn't realize that it is the Milky Way I was staring at. After a minute or two it dawned on me, I said to myself, holy moly so this is what those pictures are in the internet! I was in awe how beautiful the galaxy is and in it are thousands of stars and colors. It was the first time I have ever seen it in my life and it was so magnificent. And it made me confirm how small and that our own planet is just a spec in the vastness space.
Same experience being deployed in the desert, several hundred miles from any light pollution the sky was almost unbelievable. Truly stunning.
@@maxr.mamint8580 That's right. In the desert, definitely. Where was it at? If you don't mind me asking. I also remember it draws you in.
@@strongme80 First time ever was in 1988 in Azrak, Jordan. This was back when the middle east was very friendly to westerners. I went back in 1990-91 to Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Desert Shield/Storm. Both times I got to experience the night sky hundreds of kms away from any town with lighting. Its the kind of "OMG!" stunning that you just cant convey with words.
@@maxr.mamint8580 WOW that's really cool. That must have been a sight to behold. Thanks for sharing!
Contact one of my absolute favorite movies. No movie can provoke so many feelings and thoughts in me as this one.
This movie has a special place in my heart. My dad was a radio electronic specialist with a genius IQ, taught the subject during WWII, then served in North Africa. Back home, he built his own "ham" equipment and, using morse code, would spend evenings contacting others. I learned morse code and would be allowed to "talk" with contacts also. So, this movie was very special to me, showing the bond between father and daughter as it did.
I had a "dream" that felt more real and less of a dream. I was in outer space, somewhere, and wherever I was it was really beautiful. I tried to remember how many I counted. It was between 12 and 20 planets. Beyond that I saw galaxies and a lot of stars. I've never seen anything like it before, nothing you can find in illustrations, pictures, nor movies. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Me too.
Thats what happens when you listen to john michael godier while you fall asleep. You know you do ;) lol
@@Cableguy5770 Haha sounds like someone I’d like to listen to. It’s something that just came to me, well, I was suddenly there.
@@frans.9180 You have to check out his channel on RUclips
@@Cableguy5770 I'll check it out!
Jill, you inspired many from all over the world. Thank you for that legacy ❤
it really is inspiring that people can work so hard for so long, not accomplish anything and still feel good about it somehow
I remember COSMOS with Dr. Sagan, and altough I didn't make it to college, Astronomy always fascinated me! I respect what Dr. Tarter believe and hope; I'm skeptic to the existence of extraterrestrial life but have to admit the Universe is vast and so full of mysteries...
I was laughing at my cat chasing the light of a laser pointer. Then it occurred to me that higher intelligence beings are doing the same to us with UFO sightings.
UFOs are not ETs…
Except there is no evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. Kind of easy to kill that one.
Interesting analogy 🤔
Well until your cat records the laser, replays videos of it, and uses scientific principles of motion to try to figure out where it's coming from, it's kind of not the same thing.
It would be better to use analogy of a ant those sigtings people have seen could just be trandimesional fluctuations of energy nothing more or less
I didn't know there was a real life person like the fictional one in the movie, Contact. I thoroughly enjoyed that movie.
I remember watching Cosmos on PBS as an 8 year old. I didn't completely understand it at the time, but he planted the seed for my life long love, fascination, and sence of , curiosity, awe and wonder for nature and the Universe. Word's aren't enough. I will simply say thank you Carl. I love you brother! 💖👩🚀💫
Carl Sagans works inspired me to pursue astronomy. But as a kid from the midwest whose parents didn't have any support for college, I had to take something of the long way round. I did RF engineering and eventually did college while I was in the Army as a signals analyst. A few weeks ago though, I celebrated my one year anniversary here at the VLA in New Mexico. The movie brought the place to my attention and radio astronomy became something of a focus of my education while working in RF related jobs. As the VLA moves into the NGVLA I am happy to be a part of that change. I think Carl would have loved to see what the VLA is becoming. And I am proud to be here thanks to his works.
It’s so nice to be among people who loved Contact as much as i did. I read the book and saw the movie countless times. I never understood why no one else i knew felt the same way.
