/sci/ - Science & Math

Take the range o SETI instruments and make a grid with n points.
Select k < n points randomly and direct the instruments to these points.
Take various radius from earth and examine each for each dot.
Then repeat the sampling multiple times. Now you have several representative samples of the observable universe. If signs of life cannot be found in none of the samples, then we can conclude that, if there's life, they aren't detectable with the current instruments.

What prevents them from doing that?

>fighting for rights of a bunch of linear combinations and optimization