Capture vs. Communication

There are basically two methods available to prove the existence of an intelligent life form - capture or communication. One example of the capture method is the "discovery" of the platypus near the Hawkesbury River in 1797 by white settlers in Australia. Unfortunately, the first one died before actually reaching Europe. The finding caused an uproar in the scientific circles of Western countries where such a creature had never been seen before. Scientists had trouble believing that the odd-looking animal actually existed, and it was believed that the platypus was actually a fabrication (an "imposter"). The prevailing theory at the time was that Chinese taxidermists pieced together parts of a mammal and a duck and then preyed on unsuspecting seamen by selling them their creations. Five years passed before scientists were certain that the platypus actually existed and was not a fake. Use of the capture method poses many problems when applied to an intelligent life form, including the requirement of achieving close proximity to the life form. In the past, capture has often led to the death of the organism whose existence was the object of debate. Humans have exhibited the tendency to dissect new life forms with which they are unfamiliar. Proponents of modern SETI rely on the communication method, in which signals from space and received and analyzed, and signals are transmitted in the hope of reaching other intelligent life forms.

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