What was great about the movie is that it showed and debunked both the extremes of scientism and religious fanaticism and was able to navigate the minefield to present a worldview where science remains curious but also open minded, and theism embraces the true findings of science while still remaining true to faith. And in certain areas and situations both science and spirituality can and share similar values. Note in the congressional hearing where Dr Arroway was being questioned and criticized, and everytime she makes an argument she looks at Palmer (her theistic lover) as if to say, 'what the... my criticisms against you are coming back to bite me and now I'm using the same lines of argument you made for your faith!' Great movie!
It definitely made the point that science is based on Faith. Sadly, to my thinking, Faith is not based on science, although it seems to me clear it should be. Of all tragedies I sometimes think our commitment to base Faith on what we want to be true, instead of on what is true, may be the greatest, and potentially the greatest failure of the survival value of intelligence.
I always find it deeply ironic that in the movie, Ellie is at first deemed ineligible for doing the mission because she does not believe in God, which allegedly does not make her a worthy representative for all mankind, and when she later tells them, in the congressional hearing, that she does not have any "hard evidence" to corroborate her story, they are not willing to take her story on faith, even though they previously discounted her for having none.
But coming to think of it - perhaps Ellie DID bring the evidence with her and they would just have to decode it...In one of the final scenes, the character played by Angela Bassett has a phone conversation with the James Woods character and she mentions that Ellie's recording device did record only white noise, but "exactly 18 hours of it". And previously in the movie, the construction plans for the machine were decoded from what they first thought was "noise" within the message. So if they took the same kind of approach with the recorded material that Ellie brought back, they should have the evidence that they accuse her of not having. But the way this scene is played out in the movie also implies that this is perhaps something that they James Woods character did take into consideration and deliberately chose not to do, which means he's actually withholding discoveries (and the Angela Bassett character seems to know this, because she basically pressures him into at least giving Ellie a research grant).
@@nomdeguerre7265 The greatest failure is our belief in superstition and magic. Religion is the first attempt by humans to explain and give order to our surroundings. We now know it fails to explain anything. Religion and science are incompatible because one claims to know all the answers and the other does not. I’d go as far as to say that religion is incompatible with civilization itself. It’s profoundly disturbing and sickening to think of the millions of people who’ve been slaughtered in the name of religion. There is no greater division of man and no greater destructive power.
The movie "Contact" has always had a special place in my heart. I am THRILLED to discover that Jill Tarter is the basis for the character at the heart of that story! Wow!
I"m 68 and also a bit angry to be too old to see what discoveries and advancements develop in the next 50 to 100. It is an exciting time to be a young person with so many opportunities. Loved the movie!
I was in Socorro, NM when Jodie Foster was there filming Contact, and then I worked at the VLA the year it was released. They had an autographed photo of Jodie Foster in the control room. The manager, Phil, had a bumper sticker in his office that said "Astronomy is looking up," which they included in the movie.
Thing is, SETI would never get to use the VLA. And Aricebo's gone.
I was there too working at the Bosque. My friend served Jody at the bar on the plaza. Dale's comment makes me wonder if they have done any SETI at the VLA, do you happen to know about that?
I lived in Socorro and was a set medic when they filmed at VLA. Also went with cast/crew to AZ to film more. Coolest thing I have ever done 😉
Great movie, great book. I've watched it almost every year since it came out. Imagine a world with Sagan still in it.
My father used to tell me, verbatim, that Carl Sagan line. He worked on SETI. He helped to build the telescope in Arecibo. Dr. Pierluissi (EE). He went on to work on projects at White Sands Missile Range and with NASA. He brought me up to recognize that there is so much to know, and to be curious! He is gone, now, but he left me, curious!!!I We know so little…
as a child I had the same feeling come over me standing on the shore of a lake. in one direction the glow of a powerplant, the montecello nuclear reactor, and if I turned my back to it I could see an ocean of stars. I wondered if out there another being was looking back at me wondering the same. I wondered in our scramble to advance if we also forgot things, very important things. we only see about 10% of the stars Galileo saw. I wonder if we turned down the city lights and saw the vastness of space willed with light if we all would feel a little less alone.
