One thing in life is for certain, the more profoundly baffled you have been in your life, the more open your mind becomes to new ideas.

If we're going to affect policy, or affect attitudes, for me, the adults have always been the target population.

If you look at the history of unexplained phenomena that was first explained by spiritual, mystical forces, the track record is not very good for the mystical, magical explanations to survive against more quote "mundane" physical explanations.

For all we know, the aliens have already done this and unwittingly concluded that there was no intelligent life on Earth. They would now be looking elsewhere. A more humbling possibility would be if aliens had become aware of the technologically proficient species that now inhabits Earth, yet they had drawn the same conclusion.

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.

... there is no shame in not knowing. The problem arises when irrational thought and attendant behavior fill the vacuum left by ignorance.

The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.