From William L. Row, Jr.:

Re: E.T. might be detectable through his city lights, study proposes (Nov. 3): This article is the cutting edge of arrogant assumptions about what "life" is.

First of all, consider this; if another intelligent species had used this method to investigate Earth, but NOT in the last few thousand years... they would have decided Earth is lifeless. This time interval of no city lights represents 99.99% or more of Earth's history, although life has been here for (at least) over a billion years.

Furthermore, the assumption that these ET life forms have eyes... and that these "eyes" detect light in the same part of the electromagnetic spectrum that ours do, is just nonsense. We're adapted to our sunlight, yet we might see in infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, or many other ranges of EM that our star emits. "Lights" may be something very different to ET.

Another assumption is that life forms would want to live near each other at intervals of distance that mimic our cities. This is a human need, to form economic colonies of closely grouped habitats. Life in other places may be in the form of separated molecules that work together at large distances, sharing common thoughts.

In closing, the search for ET will be a waste of money until minds are opened as to what form ET may take when found. Any semblance whatsoever to humans or human activities would be a bizarre coincidence.