I hope we find proof of life outside Earth in Jill's lifetime. Even a microbe on Mars would be proof that life can spark up anywhere.
GREG, YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE IMAGES OF MARS THAT NASA MISSED...GO TO YOU TUBE AND LOOK UP , WHAT THE HECK MARS, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, VIDEO IS SHORT SO PAUSE EACH SHOT AND LOOK AROUND, I GOT A PICTURE TREES, OLD ROADS, MACHINERY ALL OVER THE GROUND UNDERGROUND ENTRY WAYS AND A LITTLE MERMAID, LONG DEAD BUT PLAIN TO SEE, AND THE LAST ONE IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THESE GUYS ARE...
What the heck marz, more,likemthe hsck alll caps,troll.
Avoid that channel on the stupidity principle and the sales shill with all caps over hyping it. Never s good thing
Probably not, although we may find suggestive evidence of simple life. It would seem that simple life may be more common than imagined. If that is indeed the case our data collection is growing sensitive enough we might expect to detect strong evidence of it within the next couple of decades, not proof, no, but solid suggestive evidence. But complex life is another story entirely.
@@morbidmanmusic SCREW YOU DUDE...
Something tells me the human race won’t be around long enough to really know if there is intelligence out there!
Yes, that is the problem. In order to achieve our ultimate potential we need to manage to stick around for at least a few dozens of thousands of years. At the moment the prospect seems unlikely. "The survival value of human intelligence has never been adequately tested." -- Micheal Crichton, The Andromeda Strain
Once America collapses (
"It makes me mad to be old..." May we thus serve humanity even when the fun part starts when we are just about to exit. 💝
Wish this was longer, she seems fascinating and I'd love to hear more
A cult film is a movie that has a small but loyal following. “Contact” did well upon its release both with critics and audiences making it a mainstream movie. It is possible for a cult movie to become mainstream over the years (Think “Blade Runner” and “The Thing”). However, once a film is mainstream, it is always mainstream.
How about Office Space? :)
Audiences stayed away in droves when it came out.
Or even The Wizard of Oz.....which did unexceptionally in its initial release. Blade Runner and Alien...absolutely.
Contact did not do all that well with audiences and critics. It was panned for many stupid reasons, such as not getting to see the aliens true form at the end, or the romance between Ellie and Palmer, or Palmer's character in general. But I loved it as did it's cult following. For each Foster and Hurt, I thought it was one of their best films. And it has one of the best lines, "Wanna take a ride?"
@@Curt_Randall
Absolutely spot-on
As time goes on, I’ve been thinking what if the advanced civilization isn’t based on mechanical technology but biology. We’ve seen examples like this in movies and tv shows where we see living ships. If a civilization was able to accomplish that, then what could they do to their own bodies. Living longer, advanced forms of hibernation, resistant to forms of radiation that is a death sentence for us or even use it to power themselves, tools that heal themselves as a form of repair etc etc. What if most civilizations are based on this and we are the odd ones. That would be so fascinating. It makes me wonder about the question we want to ask, “how did they get past their technology infancy without destroying themselves” maybe they never experienced the same trials we are as a natural byproduct of the direction their civilization took to advance.
Nice to have some background! Love the movie (watched it like 24 times) Thanks for sharing your story Jill Tarter!
This is neither here nor there, but Jill Tarter has a beautiful voice. I could listen to her all day.
Thank you very much, Jill Tarter and Big Think! This video just added a couple new layers of enjoyment to one of my favourite movies!✨🖖
Dr Tarter is a brilliant scientist. What a fascinating career she has had. I appreciate her explanations in language we can all absorb and understand ... I think many others would be talking circles around us. Thank you for your passion. Regarding what is 'out there', I don't think it's possible to ever have all the answers or even questions. I don't believe we are alone - you have to keep an open mind to all the possibilities.
As a kid in the early seventies I remember thinking the same things about the universe as this lady.
I was told I was wrong by many people growing up.
