>a cynical dismissal based on some presumed bad intention on the writer's part
I don't think jacq presumed bad intention or dismissed the post entirely. I appreciate someone calling out the combination of 'narrowness of vision' and a little self-righteousness. Chris' post was totally well-intentioned, but jacq's meta point adds value, as now there's the human component of self-importance in addition to the original point of the post
I think what really excites most people about SETI is not just the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, but extraterrestrial life that's more advanced than we are.
As an introvert, I sometimes wonder how much my introversion is due to (1) my public-social-self-sensitivity (i.e. how much i care what other people think) AND/OR (2) an exaggerated reaction to my disappointment with throwaway superficial extroversions (i.e. dumb obvious chatter).
I don't think jacq presumed bad intention or dismissed the post entirely. I appreciate someone calling out the combination of 'narrowness of vision' and a little self-righteousness. Chris' post was totally well-intentioned, but jacq's meta point adds value, as now there's the human component of self-importance in addition to the original point of the post