[bvw]

SETI is hobby astronomy. Hobbyist, even fantasy. Not science, except to the kind of mind that might also attempt to study the politics of Disnayland's Main Street USA.

The measurements of the early universe are real science.

Trouble is that many the "Gods of Science" seem unable to distinguish the difference.

[RightWhale]

The measurements of the early universe are real science.

Only a first step. Might as well take notes on footprints on a crowded beach and make a science of the geometrical arrangement without getting around to what the footprints mean.