It just made sense that if all stars are a sun and there are millions of stars in our galaxy and there are millions of galaxys, then somewhere out there there would be other solar systems with planets that would support life.
We may not have found life yet but we have certainly found other planets. It's Just a matter of time.
What if life evolving on a crazy environmental planet breathes something other than oxygen, or doesn't need water, or doesn't need a sun, our search is always so narrow minded on just earth like planets. Even though we see life has sprouted in our most extreme environments here, we still think we need perfect earth like environment for life to flourish.
Being of age and how to manage the sequence of returns in those early periods is what seems quite scary in the current market. The market is never a loser in a twenty year cycle, but the 2000s decade scenario scares me and could really disrupt my retirement. When you are no longer accumulating but withdrawing its hard to be anything but cautious.
The biggest mistake you can make when investing is to think that you are smarter than the market. It’s almost impossible to time the consistently, you will miss out on great opportunities if you do this, simply DCA into high conviction stocks and let your position grow.
I think my major problem is confidence, i keep finding the correct stocks but after a pull back especially a strong pull back i get out…
For new investors, getting started can feel overwhelming. Risks loom large, and complicated, unfamiliar financial jargon can be intimidating.
This is exactly why I invest through an expert ! My broker Abernathy Nancy Louise is able to find opportunities in any market with her Growth Stock Strategy. To me it’s by far the best way to build long term wealth while managing your risk and emotions.
Wow, am quite familiar with this name yeah. I have seen People saying good about her.
I loved this movie when I watched it for the first time. I had no idea that this is a novel by Carl Sagan.
Holy cow same......
Perhaps you should consider the benefits of reading the credits as they scroll at the end of every movie.
And Ann Druyan. While Carl wrote the novel, it was based on a screenplay by Sagan and Druyan. While not credited as an author, I feel she deserves recognition as a co-author of the concept and plot that Carl wrote up in novel form.
@@nomdeguerre7265 hmmm maybe?
man I remember exactly what I was doing and the time of day , when I first saw this on tv as a kid , I was hooked....👌.
I was 11...1961...mother let me stay home from school to watch Allen Sheppard sub-orbital, 15 min flight and I have been hooked ever since...There is "something" out there...I'm 72 and I to am sad I will not be around when that "something" is found...my six grands will see it happen...I have planted the seed for them to anticipate that moment...I hope all six become engineers...my oldest is at Ga Tech...Nuclear Physics Major and she has been in contact with SpaceX...☺
am agreeing with her idea of researching both the equipment used to identify objects or elements in space to determine the fact of what is out there in the vast expanse of the universe and beyond.
I love the comment of not being around in the future to see it and making her mad about it. My feelings exactly. I feel gratefull I lived to see JWST being it's journey. But, dammit, I'm mad I can't see it all! 😁❤️
It’s good to see intelligent women in the field of science and engineering.
I’ve been a qualified car mechanic since 1990. No one stopped me, so I doubt anyone would stop a woman these days. Yet….women don’t want to go into many stem fields.
@@pommiebears Totally agree with you. Any job men can do, women can do (sometimes better, we should try a lady president/leader someday like Germany).
@@rabit818 thank you, that’s so kind…..but, I disagree. Some things women do better, some things men do better. I was a good car mechanic, but I don’t have the strength of my male colleagues. Even when I was young and really strong….I was never man strong lol.
@@pommiebears Men wholeheartedly welcome women into what are predominently mens occupations, as i'm sure you found when going into mechanics. Men genuinely love it when a woman shows interest in the things men typically do, not because it's cute or a novelty, but because it's so f**king rare! Women bang on about glass ceilings and toxic masculinity preventing them from doing certain things, but it's all just total bullshit, they are mostly just too god damn lazy... You clearly are not one of those lol...
I am sure there are many women who have accomplished a lot with their work, but this is not an example of one, just a waste of time and money with no benefit to human kind.
A beautiful personal story about science, family and life. As humans we are blessed with wonderful stories. This story grabs me into a future world. That is what I want, need and love.
Carl Sagan is such a prolific writer.
He has a poetic way of describing moments.
This was a way better than what I thought it would be.
