The important thing is that we're continuing to shout into deep space and also listening for signals coming back. In fact, quite a few such efforts of various stripe have been going on for years, though so far without locating either E.T. or his home. The common wisdom is that we are curious about whether we're alone in the universe. That, if you ask me, is why we do lots of stuff. And it's not just a guy thing.
People do all kinds of things just to show they can.
Some people climb mountains for that reason. Some heave water balloons off skyscrapers. Some get pregnant just to show they can, while others drive cars at 115 mph and still others trade stocks online. So it's terribly human of us to send a radio message into space just because we can. Well, scientists say it contained basic information about humans, including data on the chemicals of life, the formula for DNA, a diagram of our solar system and pictures of human beings.