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Societal Reaction. It is frequently said that the detection of a signal by SETI would revolutionize human society. Does this statement seem reasonable? Some researchers have tried to find historical events, such as the Copernican revolution or the publishing of Darwin’s theories of evolution, whose impacts might compare to that of a SETI detection. Are such examples likely to be accurate in predicting how we would react? How likely do you think it is that a SETI discovery would cause either mass panic or an outbreak of universal brotherhood?
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