Still one of my favorite movies and also transformed the way I live my life forever- thank you Jill!! And Carl!
"It makes me mad that I'm old" dang that's powerfully true statement.
So great to see the real woman behind Ellie! Carl Sagan is one of my most favorite people and I loved "Contact," both the book and film. I even wrote a fan letter to Sagan about Contact when I was a young woman and was thrilled to receive a nice note back from him on his Cornell U letterhead. That letter remains a prized possession.
Contact is one of my all time favorite movies. I am so glad to see this video about the inspiration for the movie. If there are not other life forms out there it's certainly a waste of space. Hope we find it before we destroy this planet.
So it's a waste. Big deal
"[W]e destroy this planet." 🤣🤣🤣 We do think a lot of ourselves, don't we? Even were we ten times mightier we would not have the power to do that.
We put our minds into boxes. Those boxes limit who we are and who they are. Finding them isn't a process of narrowing down signals, it's going to be about expanding what we think our reality is, which is something I see Sagan was teaching in Contact. The idea that people already know, but because our science only uses the physical senses belonging to this dimensional frequency, most people dismiss what is. We're multidimensional and that's how we survive physical entropy. Matter is just an expression of who we are and many don't choose that expression. We need to stop being so dense in multiple ways.
8:43, I feel the exact same way. So much to do, so much to learn, so much to enjoy, as the end draws nearer and nearer.
Jill Tarter has THE most thought provoking job ever!
and the easiest job, you can fail your whole career and never get fired, "you had one job." couldn't even do it. Maybe give some other people a chance after the first 10 years of failure? no? just stick with the same people who haven't done anything beneficial for society? ok.
We are a barbaric & cruel to each other species. Any species who've found compassion, civility without being policed is way ahead of us. This universe is way too beyond mind boggling enormous......we cannot be alone.
prove it, this lady tried her whole life and accomplished nothing.
yes humans are horrible not just to other species but also to the landscape of our earth, I love how she knows we will eventually destroy ourselves and talks about extra terrestrials offering us a way to get past our juvenile technological level of destruction. Knowing how humans are, we are doomed. We can't even follow basic traffic rules, much less on how to take care of our earth...
And where exactly is this benevolent species? And I'd be a bit less dismissive of barbarism and cruelty. They are as much a part of humanity and love and kindness. If they weren't it's very unlikely we'd be here to have this conversation. To paraphrase the Chrisjen Avasarala character in the Expanse Books "And you know what? Even those fucks are 'us'."
If they're looking for "intelligent" life solely based on our life we may never find it because we're looking for ourselves in the cosmos. And we're not out there we're here.
Song "Dishes" from Pulp says something similiar " the stars belong to heaven and this is where we are"
We are out there.
@@josephfinlow9006 are you an alien living among us?
studies in extra sensory perception
That's actually very good. :)
What an inspirational story. i loved the insight and background of dr jill tarter. great video.
Thanks for this elnightenjng piece, favorite book I’ve read, I only wish the movie had included the mysterious mathematics of the book, Pī, Eulers number, etc. Kudos Dr Jill Tarter
In Contact, the book (not the movie) the alien discussed looking for a message from a Creator in the value of pi.
In Arthur C Clarke’s 2001 A Space Odyssey, it wasn’t a Creator, but an alien intelligence that “guided” the development of early humans, and left a device on the moon that would alert them (and tell *us* about *them*) should we advance to the level needed to uncover it.
It might be a pretty long reach, but part of the Genesis Garden of Eden story almost sounds like the evolution of humans into something more than animals. We learned the difference between Good and Evil, we became sentient beings able to think about things other than the present moment (and not fully guided by instinct and hormones), human women bear children in pain (human babies’ big noggins), clothing, we know we will die, and the *Serpent* is a more apt description of DNA than of a snake. I think Carl Sagan touched on this notion in another book, probably Dragons of Eden.
Beats spending centuries searching pi with super computers looking for a sign from a Creator that says, “Yup, I’m for real. I gave you this message long ago, now, maybe you can understand.”
