PCarr
Paranormal Adept
I don't think so. People who make this pronouncement are overlooking several things, but the most important thing they are trying to avoid is the truth that science is hard. Really hard. Doing science requires patience, humility, skepticism and a systematic approach. You do an experiment (which may take generations, especially if your funding is shoestring), and you take what you learn from that experiment and try something else. We have not come anywhere near covering the entire search space just in the radio spectrum.
I wote out my thoughts on this in more detail here:
Dream of the Open Channel: Is SETI Silly?
and here is my discussion with Seth Shostak on the topic:
The Wow! Signal Podcast: Episode 6 - Conversation with an Alien Hunter
I wote out my thoughts on this in more detail here:
Dream of the Open Channel: Is SETI Silly?
and here is my discussion with Seth Shostak on the topic:
The Wow! Signal Podcast: Episode 6 - Conversation with an Alien Hunter