[genghisjahn]

I think it was Michael Crichton who said something like, "An equation whose variables can mean anything, means nothing."

[genghisjahn]

Here it is:

As a result, the Drake equation can have any value from “billions and billions” to zero. An expression that can mean anything means nothing. Speaking precisely, the Drake equation is literally meaningless, and has nothing to do with science

https://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Paper...