Zecharia Sitchen, Billy Carson, Michael Tellinger, among the few who have researched and uncovered ancient technology.
And if such a deus ex machina exists, they could just as easily be Berserkers. 🤣
I had SETI installed on my pc.
Simply loved her!! Yes, our lives are ridicoulosly short for the immense knowledge our minds are able to produce
2:23 Oh, NOW I get why Chris Nolan changed the relationship from son and father, to daughter father. (Zimmer said he wrote the music piece for Nolan, based on the one page dialogue between a father and his son. Nolan then told Zimmer it was an epic space story)
Carl Sagan was one of my heroes. Jill Tarter is so lucky to have met and worked with him. What a great man with such great mind.
Can we survive long term? Yes we can - or yes, it is possible. The problem isn't our technology, it's psychopathy. We would have already made large strides in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere if it weren't for our pathologies. Also, are there plans to place radio antenni out in the region where the Webb telescope is? Orbiting the sun would eliminate most of the interference we produce.
Ah, the “man is a parasite, a bane to the existence of the planet” hysteria. Thanks for sharing.
@@jeeperp3926 you are blind
Careful. Reduce CO2 much more and photosynthesis won't be possible. We do not know things as well as we like to think. The correct answer isn't at all "yes, it is possible", it is "we don't know". If anything is going to kill us, my money is on Hubris.
@@nomdeguerre7265 Yeah, they do say that you should never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity. Still, I can't believe the level of hate and outrage directed to people that haven't done anything wrong. Hubris is a huge problem though.
I ALWAYS remember when DR Sagan and I had INFORMAL chats about astronomy, possible alien contact and random things about space, and till this day I regret I NEVER took an astronomical course with him (I was doing a totally different/unrelated major back then [Graduate Asian Studies]). He even went out of his way to invite me to the lecture for incoming ('78?) class of Astrological studies and literally fell on the floor when I describes in explicit detail about why, THEN, I didn't believe in blackholes (because the descriptions were similar to Neutron stars, ...accretion disks, particles fountain jets, and all...]) and the other students all dropped their jaws and were shocked when I told them that I STUDIED THESE THINGS AS A HOBBY; they . YES I miss DR Sagan so much...
You were right Terry, black holios and neutron stars are quackademic drivel based on the failed mythematics of the gravity myth and do not exist!
Change the word you used: "Astrological" to Astronomical.
I suspect Terry R. was stricken with 'spell check'. 🤣
Based off of the Looking Glass project. Used to look at alternate time line possibilities.
The project was ended in 2012 as after that point in time all of the time lines converged as the future was set.
If it has a beginning then it has an end. The Looking Glass Project at Area 51 scared the people working on it so badly that they shut it down. They were looking for an answer about the future and they got it. We all need to give faith an honest chance, there are no other choices!
@@johnraymond9170 LOL
I have witnessed personally a being not of this world, as well as spacecraft. They are 100% real, there is zero doubt in my mind.
🤔
How do they look like? I'm curious...
@@sherlockholmes2752 It was oval or football shaped. About the same size of a football maybe a tad bit smaller. I tried looking online for the closet looking animal I could find. Look up the Portuguese man’o war. It looked very close to that. Except it didn’t have tentacles on the bottom. It had ridges like the man’o war on the top and bottom ( except not as pronounced ). It was translucent so I could see through it. But in the center it was kind of opaque. It was like a frosty red color, it looked like a gas or some type of liquid. I was very close to it only about 3ft away and I didn’t realize it was there. I heard a voice in my head telling me to look down. When I did I seen it hovering over the ground for about 5-6 seconds it was about 8-9 inches off the ground. I seen it in my backyard it looked to be hiding by a table. Unfortunately I got freaked out and I think I scared it away. It floated away very fast and turned a corner and then it was gone. Whatever it was, I know it can’t be from here. I haven’t seen anything like it before or since then.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
@@w9gfo110 I've seen all the evidence I need. Weather you believe me or not I don't really care.
An interview between Jill and Elon Musk would be very inspiring and interesting.
