"Just the Facts: Three SETI Myths"
Widely subscribed to myths about SETI are a paramount reason that SETI has had to fight so hard for funding and support. Due to misleading media coverage, such as "SETI is using millions of personal computers" or "SETI opened a new search for laser signals" and movie portrayals there is the myth that that there is an organization called simply, "SETI" that coordinates and controls all SETI work around the world, and some people even believe it semi-secret, US government organization.
Another common myth about SETI is that all radio telescopes are doing SETI work, all the time. However, this is far from the truth, which is that SETI hardly is constantly probing the universe for aliens. In fact, SETI's Project Phoenix used about 5% of the time at the Arecibo Observatory...and it was the largest allocation for a single project at Arecibo. Obviously, a much smaller percentage of radio telescopes are used by SETI than people are prone to think.
Finally, there is the belief most detrimental to the SETI cause: that SETI has been listening for nearly fifty years and hasn't discovered ET, so SETI is a failure. This would imply that SETI is always tuned in to the universe and that this is as constant as humans hearing. However, In the first of "listening," twenty-three targeted radio SETI projects conducted a total of ninety days of searching. The vast majority of the roughly 100 projects were very limited in frequency coverage, directions searched, and/or sensitivity. If you consider the number of stars (or sky positions) observed and the number of frequency channels searched at high sensitivity, only two projects have done a significant amount of searching.
These widely believed falsehoods surrounding SETI and general scientific ignorance (many people imagine searching for aliens to be a bit less complicated than it actually is) are the main obstacles SETI now faces in search of renewed support and funds.
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