It’s fascinating, but quite predictable, that there is a direct correlation between public interest in a scientific hypothesis and public ridicule thereof. The idea of extraterrestrial intelligence, a mainstay of science fiction, has long attracted every manner of crackpots, so it’s not surprising that when a prominent and distinguished astrophysicist like yourself proposes such a hypothesis, it attracts a lot of public attention—and ridicule. Prove them wrong, or let it go. Such carping is not worth your time and attention.