Even if they should not be over-indulged, humanity should never despise, much less suppress, 'Crazy Eddie' solutions. (credit to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle)
Wow. SO GOOD! Thank you all for your hard work and neverending quest of enlightenment!
I once gave a copy of the film to a descendant of Karl Jansky (whose name is used for strength of radio sources - as seen in Contact).
Her first name was the same as Jodie Foster‘s character!
I think it's quite naive to think that we're the only ones in this universe. It's literally a one in a bazillion chance..
I see zero evidence.
@@scottslotterbeck3796 correct. we are getting close though.
@@ivanrodriguez268 My gut feeling? We are alone. Otherwise he'd see evidence by now.
The evidence tends to suggest that intelligence is somewhat that likely, if not even less likely - "one in a bazillion".
@@nomdeguerre7265 What evidence? If intelligent life is cimmon, how come we've seen absolutely no evidence of it?
Very interesting video! REcent book on the Human immune system; "An Elegant Defense" by Richtel, indicates that we actually have more bacteria in our microbiome than human cells.! So about 1/2 of each of us is not us! I think cosmic consciousness can be the same way. Some of it is us; and some of it, is in our dreams etc.
As a graduate student at the University of Illinois, I got to see and hear Dr. Sagan give his One Blue Dot speech. It is a moment I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.
Knowledge is out there. To be found or yet to be descovered. And thank goodness, for the people who strive to continue the search.
I had extensive alien contact in the early 1980s. In the decades since, they have come around every once in a while. Lately, they have been making some pretty dramatic appearances in my backyard, some of which has been captured on time lapse.
Cool! Say hi from me.
I believe you 100000%.the exact same thing has happened to so many contactees and abductees in the 50s all the way to the 2010s. I hope your recent encounters have been positive. Referring to Preston Dennets work
We need more people like her whose dedicated her life to something much much bigger than her both metaphorically and spatially.
1st Thank you for your work and your dream. 2nd I have had a dream since childhood that I would see an alien in my lifetime. As I turn 62 I still believe. I believe even more them ever that it will happen.
Truly interesting in a fact based exploration from the onset. I found the book a magical hope, the movie the same - this video "exploded in" hope all around me. Thanks.
I love that movie and I'd like to thank her for all her accomplishments in life... She's done more than most people have done for the betterment of humanity.
“This idea of working on something that might not succeed in your career is a little dicey, and it takes a certain kind of personality to do be eager to do that”
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit”
It takes the kind or personality that causes society to grow, it takes wisdom.
Basically, in order to do that, you must ditch your personal ego which judges success by outward criteria, and see yourself more as a representative of humanity rather than an individual - at least I should imagine so.
He opened my mind to parallel universes and universes beyond universes. I was in High School senior year and laying on bed thinking deep thoughts of the Cosmos.
They are there and we have been contacted. The problem is that most scientists continue to insist on viewing what is essentially a multi-dimensional landscape, the basis of which is the unknown, through a narrow lens of the 3D illusionary concept of "reality".
I _really_ don't like how the film (never read the book) finishes with Dr. Arrowway's experience on the same level field, at least in terms of evidence, as religion and the religious experience itself. Its as if they were trying to give the two ideas parity when there most certainly is none and Sagan did not believe there was either. I most sincerely hope someone tells me in the comments that it was entered into the film in a bid of creative license.
After the hearing, they privately discuss the existence of the 18(?) hours of static she recorded. They intentionally debunked her publicly and kept the evidence. This was to show how the narrative is controlled by certain organizations and their agenda.
To make up for discrediting her, they give her a “healthy grant” to continue her research.
The burden of proof, not a personal experience, is the correlation between science and religion is the point I think they’re trying to make.
The book is fantastic.
@@marydyer5521 I completely forgot about the static! Sagan is a real hero of mine, I definitely want to read the book, I am sure it will be a little more nuanced than the film. And thanks for explaining that, its been a few years since I saw it and I just remember it leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. The one thing I thought the film did marvelously was how it portrayed funding: research for profit vs. pure scientific research. That's a discussion that is always relevant and to this day I read articles that just don't understand the value of pure scientific research.