The case for stopping efforts to contact aliens

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The case for stopping efforts to contact aliens

The new Netflix series 3 Body Problem, based on Cixin Liu’s epic science-fiction trilogy, reignites an old debate among researchers concerned with the possibility of extraterrestrial communication. In the fictional account (spoiler ahead!), the trouble starts when one of the characters beams a powerful radio signal out into space. Is that realistic? And is it likely aliens could receive and decode the messages we send? The answer to the first qu…