Guest: Jim Funaro. Topics: Contact Conference 2012, First Contact, human behavior. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. To find out more about the Contact 2012 conference and for online registration, please visit http://contact-conference.org. Note that the special registration rate was extended three days for Space Show listeners but you have to mention The Space Show in your registration email to take advantage of this offer. In our first segment, our guest talked about conference logistics and registration, plus he told us about the first day which is at SETI in Mountain View, CA. This is a terrific opportunity to see the new SETI facilities, to learn firsthand about SETI and what it does, and to meet the SETI team of researchers. I asked Jim about the name of the conference as I thought it was based on Contact with an ET culture. Jim explained that the name was to symbolize ignition or spark, that is bright people sparking light and heat for enlightenment. In the second segment, we talked about the Cultures of the Imagination program referred to as the COTI Simulation. Jim explained the program in details, talked about the two teams, a human team and an alien team, and how they operate during the conference. On the final day of the conference, the afternoon session is devoted to First Contact between the humans and the aliens. Noted Science Fiction author Larry Niven is the person in charge of the simulation and the troubleshooter for the simulation. In our third and final segment, we went over the hotel logistics and the room rate, the banquet for Saturday night and its cost, plus the keynote speaker which is Dr. Frank Drake. Later in this final segment, Blake asked if most members of the Contact organization thought that there was ET life or if contact had been made with humans. You might be surprised by Jim's answer. This subject took us into a discussion about the anthropology perspective for ETs and UFOs around the world. Jim said people want to believe and that may be a simple but viable explanation. He also talked about people's imagination and what is known as the Cute Response. You don't want to miss this discussion. Jim returned to the subject of the conference as our program ended. He stressed that it was a warm, friendly, networking, and participatory conference for everyone. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Jim Funaro regarding Contact 2012 at jafunaro@cabrillo.edu.
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