Once every year three remarkable individuals are awarded a unique price. They each get $100,000 plus something much bigger. One wish to change the world. Anyone inspired by the wish can help make it come true. And astronomer Jill Tarter was a recipient of a 2009 TED Prize when she was the long time director for the SETI Institute (The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Do you remember the movie "Contact" based on Carl Sagan's book? The character played by Jodie Foster, "Ellie Arroway" was based on Jill Tarter. Her amazing speech and awe inspiring video after the jump.
Are we alone? The story of humans is a story of ideas. Scientific ideas that shine light into dark corners. Perspective is a very powerful thing. Perspectives can change. Perspectives can be altered. From my perspective, we live on a fragile island of life, in a universe of possibilities. For many millennia, humans have been on a journey to find answers, answers to questions about naturalism and transcendence,about who we are and why we are, and of course, who else might be out there. Is it really just us? Are we alone in this vast universe of energy and matter and chemistry and physics? Well, if we are, it's an awful waste of space. (Laughter) But, what if we're not?
The SETI Institute's Jill Tarter makes her TED Prize wish: to accelerate our search for cosmic company. Using a growing array of radio telescopes, she and her team listen for patterns that may be a sign of intelligence elsewhere in the universe.
The Crypto Blast salutes Jill Tarter for a life time of outstanding work and a beacon of hope for all human kind.
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