Random Though: SETI should work on decryption not bigger satellite arrays

This Post is for Sci-fi/Tech nerds only... I just read in yesterday's Wall Street Journal (01/22/11) Matt Ridley's article entitled "Why We're Not Listening to Alien Chat Shows". Given the "gazilllions" (as Ridley facetiously writes) of candidate planets and the incomprehensibly old age of the universe there should be intelligent life out there. Consequently there should be countless interstellar communications we can get.  So why haven't we heart from E.T. yet? In short, Ridley makes the argument that the reason is "Stability". He says Earth is so amazingly, uniquely, remarkably stable that it is thus conducive to evolving an advanced civilization (and the implication is we humans can therefore actually be alone in the universe). Here's my random thought (which may not be original): What if the there are indeed countless intelligent civilizations constantly making exponentially more interstellar communications that we on earth already receive and we humans just can't decode them yet? And no I'm not getting alien messages from the fillings in my teeth. ;-) What if some cosmic rays (which we currently interpret as random background radiation) actually do contain information and we just can't understand them? What if the problem isn't the size of our satellite arrays but rather our decryption's lack of sophistication? Maybe SETI (the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Institute) should prioritize advancing computers and cryptography research and not waste money on bigger satellite dishes. Whereas NRAO can continue its massive but justified expenses in radio astronomy because it serves other purposes (like identifying asteroids etc.) So please let me know if (and where) you've heard this idea ("decode cosmic rays") before so I don't go around claiming to be the originator. I enjoy intellectually stimulating cocktail conversations with smart friends. I particularly enjoy apprising them of new facts or plausible theories. And it's most satisfying when I'm the one who came up with it. Nevertheless, because of simultaneous creation/parallel invention, I often think I "came up with an idea" and later learn that somebody else arrived at before me. Still, sometimes I am indeed first and I get the patent and/or at least deserve the credit. So I'm using you, my blog post readers, as my first-string "prior art" research team. Thank you and good karma to you. P.s. I love these sci-fi kinds of subjects. You may already know that Carl Sagan's book became the film "Contact" and it is one of my favorite movies. Also, there was a great episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled "The Chase" which fictionally but entertainingly explains the origin of human life (and thus why so many aliens look so similar to humans -- and it's not because of the show's limited special-effects budget).