Yet the widespread fascination with ETs is no pathology. Plenty of scientists trace their career interest to science fiction and its persistent intimation that we are not alone. It is worth trying to understand this fascination, because it is probably the single greatest reason that the public supports astronomy. Part of the fascination is surely that the topic of extraterrestrial life offers a limitless opportunity to exercise imagination. We know so little, and the possibilities are so many.
Imagination adores a vacuum.
What titillates our imaginations in this case is our seemingly perpetual inability to get answers. But then the signal vanishes or the phenomenon is explained. Most scientists and laypeople would agree that life is probably out there somewhere, but proof has been the greatest delayed gratification of modern science. We know one another too well. On the other hand, earthly experience is still the raw material for our imaginations.