Avi Loeb

what she does and so these things do happen that unfairly people are attacking without me noticing against the rules, so to speak, of academia or professional practice.

But I don't care about this and I'm really in a great place and I do hope and I bet, I place the bet against Michael Shermer that by the end of 2030, we might have evidence beyond any doubt

that aliens exist, and we put some money that will be given to the Galileo Project no matter what, because he believes in the scientific method, the way I advocate for.

My advantage relative to him is that I'm practicing it, so I can improve the chances of finding something.

He can just comment on it.

would disclosure from the government qualify you for winning that bet?

It would.

It would.

And by the way, those people who have well-attended podcasts that are trying to defend science against people like me who are scientific practitioners.

I actually publish papers, they don't.

These are very strange in my mind because it's just like commentators watching a soccer match.

And the commentators can say, oh, the way that the goal should be scored is this or that way.

But who are they to tell me I'm a player on the field?

The one difference from them is that I can actually score the goal.

They can just talk about it.

And for now, they're gaining reputation.

A lot of people regard them as...

astrophysicists, including people like Neil deGrasse Tyson, but he's not a practicing astrophysicist.

Just check his record.

Bill Maher, check his record.